It seems to me that the position of head coach of a collegiate basketball team in a major conference is something that should be coveted by its proprietor. Lately it’s been something far less than cherished.

Coaches have been changing schools faster than a Red Sox reliever blows a lead. A mere two weeks after the Orangemen were crowned national champions, two of the biggest names in college basketball have moved to programs that were just as highly regarded as their previous schools.

Roy Williams, who was on the losing side of this year’s championship, got the call from mentor Dean Smith that alma mater North Carolina needed his help after the school’s Doherty solution was terminated. Williams had spent a decade learning and assisting one of the greatest minds in college basketball. Williams saw Smith as a mentor, and when the teacher came in earnest to the student for help back on the old farm, Williams obliged.

But why?

It’s not like Kansas is down for the count. Williams loses two of his all-time favorite players in Kirk Heinrich and Nick Collison to graduation, but a strong nucleus of players remains with the Jayhawks. Wayne Simien, Jeff Graves and David Padgett form one of the best frontcourts in the country, even without Collison. Guards Keith Langford, Aaron Miles, J.R. Giddens and Michael Lee have experience, giving the Jayhawks some depth that they haven’t had in awhile.

Kansas will undoubtedly be a tournament team in 2004, although the Jayhawks would probably take a backseat in the Big XII, where Texas returns its entire Final Four team from last season.

In moving back to tobacco road, Williams gets to work with a group of players that might be as talented as any other in the country. The Tar Heels may have been on hard times, but the talent is still there. If it weren’t for an injury to big man Sean May, North Carolina would’ve been a tournament team this past season.

From the persuasion of his mentor, to the tremendous talent of the UNC roster, it seems the Tar Heel offer was too much not to take. And if Williams does end up returning North Carolina to greatness, is his switch a success?

There’s no doubt that Williams is a great coach, as his 418 wins in 15 seasons with Kansas attribute as much. However, Williams still has the monkey on his back. He still hasn’t won the big one. He came tremendously close this past season, but Williams still has that ugly little ape on the back of his blazer and it won’t let go until that championship is won.

That monkey is going to follow Williams to UNC. There is no eraser. His permanent record hasn’t been sealed. There is no clean slate.

Williams must win his title soon if his move is to prove warranted. The Tar Heel faithful won’t accept anything less than a tournament run in 2004 and a Final Four in another two or three seasons. Anything less would be unacceptable. These marks are very attainable, but the pressure on Williams could be all consuming. Williams had removed the shadow of Larry Brown on the Kansas program, but it will be harder to vanquish the Dean Smith comparison.

Kansas was left to pick up the pieces after Williams’ departure. Quickly they gathered their cards and played a stellar hand in landing former Kansas assistant and head coach of the Big Ten Tournament Champion Illinois Illini. Bill Self, an admitted Big XII guy, announced yesterday that he would leave an extremely talented Illinois team to take over the Kansas coaching reigns.

You can make the argument that a Big XII coaching spot is more coveted than one in the Big Ten, but the difference is minimal in my mind, especially the switch from Illinois to Kansas. Self was finally establishing his own mark at Illinois after three seasons. He brought in a tremendous couple of recruiting classes, highlighted by the recruitment of point guard Dee Brown. The recruits were to keep coming, and a run of Big Ten Conference and Tournament titles seemed within short reach.

But Self saw something greater in the Big XII. Maybe it was simply the rolling plains and a different lifestyle, but Self, like Williams, left his school without reaching the goals he had set out to achieve.

For Illinois it was the Final Four, and they had made it as far as the Elite Eight in 2001. But why leave a job unfinished? Illinois seems more poised for a tournament run than the Jayhawks. If Illinois can land Tom Crean or another solid replacement, don’t be surprised if the Illini reach the Final Four in only a couple of seasons.

I guess it all comes down to the draw of the return to home for Williams and Self.

Look at this year’s champion Syracuse Orangemen. Jim Boeheim is basking in the glory of taking his alma mater to its first NCAA title. But what Williams and Self need to notice is that Boeheim put together 27 seasons of labor with one school to reach those heights. Boeheim has made his legacy. Williams and Self are just playing musical chairs.