After Failed Pursuit Off Top College Coaches, North Carolina Set To Hire NBA’s Michael Malone
After missing on Billy Donovan, Tommy Lloyd and others, North Carolina pivots to former NBA champion coach Michael Malone amid a critical offseason.
INDIANAPOLIS - Over the past week, many around college basketball were expecting North Carolina to make a splash hire after firing Hubert Davis. I don't know if former NBA coach Michael Malone is the answer, but the Tar Heels intend on trying.
After multiple coaches leveraged UNC for contract extensions, the Tar Heels at least thought they'd have a chance to steal Tommy Lloyd away from Arizona.
After discussing financial aspects of a potential deal, Lloyd decided to remain in Tucson, leaving UNC to continue searching.
ESPN's Pete Thamel first reported the news.
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The most logical choice would have been Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan, who multiple sources indicated last week was interested in the job. Now, with this move, North Carolina officials got its answer from Donovan.
Sources tell OutKick that North Carolina tried to interview Iowa's Ben McCollum, but the Hawkeyes coach told UNC that he was already set with his current job.
But, with market fluctuations and others like Dusty May and Dan Hurley not entertaining the idea of coaching in Chapel Hill, the UNC athletic department had to make a move.
As the transfer portal opens on Tuesday, the timing of these denials from other coaches made this job search that much more difficult.
So, the Tar Heels decided to go a different NBA route, as they worked on a final contract for the former Denver Nuggets head coach that led them to a championship during the 2022-23 season.
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To say this move is shocking would be an understatement, given the current coaching landscape in college athletics. But, North Carolina has decided that bringing in former professional coaches is the path forward, at least for now.
Most recently, Malone has served as an NBA analyst for ESPN.
Coming off the hiring of Bill Belichick to get North Carolina back into the football equation, maybe this move should not come as a surprise.
Malone has not coached college basketball since his days at Providence as an assistant in 1998, so it's fair to say the landscape has changed, obviously.
What does this say about the UNC athletic department? Well, they are certainly going outside the normal box while looking for a shot of adrenaline into the program.
Will this work? That's a question that will not be answered in the short-term, unless UNC makes a run towards the NCAA Tournament next season.