Williams has vertigo: Former Kansas University coach Roy Williams, now fifth-year head coach at North Carolina, struggled to make it through his annual summertime media conference Wednesday in Chapel Hill. Williams, 56, spoke slowly and softly, barely able to move upon entering the room.

He revealed he had been suffering from vertigo, a sensation of dizziness and/or tilting. It’s his first bout with the illness since July 29, 2005.

“I have felt like the dickens the last three days,” Williams told the media. “I’ve lived a charmed life until Monday morning. I’ve got a little vertigo, and it hasn’t been very pleasant the last couple of days. I’m trying to get some extra home-cooked meals out of it.”

Vertigo, according to neurologychannel.com, “usually occurs as a result of a disorder in the vestibular system (i.e., structures of the inner ear, the vestibular nerve, brainstem, and cerebellum). The vestibular system is responsible for integrating sensory stimuli and movement and for keeping objects in visual focus as the body moves.”

Williams blasted the recruiting process Wednesday.

“Recruiting, it stinks,” said Williams, who received a commitment Wednesday from Ed Davis, a 6-foot-8 senior from Benedictine School in Mechanicsville, Va., the No. 11-rated player in the country. “It’s demeaning. … I love recruiting when I get there and get a chance to sit down and talk to a kid. I love recruiting when I get to a gym. I just hate the airplanes and rental cars. …

“It’s a wacko experience. We have guys in the 9th and 10th grade who are trying to make commitments. For us, our admissions office doesn’t want us to take them, and it’s rightfully so. They say, ‘How can you say a kid can come to North Carolina when he hasn’t taken sophomore English?”’

Williams blamed the “Internet people” for making recruiting even more difficult.

“I think one of the reasons kids are making decisions so early are because of the Internet people. We watched a game last week. As soon as the game was over, five different (Internet) people charged this kid to ask him about what went on during the game. The pressure doesn’t come from coaches anymore. The pressure comes from the guy who doesn’t know if it’s the sun or moon that comes up in the middle of the day.”

¢Simien recovering: Former KU forward Wayne Simien of the Miami Heat, who played in just eight games last season because of a bout with salmonella, recently had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

“I’m just like anybody else who goes through basic trials and tribulations of life,” Simien told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “Luckily, all of mine have been minor. There are people out there with cancer and all types of various ailments that can kill them. I had my knee scoped a few weeks ago. Somebody comes back from Iraq and has to have their leg amputated, so I just keep all those kind of things in perspective.”

The Sun-Sentinel revealed Simien was nicknamed “Brother Wayne” by his teammates because of his strong Christian beliefs.

“I can’t even describe the pain to you,” he said, crediting God for getting him through the salmonella ordeal. “It’s even more painful when the doctors don’t have anything to treat it right away with.”

Miami officials have to decide by the end of October whether to pick up his 2008-09 option of $1.8 million.

¢Hinrich headed to camp: Former KU guard Kirk Hinrich of the Chicago Bulls will be one of 17 players to participate in a Team USA minicamp Friday through Sunday in Las Vegas in preparation for the Olympic qualifying tournament that begins Aug. 22.

It will be tough for Hinrich to make the U.S. team. Guards Chauncey Billups, Jason Kidd and Deron Williams have been added to the roster since Hinrich won a bronze medal with Team USA at last year’s FIBA World Championships in Japan.

¢Manning deadline today: Today is registration deadline for KU assistant coach Danny Manning’s annual basketball camp at Free State High. The camp, to run July 23-27, is for boys and girls second through eighth grades. More information is available at basketballcampman.com.