Duke grad sees the light, invites Coach Roy Williams to Drexel reunion
-
Bill Poteat
Editor Emeritus
The esteemed Dan K. Hoyle, Duke University, class of 1975, holds up one of the shirts had had made for retired Tar Heel Coach Roy Williams, inviting him to the upcoming Dexel Mega-Reunion.
Legendary Tar Heel basketball coach Roy Williams.
Bill Poteat
My esteemed friend Dan K. Hoyle is a rare Double D graduate.
Drexel High School.
Duke University.
Needless to say, he reacts badly when I refer to Duke as the University of New Jersey at Durham, so badly that fisticuffs have erupted more than once in front of the fireplace in the Cracker Barrel during our weekly Friday morning breakfasts.
This is the guy who mistakenly believes that longtime Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski has a human soul and is not the Devil Incarnate.
This is the guy who, if my beloved Tar Heels were playing Putin’s All Star Terrorist team, would be sitting on the front row chanting, “KGB! KGB! KGB!”
And, this is the guy who recently invited retired UNC men’s basketball coach Roy Williams to attend the October Drexel High School and Community Mega Reunion.
Say what?
After checking the Weather Channel to see if Hell was freezing over, I gave my old chum a call.
“Danny Boy!” I yelled. “Tell me you’ve seen the light!”
“Nah,” said Dan. “Coach Roy has a cool connection to Drexel. Back in 1973-74, his first year out of college, he coached at Owen High School in Black Mountain. His team won only two games all year. Both against Drexel High.”
Decades later, in a joint ESPN interview along with Kryzyewski, Williams mentioned that when he passes the Drexel exit on I-40, he gets a “warm and fuzzy feeling.”
Dan, who is nothing if not an idea man, immediately thought it would be “a great hoot” to invite Williams to the reunion, but he also figured that the invitation would have to be special enough to “get past a secretary and into Roy’s hands.”
The key to Williams’ inner sanctum, Dan reasoned, was not just a finely crafted letter of invitation but also a special T-shirt, designed and printed just for the occasion.
On the front of the shirt is a large and colorful reproduction of the downtown Drexel mural. Beneath the mural in all caps is the slightly doctored quote, “GET A WARM, FUZZY FEELING … Roy Williams.”
Centered beneath the quote are the words, in script, “Drexel Community Reunion — Oct. 3-5, 2025.”
And that “finely crafted letter?” It’s a winner!
Dan notes that the reunion will be held in the R.O. Huffman Center gym, the same gym where Williams’ team triumphed more than five decades ago.
Dan goes on to say, “The entire state is proud of the accomplishments of a young man from Asheville who went on to become a Hall of Fame collegiate coach. You have accomplished so much along your coaching journey and have maintained the respect of everyone.”
Reiterating the invitation to come to the reunion, Dan says, “In any event, please accept the two enclosed shirts as mementos of your 4-hour time in Drexel … More than anything, thank you for being a role model for the young people of western North Carolina.”
A final P.S. concludes, “I would send directions to Drexel, but I guess you know where it’s located.”
Dan said before moving forward with his idea, he checked with several former players on that 1973-74 hoops squad and all gave their blessing, proud to be part of Williams’ legacy.
Dan boxed the letter and the shirts and mailed them to Williams’ office at the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill back in February.
Will Coach Williams respond to Dan’s carefully crafted entreaties?
Might the respected coach press the flesh for a while at the Drexel reunion come October?
Or, will Dan’s hope be squashed as flat as was Coach K’s dream of beating UNC in his final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 5, 2022? (UNC 94, Duke 81)
Win, lose, or draw, I’ll let you know.
Bill Poteat, a 1977 graduate of The University of the People, the First State University to Open Its Doors, is editor emeritus of The Paper. He may be reached at 828-455-8595 or via email at bill@thepaper.media.
