UNC’s Roy Williams says he’ll be fine after collapsing in team huddle [Video]

North Carolina Coach Roy Williams collapsed in a huddle while suffering from a vertigo attack Tuesday night during the second half of the Tar Heels’ 68-65 victory over Boston College.

The 65-year-old Hall of Famer did not return to the sideline but was able to give his postgame news conference, telling reporters that he was doing all right physically but “not well mentally.”

“I’m alive. I’m kicking,” Williams said. “I’ve had some vertigo attacks over the last 17 or 18 years. This is the first time I really had one during a game.”

A UNC spokesperson said Wednesday that Williams is expected to be back at practice on Thursday. The team had a previously scheduled day off Wednesday.

Williams has been diagnosed with a condition known as benign positional vertigo, which can be triggered by sudden movements of the head. And that’s how it happened Monday night. During a timeout at the 14:35 mark, Williams argued with an official about a non-call on what he thought was a foul on junior forward Isaiah Hicks.

Then, Williams said, he “whirled around” to join his team’s huddle.

“And that’s when it hit,” Williams said. “And when I say benign positional vertigo, that’s exactly what it is. Every attack that I’ve had is when I jerk my head quickly, and I call them rocks, because my head’s full of rocks -- rocks in my middle ear, one of the pebbles gets out of the alignment, and it bounces around on your inner ear, and that’s what causes the imbalance.”

Williams was helped to the locker room and was given medication by UNC’s head trainer. Assistant coach Steve Robinson took his place for the rest of the game.

“I’ll be fine,” Williams said after the game. “I’m not dead yet.”