High court gets a rise out of Williams

North Carolina Coach Roy Williams held court Sunday at Ford Field wishing someone at the NCAA would lower it.

Williams is not a big fan of having the court raised three feet about the players’ benches.

“I do not like it at all,” Williams said. “If I ever turn into an architect, I would not build a gym like that. If I’m a head coach or athletic director, I will never have a building built like that. It’s just not comfortable as a coach.”

Williams worries about the safety of the players.

“When we played Michigan State here before,” Williams said, “we had a guy go off the court, one of Michigan State’s players . . . that scared me.”

More gripes

from Williams

“I like to sit on the bench more than I like to kneel in front or stand,” Williams complained. “I like to have my assistant coaches give me input. I like to talk to the players. But you cannot see down below that court.”

Other than that, Williams said Ford Field is fine.

Williams: “Everything else I love about the whole thing.”

Why they play

in football stadiums

Saturday’s semifinal attendance of 72,456 at Ford Field was the largest in Final Four history, exceeding the 64,959 who attended the 1987 Final Four at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

The largest crowd to attend a college basketball game was 78,129 for Michigan State-Kentucky in 2003 at Ford Field.

History and

Tyler Hansbrough

The senior forward on Sunday was asked how winning a national title would define his legacy.

“I think some people will look at that, but I am not going to look at my career as a failure if we don’t win a national championship,” he said. “There are always going to be those people who say I am not a good player or that I am overrated no matter if we win a national title or not.”

Records

and numbers

Michigan State is 2-0 in title games and North Carolina is 4-4. This is Spartans Coach Tom Izzo’s fifth Final Four and his second championship game. Williams has been to seven Final Fours. Only John Wooden (12), Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski, each with 10, have appeared in more.

Either Izzo or Williams will become the fourth active coach to win at least two national titles. Krzyzewski has three at Duke, while Jim Calhoun of Connecticut and Billy Donovan of Florida each has two.

Izzo won the national title with Michigan State in 2000 while Williams won his only title, with North Carolina, in 2005.

Stick-around factor

Every four-year player recruited by Izzo has appeared in at least one Final Four before leaving the school. Fifty-three Spartans who have played for Izzo have participated in the Final Four.

What next?

Calhoun just concluded his 23rd season at Connecticut and there is speculation it might be his last. Calhoun, 66, did not make any definitive pronouncements after Saturday’s loss to Michigan State, but he sound sentimental.

“For the rest of my life, I’ll remember this team and for what they gave me this winter,” Calhoun said. “They gave me something very, very special.”

Calhoun has an 806-341 record in 37 total seasons at Connecticut and Northeastern.

He has won two NCAA titles, in 1999 and 2004, and the National Invitation Tournament championship in 1988.

Calhoun said he would take some time off before making any decision.

“It has been speculated, but that’s mainly because people keep asking me the questions,” Calhoun said about his possible retirement. He added there “probably would be some people who wouldn’t mind me leaving.”

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chris.dufresne@latimes.com