Roy Williams shocked the college basketball world by announcing his retirement as coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels on Thursday, seemingly bringing to an end a Hall of Fame career that saw Williams rank as among the most consistent winners within two storied programs. Williams, who won his 900th game during the 2020-21 season, concludes his career with a record of 903-264 (.774), with 485 of those wins coming since he took over at UNC in 2003 and 418 during an ultra-successful tenure at Kansas (1988-2003). Williams has a trio of national titles on his résumé (2005, 2009, 2017) to go along with nine Final Four appearances -- and will be a tough act to follow in Chapel Hill.
With that in mind, ESPN surveyed the landscape around North Carolina's first men's basketball coaching search in 18 years, including the prime candidates, the beneath-the-radar names -- including some prominent Tar Heels alumni -- and ultimately the name we expect the Tar Heels to choose to continue one of college basketball's richest legacies.