Michael Malone’s first North Carolina team is already showing its new identity: the Tar Heels are living from deep.
That was on display Monday night in Chapel Hill, where UNC took 30 three-pointers in an 80-72 win over Western Carolina. By the time Neo Advadals launched that 30th attempt, it was clear this wasn’t the old-school version of Carolina basketball built around pounding the ball inside.
This group wants points, and it wants them efficiently. In today’s game, that usually means spacing the floor and firing away from beyond the arc. With a longtime NBA coach now running the program, it makes sense that the Tar Heels have leaned into that approach right away.
The early returns, though, have been uneven.
Through four games under Malone - three exhibitions and the season opener - North Carolina has taken 31, 22, 29 and 30 shots from three-point range. Against Western Carolina, those attempts made up 55% of the team’s total field goal tries, the highest share so far in the new system.
The problem was the finish. UNC shot just 30% from three on Monday, its lowest mark in those four games.
“You can be in the gym as much as you want, but you’re going to miss some shots some nights,” guard Matt Able said after the game. “Some nights it’s your night, some nights it’s not.”
Malone saw plenty of clean looks, even if the results didn’t follow.
“I’m going to make a guess here,” Malone said of the three-point share. “I bet you 25 of those were open or wide open. I think we generated a ton of good looks tonight; it just did not go down.”
North Carolina still escaped with the win, but the margin felt tighter than it should have because the outside shot wasn’t falling. That same issue showed up in the exhibition loss to Indiana, when UNC hit 31.82% from three and lost by 18. Even the exhibition against Charlotte, when the Heels shot better than 40% from deep, still went to overtime because of problems elsewhere.
Malone has made the three-ball a central piece of the offense, but he also made clear he’s not married to it if the shots stop dropping.
“Sometimes you have to make a decision when the shot’s not going: let’s get to the free throw line, let’s get to the paint, let’s get to the rim,” he said.
That’s where the tension sits for this team. The new offense is clearly built around the modern perimeter game, but Carolina’s familiar strengths - driving, drawing fouls and pushing in transition - still matter. If the Tar Heels can’t find enough rhythm from deep, those old habits may end up being the difference between winning and losing.
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