Covering Carolina athletics beyond men’s basketball and football, with dedicated reporting on women’s basketball and baseball, in addition to covering other sports that rarely draw media attention
CHAPEL HILL — Michael Malone knows well how tough the coaching profession can be because he was fired from his previous job with the Denver Nuggets. Taking over for Hubert Davis, it wasn’t hard for him to feel bad for the coach who welcomed him to practices last season and was so gracious.
CHAPEL HILL — Michael Malone’s Denver Nuggets were known for torrid defense, and he says that it will be the cornerstone of how North Carolina will play under his leadership.
CHAPEL HILL — Steve Newmark refused to take no for an answer, and by the time he left Michael Malone’s house on Easter Sunday, the University of North Carolina’s search for its next men’s basketball coach had its turning point.
CHAPEL HILL — Here is Michael Malone’s contract to be UNC’s men’s basketball coach, which will pay him $50 million over six years, averaging $8.33 million per season.
As North Carolina turns the keys over to Michael Malone, he’ll need to act on many fronts to quickly stabilize a program with high expectations. The transfer portal just opened on Tuesday, immediately putting pressure on him to address many pressing issues.
Michael Malone comes off very much as someone who gets what Carolina basketball has been about, and hopefully will continue to be about in the future.
North Carolina has turned to the NBA for its next men’s basketball coach, hiring Michael Malone, according to multiple reports.
Cormac Ryan’s NBA career-high of 25 points last week has only made him “hungry as ever” to prove he deserves to stick at the NBA level. On a night that RJ Davis’ G League season ended with a flourish and frustration, Ryan showed again Sunday why he should stay in the NBA, with 21 points, three 3-pointers, four rebounds and three assists in the Bucks’ 131–115 home win over Memphis.
Can North Carolina make a splashy hire and lure two-time national championship coach Billy Donovan away from the Chicago Bulls with the help of another recent high-profile hire? There are many factors at play, but it could be helpful for UNC that Donovan is a longtime friend of Tar Heels football coach Bill Belichick.
With Tommy Lloyd off the board in North Carolina’s coaching search, attention fully turns to Michigan’s Dusty May and Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan. While Lloyd was clear during his Friday press conference at the Final Four that he would stay at Arizona, May continued to avoid the question but hasn’t dismissed the rumors that he may be a candidate for the UNC job.
Tommy Lloyd put an end to the speculation Friday, making it clear he isn’t leaving Arizona for the opening at North Carolina.
As North Carolina pursues Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, one factor in his decision-making could be one that existed at Kansas when Roy Williams left to take the UNC job.
Cormac Ryan and Pete Nance both set career NBA highs for Milwaukee on Wednesday night in the Bucks’ 119–113 loss at Houston, as RJ Davis’ South Bay Lakers advanced in the G League playoffs and Harrison Ingram produced his G League-best 29th double-double.
As North Carolina patiently plays the waiting game in its search for a men’s basketball coach, the Tar Heels are hoping to pull off a rare feat of luring a coach coming off a Final Four run.
While not coming close to closing the door on taking another job, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd addressed his comments over the weekend that there would be “another good coach” after him.
