Ridiculous Poll Results Are In!

In case you were wondering this is a tweet that led to the poll.

If I put a poll out giving UNC fans a choice of Robinson finishing the season instead of Roy what kind of numbers would I get? 20%? 30?

— Brian Barbour (@tarheelblog) February 10, 2016

Turns out I was a tad high on the original question but the number of people who answered "yes" to that was probably higher than it should have been. Ultimately what started out as a tweeted joke turned into a bit of research. Obviously the poll is not scientific. Still it is interesting to see the crazy in the fan base quantified with poll numbers though as Doc pointed out, this might not be a question we want answered.

At any rate here are the results from 705 responses(click images to enlarge)

One caveat is despite 96.4% identifying as UNC fans there is no sure way of knowing if that's really the case so take all of this for what it is.

Let's start with the second question. 13% of those who responded think Steve Robinson should replace Roy Williams to finish out the season. Let that sink in for a moment. Assuming the number is legitimate, there is a group of people out there who are okay supplanting a hall of fame coach with two national titles with his longtime assistant in the middle of the season because of 14:35 of coaching at the end of one game(!!!!!) Chris referred to this as the "be careful what you wish for" crowd.  I refer to them as out of their mind.

Based on what I've seen on Twitter and message boards, I would peg there is at least 10% of self identified UNC fans who think Williams should be fired or forced tor retire right now. That doesn't include the people who try to be nuanced about it saying "he shouldn't retire but..." So the 13% may actually be a solid number.  If you did a poll and asked whether Williams should retire after the season, the number is probably higher. If you asked that question and gave options on who replaces him, the one with Shaka Smart attached to it would be really interesting to see.

The question of whether UNC wins if Williams stays in the game garnered 28% saying the Tar Heels lose had the head coach remained on the bench. Quite frankly that's a more staggering number than the first because it shows once again how little some UNC fans think of Williams as a game coach. I suppose you could argue Williams leaving lit a fire under the players and without that UNC loses. However UNC's play over first six minutes didn't reflect that with the Tar Heels falling behind 54-46 with just under nine minutes left. So initially it didn't appear UNC was more motivated after Williams went out.

That is not to say Robinson didn't do a great job, he did amid a pressure packed game and the emotional roller coaster of the head coach leaving with a medical issue. However it takes a rather large leap to assume Williams continued presence in the game would have led to a loss. If anything that expresses a lack of confidence in Williams' coaching ability that quite frankly defies logic and the stated evidence. I get that Williams isn't seen as a coach who can take any group of players and win but he isn't chopped liver either.

UNC has won plenty of close games under Williams and won plenty of games that required high level, in-game strategy moves from the head coach. Not to mention, what UNC does in a game is tied(to some extent) to how Williams prepares the players in practice. Yes, Robinson pushed the right buttons but there's a good chance he pushed the same ones Williams would have in the same situaiton. In the end, winning or losing games comes down more to players executing than the coaching. The set play which freed Marcus Paige for an open three to put UNC ahead for good was a great call by Robinson but if Paige doesn't hit the shot it doesn't matter. Most losses have to do with players not executing or the other team executing better.  Despite this being the case, when UNC loses Williams coaching is almost always brought up as a major factor even if it isn't remotely true.

Ultimately, this is just another example of the Tar Heel fan base treating its hall of fame head coach in a way other successful coaches simply don't.. Every fan base has their lunatic fringe but in UNC's case there seems to be a much higher percentage of the fan base(or perhaps a more vocal segment) who are willing to rip Williams to a degree no other hall of fame coach out there gets criticized.

In 2013 I followed up one of those summer articles from CBS Sports about how overrated Roy Williams was by noting no coach is probably unappreciated by his own fans more than Roy Williams is by Tar Heel partisans. If anything this poll, even taken with a grain of salt, shows that is still very much the case.