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UNC coach Roy Williams on academic scandal: 'I never, ever knowingly cheated'

Jeff Haynes / REUTERS

North Carolina coach Roy Williams continues to come to his own defense as the academic scandal centered on the school's athletes has cast his reputation into doubt. 

Williams told Scott Gleeson of USA Today Sports on Thursday that the NCAA's ongoing investigation into the scandal, which has thrown his men's basketball program into turmoil, is wearing on him. 

"Our guys are trying to stay focused because there's quite a bit of junk going on," Williams said. "They're doing a tremendous job of focusing on what they can control on the basketball court."

The findings of the investigation revealed last week were that between 1993 and 2011, more than 3,000 students - almost half of them UNC athletes - had taken sham classes within the African and Afro-American Studies department specifically designed to boost their grades. 

Chief investigator Kenneth Wainstein exonerated Williams in his report, saying coach's actions were "inconsistent with being complicit with or really trying to promote the scheme," according to Gleeson. 

"I know we didn't do anything wrong," Williams said. "I never, ever knowingly cheated. You know I'll hear, 'Roy Williams was not involved.' Yet I'm still associated with it or it's something like 'he should have known what was going on.' I can't dwell on all that. I'm just trying to immerse myself in our team.

"I think the old saying goes, 'if you can't change the wind, adjust the sails.' I'm trying to do that as hard as I can right now because this stuff hurts." 

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