JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Roy Williams was charming, smooth and kind.
He paid Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson numerous compliments and even complimented Anderson's wife, Marcheita, saying he taught her how to play craps one night and she won money.
Having seen the North Carolina coach when he wasn't so gregarious, it's obvious that the long, drawn-out NCAA investigation into a number of violations -- including academic fraud -- within the Tar Heels athletic department might be humbling Williams.
On the other hand, Anderson also was charming, smooth and kind. Just like he is every day.
Money, power and fame have not changed Anderson. He's a family man, and Williams is too, stating he was proud he and his wife graduated from North Carolina and that he hoped his grandchildren would too. He leaves no doubt that his wife, children and grandchildren are great priorities.
Williams has won a national championship as the head coach at North Carolina and is considered one of the leaders in college basketball.
Anderson has made headlines at Alabama-Birmingham and Missouri, where he was one missed shot away from a Final Four, and now seems to have the Arkansas Razorbacks program out of the dumpster and back on the table.
Williams played for the freshman team at North Carolina but was a volunteer who kept the home game stats for three years.
Anderson played at Tulsa and led the Hurricane to a NIT championship and an NCAA Tournament berth.
Williams spent five years coaching in high school, 10 as an assistant to Dean Smith at North Carolina, before becoming the head coach at Kansas when he was 38.
It took Anderson 20 years before he got a shot as a head coach with UAB.
They are longtime friends, and Williams said if invited he would return to Fayetteville for a charity golf tournament.
Today, when their teams meet in a second-round game of the NCAA Tournament, they may be friendly for 40 minutes but they won't be friends. There is too much at stake.
Their styles differ greatly. The Tar Heels are "40 minutes of paint" people. They like to get the ball inside for high-percentage shots, and they'll play various defenses.
The Razorbacks bill themselves as the "Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball" and they will press, trap and press some more.
Williams acknowledged that he knew the challenge facing his team.
"I think he coaches like Nolan [Richardson] with foundation and beliefs, but he coaches like Mike Anderson coaches," Williams said. "I coach like Coach [Dean] Smith, with the foundation and belief that I think I'm different, and I think Michael is different."
In escaping Harvard 67-65 on Thursday, the Tar Heels scored 36 points in the paint and had 17 turnovers, something that concerns Williams to the point that he said a repeat of that would get them beat today.
North Carolina averages 13 turnovers a game, but before anyone mortgages the house and bets on the Razorbacks, remember that this won't be the first time the Tar Heels have seen pressure defense and they have a big lineup, starting two players who are 6-9 and a 6-6 forward.
When you have that type of size, beating the press usually turns into dunks.
Another challenge Arkansas faces, and something Anderson talked about, is that it appears Bobby Portis, the Hogs' leading scorer, is a little fatigued. Four games in eight days has taken a bit of a toll on him. He was 5 of 12 from the field in the victory over Wofford, but the Terriers put a body on him all night and dropped another defender on him most times he touched the ball.
Michael Qualls snuck up on the Terriers, scoring 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting.
He won't sneak up on North Carolina. Williams talked about him in a gracious and complimentary way.
Tonight, friends fight to advance.
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Sports on 03/21/2015