updated 12:37 a.m. ET April 2, 2005

ST. LOUIS - Roy Williams stood pensively near midcourt. His arms were folded. A whistle dangled from his neck. His eyes darted up and down, side to side, seeming to take in every nook and cranny of the massive arena.

Is this a coach consumed by the quest to win his first national championship?

Hardly.

“If we do happen to get lucky one year and win one, I’m not going to quit the next day,” Williams said Friday, getting set for his fifth Final Four as a head coach and first at North Carolina. “It’s not going to change my life, either.”

Sure, he’s passionate about the mission. Just two years after his gut-wrenching decision to leave Kansas, Williams is two victories away from guiding his alma mater to its first national championship in a dozen years.

Win or lose, however, life will go on for Williams and the school he loves so dearly.

“I’ve got more desire in my little finger than any North Carolina person alive or dead, OK?” he said. “But at the same time you can only do so much.”

Clearly, Williams is the sentimental favorite at this Final Four, a respected, decorated coach who’s done everything but win the final game of the season. The fact that he’s never been shy about sharing his emotions with the world — whether it’s laughing or crying, pontificating or apologizing — makes him even more beloved as the Tar Heels (31-4) prepare to meet Michigan State (26-6) in second national semifinal game at 8:47 p.m. EST Saturday.

Even those who don’t wear Carolina blue find it hard to root against the silver-haired coach with the gentle drawl.

“Roy’s been to the tip of the mountain,” said Spartans coach Tom Izzo, who got his championship in 2000. “If I wasn’t playing in it, I would be pulling for Roy Williams.”

During a 15-year reign at Kansas, Williams took his team to four Final Fours. The Jayhawks lost twice in the championship game, the other two times in the semis. The most poignant of those defeats was the last one — 81-78 to Syracuse for the 2003 title, followed a few days later by Williams tearfully answering Carolina’s call to return home.

It was a crucial time for the proud program, which was just one season removed from an 8-20 debacle and had fallen into disarray under Matt Doherty, a coach whose tyrannical style led to an ugly player revolt.

Enter Williams, who had rebuffed earlier attempts to lure him back to Chapel Hill. He quickly returned the Tar Heels to their customary place in the national hierarchy — the NCAA tournament in Year 1, a run to the Final Four in Year 2.

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