Roy Williams Doesn't Return vs. Clemson After Suffering Vertigo Attack
March 3, 2019
North Carolina Tar Heels coach Roy Williams had to be helped off the court after he collapsed on the sideline due to vertigo symptoms in the final minute of the first half of Saturday's game against the Clemson Tigers at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina.
He did not return in the second half.
This is not the first time the Hall of Fame coach has experienced a health-related scare during a game.
Back in February 2016, Williams had to leave a road contest at Boston College after collapsing during a timeout from vertigo-induced dizziness.
It was after that incident Williams revealed that doctors had diagnosed him with "benign positional vertigo" and that he has had it for most of his life.
"I whirled around, and that's when it hit," Williams explained in February 2016. "And when I say benign positional veritgo, that's exactly what it is. Every attack that I've had is when I jerk my head quickly, and I call them rocks, because my head's full of rocks—rocks in my middle ear, one of the pebbles gets out of the alignment, and it bounces around on your inner ear, and that's what causes the imbalance."
He noted that he'd be "fine" moving forward.
"It's something that I've dealt with, that I'll always deal with," Williams added, according to Andrew Carter of the News & Observer. "And hadn't been too big a thing."
The 68-year-old Williams has spent the past 31 years as a head coach between Kansas and North Carolina, with the last 16 seasons coming in Chapel Hill. He entered Saturday's action with a career record of 865-232 (.789 winning percentage) and three national championships, all with the Tar Heels.