Roy Williams finally cashed in his yearlong mulligan.

The fourth-year North Carolina basketball coach is quite familiar with Augusta. He's been in town for the Peach Jam Basketball and Masters tournaments. He's also played Augusta National Golf Club on multiple occasions.

But when he was lined up as the keynote speaker of last year's College Basketball Preseason Tip-Off Luncheon, he was forced to cancel at the last minute because of a flight delay.

Williams had no problems making it to Augusta on Friday. He spoke at the sixth-annual event put on by the Greater Augusta Sports Council at the Augusta Marriott Hotel & Suites.

"I love Augusta for many different reasons," he said.

One of those reasons is playing that world- famous golf course off Washington Road. He's played 11 rounds at Augusta National Golf Club with a low round of 77.

"Anybody who doesn't like playing Augusta National, there's something wrong with them," he said.

There's nothing wrong with Williams on the hardwood. In three seasons with his alma mater, Williams is 75-23. He led the Tar Heels to the 2005 national championship.

He said winning the title was special because his high school coach, Buddy Baldwin, was there. After hugging his players and family, he later embraced Baldwin in his suite.

"That's one of those things money can't replace," Williams said. "My mother was my hero. But my high school coach was the most influential person in my life."

Williams was unable to successfully defend his team's championship. Last season, North Carolina went 23-8 with a second-round loss in the NCAA Tournament.

The Tar Heels return four starters off last year's squad. That's enough to make Williams giddy.

"All of us are real excited right now," he said. "Some of us are more excited than others. I'm one of those guys that's real excited."

Williams said he thinks as many as five Atlantic Coast Conference teams could end up among the top 20. That includes his arch-rival.

"Duke's going to be a lot better," he said, "than they're going to act like they're going to be."

Also at Friday's luncheon, retired Morehouse coach Arthur McAfee was presented the Bobby Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. McAfee won 519 games in 38 seasons with the Maroon Tigers. He also graduated 95 percent of his players.