Malone finds ‘best feeling in the world’ in skydiving with Golden Knights

North Carolina men’s basketball coach Michael Malone spent a day far from the Smith Center, trading a whistle and practice plan for a parachute and a leap from thousands of feet above the ground. Malone went skydiving Saturday with the U.S. Army Golden Knights and documented his first jump in a video. The setting was a departure from his usual environment, but the approach carried a familiar tone, confidence, curiosity and a willingness to embrace something new.

Lynch, Schaffner lead UNC’s draft hopefuls after Tar Heels’ CWS Finals run

Carolina players should be popular picks at the MLB draft, even though the Tar Heels made the College World Series Finals with a roster featuring deep talent rather than first-round headliners. After a 54–14–1 season that ended one win short of a national championship, several Tar Heels enter the July 11–12 draft knowing their names will be called, led by right-handed pitchers Ryan Lynch and Jason DeCaro, shortstop Jake Schaffner and center fielder Owen Hull.

Hawks ‘shocked’ to get Veesaar, who is introduced with Hubert Davis on hand

Henri Veesaar’s first full day as an Atlanta Hawk came with a familiar face watching from the back of the room. UNC coach Hubert Davis was on hand Thursday at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex in Brookhaven, Ga., as Veesaar, Atlanta’s second-round draft pick, met with reporters alongside the Hawks’ other two draftees, Kingston Flemings and Zuby Ejiofor.

UNC to face Illinois in January men’s basketball matchup in Nashville

North Carolina and Illinois, two programs with national ambitions and a shared history on college basketball’s biggest stages, will meet Jan. 30 in the Nashville Hoops Showdown at Bridgestone Arena. The late-season non-conference matchup will bring together two teams expected to contend for league championships, adding a marquee national test in the middle of conference play. Game time and television information will be announced later.

UNC promotes Murray Burrus to Director of Women’s Basketball

Jaelynn Murray Burrus’ Carolina story has already taken her from player to captain, from graduate student to staff member, and now into one of the program’s key leadership roles at a pivotal moment in college athletics. After three years on North Carolina’s women’s basketball staff as assistant director of recruiting operations, Murray Burrus was elevated Thursday to Director of Women’s Basketball, giving the former Tar Heel forward an expanded role in a program she has helped shape from multiple vantage points.

Carolina would get veteran backcourt reserve if it can lure Buffalo transfer Brizzi

Coach Michael Malone is still looking for another reserve guard to fill out the roster of his first Carolina team, and one possibility is Buffalo transfer Angelo Brizzi, who began his college career at Villanova. Brizzi, 6–3, 193, who visited UNC this week according to multiple reports, would be a valued addition as an older guard who has seen multiple systems, can handle the ball, can make perimeter shots and would not need the ball or the spotlight.

Wilson follows Jordan’s path to Chicago, wants to ‘be better than Mike’

Caleb Wilson is headed from Chapel Hill to Chicago, joining one of the NBA’s most iconic franchises and following the path of the most famous Tar Heel in Michael Jordan. The moment Tuesday night in Brooklyn, when the Chicago Bulls made Wilson the No. 4 overall pick in the NBA draft, carried added meaning because former Carolina coach Hubert Davis was at the Barclays Center to share it with him.

UNC’s pain was about more than final score

OMAHA, Neb. — As Oklahoma celebrated on the field, North Carolina players lingered in the third-base dugout, still processing how their amazing run to Omaha ended with such frustration. The Tar Heels weren’t belaboring the 13–2 loss to Oklahoma in Game 3 of the CWS Finals as much as remembering the togetherness and love shared on a team that will never play together again as an entire group.