By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Michael Malone has spent the preseason coaching around a hole in the middle of his roster and made his frustration known.
After North Carolina escaped with an 89–82 overtime exhibition win Tuesday at the Smith Center over Charlotte, Malone talked about a player who wasn’t in uniform for any of the three exhibition games.
South Dakota transfer center Cameron Fens remains ineligible while his case plays out, and Malone pushed for a resolution and criticized the way the NCAA has handled players in similar situations.
“No update other than he’s still unfortunately ineligible at this time, and we are allowing this process to play out,” Malone said.
Coming from the NBA, the first-year college has trouble understanding why some states are allowing players to play while others are not. He pointed to the different outcomes players have received depending on the state where they have sought eligibility.
“It’s one of the great mysteries for me, coming from the NBA, to have certain states allowing guys to play, and other states aren’t. And what’s the difference?” Malone said. “So, I would hope that the NCAA at some point in time tries to clean this up because Cameron Fens deserves to play.”
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Fens is one of 19 plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed July 6 by former Tar Heel Jalen Washington against the NCAA in a Davidson County, Tennessee, court. A Davidson County court granted the plaintiffs a temporary injunction on July 31, and Fens committed to UNC on August 7. The Tennessee Court of Appeals then stayed that injunction on Aug. 26 pending appeal, which left Fens and the other plaintiffs ineligible unless and until the appeals court rules in their favor.
Malone has not hidden how much he values the 7-footer. The coach said Carolina intends to keep supporting Fens while the process continues, and he said it has not been easy for him to go through practice each day without being eligible to play.
“Cameron Fens deserves to be out there, and so all we’re doing right now is supporting him wholeheartedly, both he and his family,” Malone said. “It’s not easy for him, going through practice every day, knowing that at this point in time he’s not eligible. But we believe in this case, and we’re going to continue to fight for Cameron Fens.”
His comments came after the Tar Heels have struggled to rebound in back-to-back exhibition games. Indiana had 20 offensive rebounds and 17 second-chance points in Sunday’s 76–58 loss, and Charlotte scored 18 second-chance points on Tuesday off of 12 offensive rebounds.
Starting center Sayon Keita had two rebounds in 33 minutes against the 49ers, and Jarin Stevenson had two in 38 minutes.
Malone said he sees the problem as effort and toughness more than skill, and he was blunt about how few options he has to fix it with the current group. He said Stevenson has been switching onto perimeter players more than usual, which has pulled him away from the glass, but he did not use that as an excuse.
“I can’t make our guys bigger and stronger. I just don’t have that power. I wish I did,” Malone said. “So, this is our roster until Cameron Fens is eligible, and so we all have to share in that responsibility and continue to work on it and demand that from them.”
Utah transfer guard Terrence Brown said after the game that the guards are trying to do their part to take pressure off the big men. Neo Avdalas finished with nine rebounds, and Brown said the perimeter players have to help clean up what the post players miss.
“I think it’s just me and the other guys on the team just going in there and helping them take the load off them and getting boards,” Brown said.
Carolina opens the regular season Monday night at home against Western Carolina, and Malone did not say when he expects a resolution.
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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