There can be reasonable disagreement about North Carolina's decision to fire Matt Doherty after just three short years on the job. Clearly, however, the process of dismissing Doherty was poorly handled by North Carolina; from the hasty interviews with the players conducted by his athletic director, to the abrupt and poorly timed dismissal that followed shortly thereafter. North Carolina appeared unprepared, and preparedness had always been the hallmark of the Carolina program under Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge.

While the Doherty dismissal could have been handled in a much more professional fashion, the real problem was the perception that it left on the landscape of college basketball.

	Roy Williams' decision three years ago set in motion UNC's recent coaching chaos.

North Carolina felt the need to make a change in its head coach, but instead of simply parting ways with Doherty in a dignified manner, North Carolina attempted to justify its decision to make a change by publicly questioning Doherty's tactics and behavior. It conveyed the perception that the UNC players -- a group of 18 to 20 year old kids -- were in large measure responsible for their coach's dismissal. Carolina's mishandling of the matter made the college basketball world believe that the players were ultimately in charge, whether they truly were or not.

In this regard, North Carolina was unquestionably wrong. If the administration felt the need to make a change, fine. The way it was done was unacceptable, and those in charge should be embarrassed.

Well handled or not, Carolina put itself in the position of having to hit a home run in selecting the coach to replace Doherty. In finally landing Roy Williams, North Carolina hit a towering grand slam.

Without reasonable debate, Williams is one of the finest coaches in the college game -- a certain Hall of Famer. He won over 80 percent of his games in 15 seasons at Kansas; won 10 conference titles in the Big Eight and Big 12s; took the Jayhawks to four Final Fours; and played in two title games.

Williams is a formidable recruiter who has landed high-profile recruits with great regularity, and he has shown an astonishing level of consistency of play and performance over his coaching career. Williams is a great basketball coach, and everybody with basketball knowledge understands that. With only rare exception, Williams has always handled himself with class and dignity, and has treated people similarly.

With his return to North Carolina, Williams brings the Tar Heel program instant credibility and stability, especially with current and former players, and with potential recruits. He understands the Carolina culture inside and out, and he is the right man to heal the hurt feelings that accompanied the uncertainty of the last three years.

That uncertainty, however, came not from Doherty, but from Williams himself.

		Because he turned down the Carolina job the first time, Williams, in a very real sense, felt responsible for the current state of the North Carolina program, and felt the need to come back and make the situation right. ... the lure of restoring the Carolina mystique was very real for Williams. He felt a very real obligation to make things right. And he will.

The truth is, Williams was expected by all in the Carolina family to take the Carolina job three years ago. Dean Smith expected it. Every former Carolina player expected it. Kansas expected it. And every one of Williams' close friends expected it.

Bill Guthridge certainly expected it, or he never would have stepped down in July, 2000, leaving the program to which he devoted his professional life to twist uncertainly in the wind while Carolina bungled its way down its coaching ladder to find his successor. Guthridge is an incredibly smart and savvy person, and was one of the finest coaches in ACC history. His title of assistant coach for three decades does not diminish his excellence in coaching, and Guthridge never would have retired when he did if he did not feel assured that Williams would he his replacement, and the long term successor to Smith.

When Williams ultimately said, "I'm staying" to the Kansas faithful three years ago, he set in motion the turbulence in the Carolina program that was to follow. Players and former players talked out of school about the problems within, which would have never happened under Smith or Guthridge, or under Williams if he had taken the job. Decisions that Doherty made were second guessed constantly, which also never would have happened. The loyalty among the Tar Heel family, which has always been the most admired and envied quality of Carolina Basketball, was questioned.

It became impossible for Doherty to do his job, and he was unable to garner the support of his players and the Carolina family and it supporters. In a way, Doherty was almost destined to fail from the start, because few could agree on who should succeed Guthridge once Williams said no, and few got behind Doherty from the beginning. It was in no way fair to Doherty, but that is the way it was.

Because he turned down the Carolina job the first time, Williams, in a very real sense, felt responsible for the current state of the North Carolina program, and felt the need to come back and make the situation right. There is no question that Williams hurts to leave Kansas, the Jayhawk players and the legacy he built there. But the lure of restoring the Carolina mystique was very real for Williams. He felt a very real obligation to make things right. And he will.

There is a reason that Carolina always had a certain mystique. It was not just that Carolina won so often, it was how the Tar Heels did it. The closeness, the belief in each other, and the ruthless efficiency of the program were all coveted trademarks of Carolina Basketball.

Under Williams, things will look very much the way they did when Smith and Guthridge were in charge at Chapel Hill. Players will work hard until they tire, then give the fist and come out. Players will support each other, or they will not be there for long. There will be no squabbling, especially in public. Carolina will be a tighter family unit again, and the loyalty, devotion and sense of obligation to the program that is so envied will be readily apparent from everyone in Carolina Blue.

Williams will compete favorably with Mike Krzyzewski and Gary Williams from day one, and will not need an adjustment period to be on a par with those two, or anyone else in the college game. With Williams, Carolina expects to be Carolina again, and Carolina means excellence. Williams will go head-to-head with Krzyzewski and Gary Williams, and each will be better as a result of it. Not since the ACC had Smith, Valvano, Krzyzewski, Cremins and Driesell has the league had such interesting and high level coaching matchups.

I believe that Williams' anguish over having to leave Kansas and the players he recruited is genuine. He truly does feel badly for having to leave the Jayhawk program. However, I also believe that he felt worse over the last three years for having bitterly disappointed Smith and Guthridge, and having put Doherty in such an untenable situation because Williams said no to Carolina the first time and couldn't pull the trigger on the job he had dreamed about for so long. Williams will probably never get over leaving Kansas, but he would have never gotten over saying no to Carolina, either.

The Carolina basketball family is giddy right now over having Williams back in Chapel Hill. It should be. While few were proud of the manner in which the Doherty situation was handled, all are in agreement that Carolina now has the right man for the job in Williams.

Williams has dreamed of this job, and now Carolina is dreaming of championships again. Expect those dreams to come true soon.

Jay Bilas is a college basketball analyst at ESPN and a regular contributor to ESPN.com.