Michael Malone is already drawing backing before he even gets rolling at North Carolina, and that support comes with a simple belief: the Tar Heels made a major upgrade.
The move away from Hubert Davis came after a brutal finish to last season. North Carolina’s 19-point second-half collapse against VCU in the first round of the NCAA tournament sealed a second straight first-round exit and pushed the administration to make a change after five years with Davis at the helm.
North Carolina then turned to Malone, who had just coached the Denver Nuggets to an NBA title in 2023. Last week, CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish put Malone among the new coaches most likely to bring long-term success to their programs.
That kind of confidence isn’t hard to understand. If Malone and his staff recruit well and the front office keeps giving him real talent, North Carolina should be in the mix for Final Four runs on a regular basis. That’s the level of belief Malone inspires, even with the usual warning label that comes with coaches moving between the NBA and college basketball.
The biggest question when the Tar Heels hired him was whether he could shift into the college recruiting grind, especially with the roster getting stripped by NBA Draft departures and the transfer portal. So far, North Carolina has answered that concern in a big way. Malone, Chuck Martin, and the rest of the brass have done strong work in the portal, bringing in Neoklis Avdalas, Terrence Brown, and Matt Able, among others from their previous programs.
There’s still plenty to sort out with so many new faces, but Malone’s resume and track record as a developer give North Carolina a real foundation. The expectation here is that the Tar Heels will be better than many think, and that they’ll look like a legitimate ACC threat again with a chance to make noise in the NCAA tournament.
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