Something the media thought was a better topic than actually talking about the games.
Ty Lawson met with the media today and said a lot of fairly standard things you expect from a junior point guard. Then the questioning took a different turn. At one point Lawson is asked by when he started to listen and understand the things "Roy had been harping on." Lawson said his sophomore year and that was because he had never really been coached before so he had to adjust to that. After some other questions it appears the same reporter comes back to it asking what Lawson's relationship with Roy was and if it was better now. Lawson again talks about his own lack of maturity and that he is less of a "rebel" now than he was his freshman season. Given the potential for soundbite hijinks, Lawson answered the question well.
There is some truth to the notion that Lawson has not always had a great relationship with Roy Williams. During his freshman season Lawson was once tossed out of practice and did not play the first eight minutes of a game at Georgia Tech. The Heels lost that game(their 2nd straight defeat) and questions abounded then on the message boards if Lawson would even return. Roy downplayed the incident pointing out that he once tossed Paul Pierce out of practice at Kansas and Lawson played well the rest of the way. Last season there was a cloud surrounding Lawson's injury and whether he was sitting out longer than necessary either out of fear of injury or lack of toughness. You follow that with the trouble over the summer and combine that with some of the issues Lawson had on the court playing defense it points to potential issues between player and coach.
At this point much of that seems to have past, mostly because Lawson has matured a great deal, which Lawson himself says at least twice Roy is not one to change his style to fit anyone, just ask Rashad McCants. In fact the line of questioning toward Lawson made it seem like the reporter in question was fishing for a McCants moment. However if you watch Roy's press conference which occurred just before Lawson's, the same reporter asked some questions about whether Roy thought Lawson had become what he thought he could be. Roy said he had been, especially when you talk about the 2nd halves of Duke and Miami then he reached out and pulled the heart out of the reporter's chest and show it to him launched into a spirited defense of Lawson over the criticism he got during the 0-2 start. Roy indicated that Lawson was still a kid and given to ups and downs as much as anyone else. While Roy wants a certain level of play from Lawson he knows he may not always get it but he does want the effort at the very least.
All of this will undoubtedly lead to an article in one of the local media publications about the evolution of Lawson and his relationship with Roy. For my money is seemed like an odd path to take at this point in the season. I guess talking about Roy's relationship with Lawson is more compelling than the NC State game. Don't tell Lawson that, he is looking to bringing it versus the Pack on Wednesday:
“It’s one of our rivals, so if you can’t get excited for that, what can you get excited for?”