North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams is now on the record denying any possible involvement by Nike in helping the coach land top high school players on the recruiting trail.

“They’ve {Nike} never helped me get any player, never insinuated, never done anything,” Williams told ESPN.

“I’ve dealt with Nike and Jordan Brand since I came back here, but we never even discuss things like that. So I know it’s foreign to me.”

Not that Roy Williams should be considered guilty rather than innocent, but taking him at his word is a weird thing to consider. It isn't as if the coach will randomly declare his involvement in the biggest college basketball scandal in the sport's history.

The North Carolina coach does admit this is all a disaster for the sport:

“This is a whole different level we're talking about here,” Williams said. “This is a different level that should have some people being scared to death.”

“I know it looks really bad,” Williams said. “I don't know. I don't enjoy that part. But to paint the entire college basketball world like this I don't think it's fair either because I don't think that's what the entire college basketball world is all about. But it was just a shock to me.”

Of course he was shocked.

I kid. Everyone — from coaches to media to fans — have long had the idea that shoe companies were the real power players in college hoops. To pretend otherwise, to claim ignorance, is just a weird way to try to distance one self from the scandal.