Posted on Mon, Mar. 31, 2008

It's time to let bygones be bygones. For Kansas fans, and I mean every one of them, to throw down their arms (weapons) and throw open their arms (attached to their shoulders) and embrace Roy Williams for the 15 years he coached basketball at KU.

Think that'll happen now that the Jayhawks are set to hook up with North Carolina, coached by Williams, in the national semifinals Saturday in San Antonio?

There's a better chance the polar ice caps melt before the opening tip.

It has been five years since Williams awkwardly departed KU to go home to Carolina. The timing was atrocious; the fervor reached its highest pitch during the Jayhawks' Final Four appearance in New Orleans, where every other question Williams was asked dealt with whether he was interested in the Tar Heels' job. The championship-game loss to Syracuse was a secondary story, such was the mania surrounding Williams.

North Carolina athletic director Dick Baddour and former coach -- and Williams' idol -- Dean Smith, shadowed Williams everywhere he went.

KU fans felt disrespected, and rightly so. And many have never forgiven Williams, although I'm not sure what he could have done to make things better. It was just an unfortunate situation, but that's often the case when athletic directors are hunting for coaches in big-time college athletics.

Williams is happy. He has his team in another Final Four, North Carolina's second since he arrived. And Kansas is happy. KU coach Bill Self finally won an Elite Eight game, his first in five tries, as the Jayhawks held off Davidson on Sunday at Ford Field.

Williams should be an icon in Lawrence, but he's not. At least not yet. Perhaps history will be kinder to him, but more time has to pass first. You can't be an icon unless the people who buy the tickets say so.

Some of Williams" issues are because of the way he handled his departure. And some of it is because KU's administration refuses to pay him proper homage.

A 48-second video of KU's basketball history is played before every home game at Allen Fieldhouse. There isn't one shot of Williams.

He is, arguably, the most successful coach in Kansas history, yet it's as if KU has washed its hands of him.

I understand some of the feelings of betrayal. But it has been five years, a point Self made after KU's win over Davidson.

"I'm sure I'll say this again and I'll say it now: As Kansas fans, representing Kansas, we should be proud of the time that Roy gave us, because excellence was definitely the standard while he was there," Self said. "There may be some talk about him coaching against KU and all of those things. But our focus will not be on that. Our focus will be on their team."

The same probably can't be said for KU fans. Williams is a huge lightning rod and five years hasn't calmed the storm as much as one would hope.

Mentioning Williams to a group of KU fans is like taking a stick to a hornet's nest. Even though he consistently has said that his 15 years at KU were some of the best in his life, and that he's appreciative former KU athletic director Bob Frederick gave him a chance to coach at the highest level, he hasn't been able to win back the love of the Jayhawk masses.

So this isn't going to be just a game between North Carolina's players and KU's players, as Self suggested. This game is going to open old wounds. The players, and even the coaches to some degree, are caught in the middle.

KU has settled into its new identity. Williams is comfortable at North Carolina. The miles that separate the programs -- and the coaches -- have helped soothe some feelings.

It is not, however, a dead issue. Williams, especially, will spend the next several days talking as much about his time at Kansas as about the upcoming game. It will be the biggest storyline of one of the most anticipated Final Fours in history, with four 1 seeds making up the field.

Williams has already spoken about his upcoming reunion with Kansas. After North Carolina wrapped up its spot in San Antonio by beating Louisville on Saturday night, he was asked about facing the Jayhawks.

"I have the greatest love for a place I gave my heart, body and soul for 15 years," he said. "I have no idea what my emotions are going to be. I know when I was at Kansas and we played North Carolina in (1991 and 1993), I said I hated it. But if I was ever going to play North Carolina and Coach Smith, I wanted it to be at the Final Four."

Playing Kansas won't be easy for Williams. He has said he would never play the Jayhawks in the regular season.

"Nobody could have more love and try to give more to that place than I did for 15 years,' Williams continued. "They gave me a chance when I wasn't exactly a household name. I was barely a name in my own house."

Williams took KU to four Final Fours and two runner-up finishes. He was 418-101 at Kansas with players like Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz, Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison, Keith Langford, Jeff Boschee, Drew Gooden and Wayne Simien.

You'll see many of those players on the highlight reel shown before Kansas games. You won't see Williams, and you should.

This is going to be a wild week leading up to Saturday's showdown. A lot of memories will be re-lived. Here's hoping KU basketball fans are mostly re-living the good ones. It's not like there's a shortage.

Eagle sports columnist Bob Lutz co-hosts "Sports Daily" from 9-11 a.m. weekdays on KFH, 1240-AM and 98.7-FM. Reach him at 316-268-6597 or blutz@wichitaeagle.com.