CHAPEL HILL, N.C. ? Midnight came early to the Smith Center Friday.

Ninety minutes before college basketball practice officially could begin, new North Carolina coach Roy Williams — wearing a dark suit, a light blue sweater and the weight of great expectations — walked into the arena and the embrace of more than 20,000 fans who were stuffed into the Smith Center to celebrate his return.

With ESPN announcer and North Carolina graduate Stuart Scott intoning, “Somebody’s come home” over the public address system, Williams appeared almost embarrassed as he acknowledged the thunderous standing ovation.

Even after Williams and his coaching staff sat down, the cheers continued, eventually causing the former Kansas University coach to wipe at the corner of his eyes.

From there, the rest of “Late Night With Roy Williams” was strictly high energy and distinctly different. It culminated with a free-flowing 20-minute scrimmage. Despite 36 losses the past two seasons, there was a palpable sense of celebration surrounding Williams’ first official time on the Smith Center court with the Tar Heels.

As the arena clock ticked off the minutes until midnight, the North Carolina players were introduced individually, entering through a wall of spotlights and fog, each adding their own distinctive touch, none more than sophomore David Noel, whose dance moves and poses had the Smith Center crowd roaring.

When Williams officially was introduced, he spoke briefly to the crowd. “I’m excited about tonight,” he said. “We’re going to do some things here I don’t think coach (Dean) Smith would do, but that’s OK.”

Among those things was a line dance performed by the players as they led the crowd in cheers and then ripped off their shirts to reveal white T-shirts that read, “I (hearts) N.C.”

A few minutes later, Noel appeared again as “Divine Noel,” wearing a brown print skirt and a magenta wig as part of a Dating Game skit.

If there were any question beforehand, Friday night was all about fun, with the business of basketball starting with a 6 p.m. practice Saturday.

That explained why the Tar Heels dressed in 1970s-styled uniforms — the ones with short, tight pants — and enormous Afro wigs for one segment.

The man Williams replaces, Matt Doherty, who worked for Williams at Kansas, earlier in the week said he wasn’t bitter at his ouster.

He is taking a year off to travel to clinics and practices of NBA and college teams, dabbling in TV. This week he returned to Smith Center for the first time to interview Smith and Williams for a piece on Smith.

“It’s in the past,” Doherty said of his ouster. “They’re good kids, and I want them to do well. I’m going to be rooting for them.

“Yeah, it’ll be weird watching them, with coach Williams and his staff on the sideline. But it’ll be exciting, too.”