North Carolina Coach Roy Williams believes strongly in supporting his family, and that includes high school players who have signed with the Tar Heels.

That's why Williams flew into Cedar Rapids late Friday so he could watch Marcus Paige play for the Linn-Mar Lions Saturday night against Xavier.

Paige has already signed with North Carolina and isn't going to change his mind, so it's not like Williams has to keep wooing the talented point guard to make sure he shows up in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Rather, Williams wanted to say hello to Paige and his family and see how things are going. He thinks it's important to let all the members of the North Carolina "family" know he's thinking about them.

"I'll tell you a funny story," Williams said before Saturday's game at Xavier. "I was at a game with Lefty Dreisell ... You remember Lefty, the coach at Maryland for a long time?

"He said, 'Roy, who are you watching?' I said, 'Number 22 out there has already signed with us.' He said, 'If it's me, I'd be watching somebody else if he already signed with you.'

"I said, 'Coach, he's already my family, why would I not want to see somebody play who's in my family?'"

Marcus Paige is officially a member of the Tar Heel family now.

"This is not recruiting, this is watching and supporting a family member. And I love it," Williams said. "Plus the fact I like to watch Marcus play."

Paige scored 21 points as the third-ranked Lions (9-2) topped Xavier, 70-61, for their seventh win in a row. That lowered his average a bit to 26.5 points per game.

North Carolina beat Virginia Tech, 82-68, Thursday night. The eighth-ranked Tar Heels (16-3) had the weekend off before hosting North Carolina State this Thursday night, so that gave Williams a chance to leave campus for a few family visits.

He watched a high school game in Virginia Friday night, then flew into the snowy midwest after that game on a private jet.

"We flew into here and got here really, really late or really early, depending on which day you're talking about," Williams said. "We stayed in a hotel this afternoon and watched several big-time games.

"We watched a little bit of Notre Dame-Syracuse, we watched Florida State beat Duke. We watched all kinds of games."

Then he watched Linn-Mar play Xavier. He sat in the stands behind the Linn-Mar students, graciously signing autographs, posing for pictures and chatting with strangers.

Paige enjoyed having his future college coach in the house.

"It was nice," said Paige, who signed with North Carolina in November. "I've talked to him a couple of times on the phone (since then). He said he's already evaluated me and everything. He's just here to support me and welcome me into the family.

"It was really nice to see him make that effort to come out here."

Williams planned to fly back to North Carolina after Saturday's game.

"As soon as the game is over with I'll say goodbye to everybody, because we'll have practice tomorrow (Sunday) night," he said. "And in fact I've got to get back, because my 4-month-old second grandson is having baptism tomorrow at 8:30."

Paige could be the second Iowan on the North Carolina roster next season if Harrison Barnes does not leave early for the NBA. Barnes, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from Ames, is averaging 17.4 points and 4.8 rebounds for the Tar Heels.

Williams said Barnes is a better player than he was a year ago as a freshman.

"I think so. I think he's much better defensively, he's sharing the ball better, his shooting percentage is up," Williams said. "I think he's much better in every area."