North Carolina’s offseason started with a jolt, and it began at the top.
After the Tar Heels’ first-round NCAA Tournament loss to VCU, the program moved on from Hubert Davis, a decision Athletic Director Steve Newmark said was shaped by a difficult but necessary evaluation of where things stood. The blowup against the Rams - including a 19-point second-half lead that slipped away - became the defining snapshot of a season that kept turning bad in unexpected ways.
That collapse wasn’t an isolated moment. North Carolina spent the year getting beat in ways that didn’t make sense on paper, especially with what Newmark described as above-average talent spread across the roster.
The issue, in his view, wasn’t a shortage of players. It was the way the team was being coached.
With the Tar Heels now having been bounced in the first round in back-to-back seasons, the school decided it was time for a change.
The search that followed led North Carolina to Michael Malone. The Tar Heels initially had Tommy Lloyd and Dusty May near the top of their list, but missing on both may have ended up working in their favor. Malone, 54, brought in Chuck Martin, and that move helped strengthen the recruiting side of things.
There was skepticism about Malone’s ability to bring in talent, but that concern has faded quickly. He has overhauled a roster that was in rough shape when he arrived, and North Carolina now has one of the deepest and most versatile groups in the country. The roster is still being overlooked, but it has the look of a team that could become one of college basketball’s surprise stories this season.
In Other News...
UNC May Regret Losing The Triangle Player It Needed Most
The Triangles latest transfer-portal churn has left all three local power programs staring at different kinds of holes, and North Carolinas loss may be the one that stings most in the long run. Duke is trying to replace a quarterback who carried its offense, while NC State has to rethink its backfield after losing a productive runner, but the Tar Heels are the ones watching a key defensive piece head elsewhere after Khmori House decided to move on to the SEC.
House gave North Carolina a presence in the middle of the defense and was one of the more important in-state names to come through the portal cycle, which makes his departure more than just another roster change. For a program trying to build toward a better 2026 outlook, losing a linebacker like that is the kind of setback that can linger, especially when the rest of the Triangle is dealing with its own portal damage and every edge in the region feels hard-earned. [Read more 🡒]
Two Returning Tar Heels Could Be UNC's 2026 Offensive Answer
A pair of returning playmakers could end up shaping North Carolinas offense in 2026, and both already showed enough last season to suggest the ceiling is real. Wide receiver Shipp proved he can be a reliable target even in a tough passing environment, while running back June gave the Tar Heels a steady ground option and flashed enough to make him part of the conversation as the offense looks ahead.
The bigger question is how much more each can do with better support around them. Shipp stands to benefit from an upgraded quarterback room, and June appears positioned for a larger share of the workload after the backfield changes already in motion. If both take the next step, UNC could have two of its clearest offensive answers waiting in-house. [Read more 🡒]