By R.L. Bynum
CHARLOTTE — Michael Malone is one of the many coaches who believe basketball is positionless, and he has enough playmakers to make it work in the backcourt.
With Terrence Brown Jr., Neo Avdalas, Matt Able and Angelo Brizzi, all transfers, it won’t be important to designate one player as a point guard. They’re all lead guards who can distribute the ball and create opportunities for teammates. That will keep opponents from keying in on one player defensively.
Brown won’t be the only one handling the ball to start possessions as the Tar Heels prepare for Friday’s exhibition against Southern Cal in Greensboro (7 p.m., ACC Network). Malone said it will be a combination, and that he’s got that question a lot during the recruiting process.
“Everybody wants to know. Even when I was recruiting these guys, who’s the one? Who’s the two? Who’s the three?” Malone said Wednesday during ACC Tipoff at the Hilton Charlotte Uptown. “I said that’s gone. We don’t play that way anymore.”
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Brown, Able, Avdalas and Brizzi are among the players Malone named when he listed those who will bring the ball up the floor and start the offense, along with returning players Isaiah Denis and Jaydon Young. Malone said he isn’t worried about who does it because the roster is deep with players comfortable with the ball in their hands, and he’d rather focus on the basics of winning.
“We have a lot of guys that can handle the basketball,” Malone said. “So, the last concern I have right now is who’s going to be handling the basketball. I’m much more concerned: Are we getting stops? Are we rebounding?”
He said opponents should expect a rotating cast, and that the staff would rather force defenses to prepare for several players than one.
“You’ll see multiple players on our team handling and initiating offense throughout,” Malone said.
Avdalas, a Virginia Tech transfer, said that suits him. The guard from Greece said he wants to run the pick-and-roll, one of the actions he used frequently with the Hokies, and he described the benefit of having several scorers around him.
“I just want to have the ball in my hands and play the pick and roll so I can find my teammates in the best position to score,” Avdalas said. “We have a very talented team to help me find my teammates and score.”
What stood out about Avdalas, Malone said, was the way he reads the floor in ball-screen situations and his size for a guard at 6–9.
“As I watched film, it stuck out to me watching Neo, tremendous positional size, and his ability to make all his teammates better, make the right reads and pick and roll,” Malone said. “I think Neo is a winning player.”
That ability to make others better is the quality Malone described as the foundation of his roster. He uses the word “connector” for players who fit that description and said he learned the value of that type of player during his years in the NBA, including time spent with LeBron James in Cleveland and Nikola Jokić in Denver, where the Nuggets won the 2023 championship.
“Connectors are guys that make their teammates better,” Malone said.
Malone said connectors are willing to take a smaller role on a given day if it helps the team. He said that is true of Avdalas, who is not concerned with his scoring totals even on days when he takes only a few shots.
“There are some practices he may only score one or two baskets. He’s not worried about that,” Malone said. “He just wants to win, and he wants to make sure he’s making his guys better.”
Malone said the emphasis on sharing the ball goes beyond style because he believes it holds a team together, and a lack of it can quickly undermine the group. He said sharing the ball “unites teams; it really does,” and that bad shots can disrupt a team “in a heartbeat.”
The other challenge for a team with so many ball handlers is protecting the ball. Malone said the Tar Heels want to play fast but with discipline, and he said turnovers have been a recurring problem in practice.
“Good teams don’t beat themselves. It’s impossible to beat your opponent and yourself in the same game,” Malone said. “Yes, we want to play fast, but we always talk about running with discipline.”
Malone said that discipline will be tested early, beginning with Friday’s exhibition and beyond. For a backcourt without a designated point guard, the answer to who runs the offense may change from possession to possession.
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Freshman | Maximo Adams (MAX-ih-mo) | F | 6–7 | 220 |
| 30 | Freshman | Malloy Smith | G | 6–5 | 180 |
| 21 | Freshman | Sayon Keita (SIGH-on KAY-tuh) | C | 7–0 | 205 |
| 5 | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–6 | 205 |
| 35 | Sophomore | Cade Bennerman — U | C | 7–0 | 205 |
| 17 | Sophomore | Neo Avdalas — W (NEE-oh ahv-DOLL-lus) | G | 6–9 | 220 |
| 2 | Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 185 |
| 3 | Sophomore | Matt Able — X | G | 6–5 | 200 |
| 22 | Junior | Alex Samodurov (SAH-muh-DUHR-off) | C | 6–11 | 225 |
| 1 | Senior | Terrence Brown — Y | G | 6–3 | 180 |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young (JAY-din) | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson (JARE-in) | F | 6–10 | 220 |
| 14 | Graduate | Angelo Brizzi — Z (BRIZZ-ee) | G | 6–3 | 200 |
| 54 | Graduate | Cameron Fens — V (Fenz) | C | 7–0 | 255 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 99 | Junior | John Holbrook — SA | F | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | G | 6–1 | 200 |
V — South Dakota transfer; U — Northwestern transfer; W — Virginia Tech transfer; X — N.C. State transfer; Y — Utah transfer; Z — Buffalo transfer; SA — Holbrook is a designated student-athlete, so he doesn’t count against UNC’s 15-player limit.
Coach Michael Malone’s coaching staff — Associate head coach Chuck Martin; assistant coaches Bryan Tibaldi (tih-BALL-dee), Sean May, Jorge Sanz (HOR-hey sahnth), Pat Sullivan and Brandon Robinson; Director of player development Deon Thompson.
Former players at other schools
| Player | Class | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | Howard |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | Minnesota |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | South Florida |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
| Ivan Matlekovic | Junior | C | 7–0 | 255 | Pacific |
UNC schedule
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |
| 9 | 7 p.m. Friday, ACCN | vs. USC in Greensboro |
| 18 | 5 p.m. Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis |
| 27 | 7:30 Tuesday, ACCN Extra | vs. Charlotte |
| November | Regular season | |
| 2 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina |
| 6 | Friday | vs. Wofford |
| 10 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming |
| 13 | Friday | vs. Georgia |
| 20 | Friday | vs. Marshall |
| 23 | Monday | vs. Monmouth |
| 27 | Friday, 7 p.m. | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte |
| December | ||
| 1 | Tuesday, 7:30, ESPN2 | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas |
| 6 | Sunday | vs. Butler |
| 12 | Saturday afternoon | at Georgetown |
| 15 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro |
| 19 | 2:30 Saturday, CBS | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York |
| 21 | Monday | vs. The Citadel |
| 30 | Wednesday | vs. California |
| January | ||
| 2 | Saturday | at Boston College |
| 5 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | at Louisville |
| 9 | Saturday | vs. N.C. State |
| 13 | Wednesday | at Florida State |
| 16 | Saturday | vs. Stanford |
| 19 | Tuesday | vs. No. 17 Virginia |
| 23 | Saturday | at Syracuse |
| 26 | Tuesday | vs. SMU |
| 30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
| February | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Notre Dame |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech |
| 8 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. Louisville |
| 13 | Saturday, 5:30, ABC | at No. 4 Duke |
| 20 | Saturday | at Wake Forest |
| 22 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. No. 24 Miami |
| 27 | Saturday | at Virginia Tech |
| March | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. No. 4 Duke |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
Photo by Nell Redmond/theACC.com
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