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Mar 9, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone talks to guard Jamal Murray (27) during a break in the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images After a couple of weeks of excruciating patience, the North Carolina Tar Heels have their new head coach. Former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone is bringing his talents to Chapel Hill, which was an unexpected hire by many. His name started getting brought up near the end of UNC’s coaching search, but nobody really knew how much there was behind that. Now he is the guy that will try his best to return the Heels to the elite ranks in college basketball, and the immediate reviews are pretty mixed.
First, let it be known that former UNC players who have spent time in the NBA really like this move. Theo Pinson and Ty Lawson were two Tar Heels that sounded off immediately via X.
Tyler Hansbrough was one of the first Tar Heels to mention Malone before the school ultimately hired him. He told Field of 68 that he felt like the former Nuggets coach could get some momentum in the coaching search.
After the hire happened, Hansbrough discussed how pumped he was about the hire, saying that he felt like it was the best remaining decision.
On the ACC Basketball Podcast, Joel Berry asked Danny Green about the hire, and Green feels like bringing in a NBA guy that knows how to develop players is huge. He also pointed out that Nuggets star Nikola Jokic was drafted 41st overall in the 2014 NBA Draft, and Malone had a sizable role in developing one of the best players in the NBA.
Finally, Seth Trimble sounded off on Instagram with his approval of the Michael Malone hire.
Outside of the Carolina alumni bubble, things are way more mixed in terms of whether or not this was a good move. In the Field of 68 video that was recorded after Malone was hired, Jeff Goodman pushed back on Hansbrough stating that former NBA guys have not had a good track record in the college ranks. But if that is the case, why did anybody want current Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan so badly? Bomani Jones is one of those people, and he expressed his confusion on The Right Time.
Jones’ reaction signaled what it feels like a lot of fans were going through, which is confusion. Throughout the entire search, we heard a handful of specific names that ultimately did not pan out. One could argue that having such a harsh reaction over the hire is projection for some — there were a lot of people that thought they knew who UNC was actually after that did not see the Michael Malone hire coming. CBS Sports’ Seth Davis expressed this sentiment in his post regarding the hire.
To be fair, Seth Davis wouldn’t like UNC if they hired Coach K in his prime, but the fact remains that a lot of people were caught off guard by the hire. But here’s the thing: Michael Malone didn’t come out of nowhere for those who paid enough attention (and admittedly, I did not pay enough attention). By now everyone has caught wind of the fact that his daughter plays volleyball for the program, and he also had spent time around the basketball program this past fall. He even made time to make an appearance on the Carolina Insider Podcast with Jones Angell and Adam Lucas. One thing he has that Billy Donovan, Tommy Lloyd, and Dusty May didn’t have is some type of tangible tie to the program. It remains to be seen if he’s willing to completely buy in, but this clip of him talking to Kenny Smith while wearing a Tar Heels hoodie should at least warm fans’ hearts a little bit.
For fans that want a reason to be optimistic, it is clear that many players are a big fan of this move. Nobody knows ball like the guys that used to play it, especially the ones that played both for UNC and played in the NBA. For those who seek pessimism, there are more than enough questions that need to be answered. Can Malone handle the NIL/Transfer Portal era? Can he even coach at the college ranks? Will the harsh reality that players at this level aren’t nearly as good as they are in the NBA be too much for him? We can only hope that he can check every box and return UNC to glory, but there’s a lot of work that needs to be done between now and November in order to accomplish that.
