By R.L. Bynum
Michael Malone has weeks of watching his players compete against each other. On Friday night, he’ll finally see them against another team that’s also led by a former NBA coach.
In Malone’s first time on the sidelines for a UNC game, the Tar Heels will face Southern Cal in a 7 p.m. exhibition (ACC Network) at the First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro. It will be the first game at the arena, better known traditionally as the Greensboro Coliseum, in program history. In games that count, UNC has won eight of nine meetings.
“Coach Eric Musselman, his team coming into town, will be a great test to see where we’re at and what we need to work on,” Malone said at ACC Tipoff in Charlotte on Wednesday.
The game features two former NBA head coaches, both sons of NBA coaches.
Eric Musselman, 61, was the head coach at Golden State for two seasons (from 2002 to 2004) and at Sacramento for one season (2006–07.) His dad, Bill Musselman, was a head coach for two seasons each at Cleveland (1980 to 1982) and Minnesota (1989 to 1991)
Malone, 55, coached the Kings for two seasons from 2013 to 2015 and led the Denver Nuggets for 10 seasons from 2015 to 2025, winning the 2023 NBA title. His father, Brendan Malone, was head coach for Toronto in 1995–96 and interim Cleveland coach in 2004–05.
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— Tar Heels in NBA: Wilson hits team-high 15 in Bulls debut; White to miss preseason; Love scores 15
— Malone leans on Carolina basketball tradition in many ways
— Malone’s coaching philosophy product of lessons from Popovich, others
— Although Fens won’t play, UNC’s exhibition with USC will show Malone ‘where we’re at’
— UNC’s men play four 9 p.m. games, three at noon; home men’s, women’s games overlap on Dec. 6
— Malone has lead guard group of ‘connectors’ with nobody called point guard
— Video, transcript of press conference for UNC at ACC Tipoff, plus long Malone breakout room interviews
USC finished 18–14 overall and 7–13 in the Big Ten, and the season ended in a collapse. The Trojans won the Maui Invitational, started 12–1 and climbed to No. 24 in the AP poll. They then lost their last eight games, including an 83–79 overtime loss to Washington in the Big Ten Tournament, and missed the NCAA tournament for the third straight year.
The turning point was an injury to point guard Rodney Rice, who hurt his right shoulder in the Maui semifinals and played only six games. Sophomore guard Alijah Arenas did not play until mid-January because of a knee injury.
The two never played together, but that should happen Friday.
“It’s probably the most talented team we’ve had since we’ve been here,” said Michael Musselman, a USC assistant coach and the head coach’s older son.
Rice is the headliner. The senior 6–5 guard averaged 20.3 points, 6.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds in his six games last season, including the second triple-double in school history, and he was named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team this week.
Eric Musselman said the team felt how much it missed him as the season went on.
“You saw how much we missed a guy that was averaging 20 and 6,” Musselman said.
Arenas, a 6–7 sophomore and the son of former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, averaged 14.1 points in 14 games last season. He scored 29 against Indiana, 24 (including the game-winner) against Penn State and 25 against Ohio State.
Jacob Cofie, a 6–8 junior forward, is the team’s top shot-blocker with 56 blocks last season (1.75 per game), and Basket Under Review named him its preseason Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
Christian Collins, a 6–9 five-star freshman forward and McDonald’s All-American ranked No. 6 by ESPN, is expected to compete for a starting job. Eric Reibe, a 7–1 transfer from UConn, and 7–0 freshman Darius Ratliff boost the team’s average height to more than 6–7.
Georgetown transfer 6–4 senior guard KJ Lewis, who led the Hoyas with 2.1 steals per game, and Colgate 6–3 senior guard Jalen Cox round out a seven-player transfer class that On3 ranked fourth in the nation.
USC has built its identity on defense and length. Musselman’s teams usually want to defend, force turnovers and play with pace, and the preseason emphasis has been on spacing as well.
Musselman has said Darius Ratliff has surprised the staff with his shooting at center, and 6–11 freshman forward Adonis Ratliff, Darius’s twin brother, has been used on the wing and expected to play both forward spots as the season goes on.
This is the first of three exhibition games for both teams.
UNC schedule
| Date | Time | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 9 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. USC in Greensboro | ACCN |
| 18 | 5 p.m. | Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis | B1G+ * |
| 27 | 7:30 | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte | ACCN Extra |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. Western Carolina | ACCN |
| 6 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Wofford | ACCN |
| 10 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming | ACCN |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Georgia | ESPN2 |
| 20 | 9 p.m. | Friday | vs. Marshall | ACCN |
| 23 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. Monmouth | ACCN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Friday | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte | ESPN |
| December | ||||
| 1 | 7:30 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas | ESPN |
| 6 | 3 p.m. | Sunday | vs. Butler | ESPN2 |
| 12 | Noon | Saturday | at Georgetown | Peacock |
| 15 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro | ESPN2 |
| 19 | 2:30 | Saturday | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York | CBS |
| 21 | 8 p.m. | Monday | vs. The Citadel | The CW |
| 30 | 4 p.m. | Wednesday | vs. California | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 2 | 4 p.m. | Saturday | at Boston College | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 5 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at Louisville | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 9 | Noon | Saturday | vs. N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Wednesday | at Florida State | ESPN2 or ESPNU |
| 16 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Stanford | The CW |
| 19 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. No. 17 Virginia | ESPN |
| 23 | Noon | Saturday | at Syracuse | ESPN or 2 or U |
| 26 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. SMU | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 30 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | at Notre Dame | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech | The CW |
| 8 | 6 p.m. | Monday | vs. Louisville | ESPN |
| 13 | 5:30 | Saturday | at No. 4 Duke | ABC |
| 20 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 22 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 24 Miami | ESPN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Virginia Tech | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 2 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | vs. No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
| 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 |
Photo via usctrojans.com
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