By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina coach Michael Malone spent the first half watching Wyoming grab 15 offensive rebounds, then spent halftime telling his players exactly what he thought in direct terms.
The message worked in the second half. The Cowboys managed only four offensive rebounds after halftime, and the Tar Heels pulled away for a 76–63 win Tuesday at the Smith Center to improve to 3–0.
Finding the right buttons to push with a team full of new faces remains a daily challenge for Malone, whose explanation of that process began with a smile.
“I pray a lot,” Malone said. “My mind is wired for an 82-game season. My mind is wired from NBA perspective, and we’re not there. This is North Carolina. This is college basketball. These are young kids who just turned 17, 18 years old.”
That reminder shaped how he approached the locker room at halftime. Malone went down the roster and challenged each player individually before addressing the group; he skipped only Terrence Brown, who had three of UNC’s 10 first-half defensive rebounds.
Players described the tone of the speech in different ways. Isaiah Denis said it was less heated than the message itself suggested.
“Coach’s tone was really chill about it,” Denis said. “His tone wasn’t high or anything. He was just like, ‘You guys know what you have to do. You guys are getting manhandled out there, so just go out there and fix it in the second half.’ ”
Maxi Adams, who came off the bench for 13 points, described a more intense approach when asked about Malone’s style in general.
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“He gets amped up; he tells us the truth,” Adams said.
Malone said finding the balance between those two modes is something he has to work at every day, particularly with a roster of players who are new to him and to each other.
“So, constantly reminding myself and challenging myself to calm down, to pour into them, to love them, coach them, hold them accountable, but also put your arm around them and build them up and teach them,” Malone said. “That is what coaching is.”
He said the idea of coaching as teaching comes from his late father, longtime coach Brendan Malone.
“My father, God rest his soul, always said it to me: the best coaches are teachers, and that’s what I want to be for these guys,” Malone said. “I want to be a teacher. I want to be demanding, but I also want to love them and help them become the best version of themselves, both on and off the court, because that’s my job.”
That demanding side showed up in what Malone told the team in the first half. When Wyoming was crashing the glass early, he said he needed his players to stop watching and start making contact.
“We were just ball-watching, and as we were ball-watching, they’re crashing,” Malone said. “They push us in the back. They were hitting us first, and I just wanted to turn the tide there and have a hit-first mentality, get in the fight. It’s amazing what happens when you have that mentality.”
Brown, who scored UNC’s first eight points after halftime and finished with 14, said the criticism was something the team needed to hear. Asked how it felt to be called soft as a group, he said it made him want to answer it.
“I feel like constructive criticism is good,” Brown said. “When someone calls you out, it should be on your mind to want to prove them wrong and want to show them that you’re different.”
Malone said the practice drills that penalize offensive rebounds and turnovers are meant to build the same habits, though he isn’t sure they have been strict enough so far.
“I think I have to come up with stronger penalties because I don’t know how well those penalties are working,” Malone said.
He’ll find out how any practice adjustments affect game performance on Friday when Georgia (3–0) visits the Smith Center.
Photo Joshua Lawton
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