4 reasons North Carolina fans should be excited about the Michael Malone hire

Now that Michigan has cut down the nets and the joyous but bittersweet sound of One Shining Moment has faded away, it might be tempting to assume that college basketball is over for the time being. That couldn't be further from the truth, as the transfer portal is already open and other earth-shaking moves are being made.

The biggest, without a doubt, is that the North Carolina Tar Heels have hired a new head coach. No, it's not Tommy Lloyd, who spurned UNC to stay at Arizona. It's also not Billy Donovan, who seemed to be the frontrunner once Lloyd decided to remain in Tucson. It's former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone. It's going to take some time to find out for sure, but for many reasons, this has the chance to be a home run hire. Let's get into it.

Malone is an upgrade in tactics, in-game adjustments and toughness

One of the biggest frustrations among the Carolina fanbase was that under former head coach Hubert Davis, the Heels were prone to going on long offensive droughts and giving up huge runs to opposing teams. Most Carolina games the last couple of years followed one of two patterns — either the Heels would fall way behind early and then spend the rest of the game trying (and often failing) to claw back, or they would jump out to a big lead, as they did against VCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this year, and then try to hang on for dear life.

Not to speak in generalities, because as guys like Dan Hurley and Dusty May have proven, there are some extremely intelligent minds in college basketball, but by and large, NBA coaches have a deeper bag of tricks when it comes to the X's and O's. That was never Hubert's strong suit, a fact made painfully obvious when the Heels fell off a cliff after losing freshman phenom Caleb Wilson for the season despite still having a talented roster, not to mention a few years ago when the Heels missed the tournament entirely despite being ranked as the preseason No. 1.

Too often in recent years, when the going got tough, the Heels wilted. At least some of that has to fall at Hubert's feet, because while he could often be seen wildly gesticulating on the sideline, it rarely amounted to improved play by his team. That was also evident in postgame press conferences, where the message was usually something along the lines of, "We're close and we need to stay the course," instead of taking ownership and demanding accountability and a higher standard.

This isn't to pile on Hubert, who by all accounts is an outstanding human and has always represented UNC with class. But when a new coach comes in, comparisons are inevitable. Malone is a New Yorker who isn't afraid to tell it like it is. This program needs that.

The Tar Heels already have a Nuggets-like roster framework in place

Malone coached the Nuggets for 10 years, and in that time he won 59 percent of his games and led them to the 2023 NBA title, the first in franchise history. Some detractors of this signing have brought up how much worse his record was without Nikola Jokic on the floor, but that's nonsense. In today's talent-rich NBA, losing a player of Jokic's caliber is a death sentence, and I'd defy any coach to succeed in that spot.

The reality of the modern game is that roster turnover is inevitable. More than half a dozen Tar Heels are already in the transfer portal, but there's reason to believe that Malone will be starting with a solid foundation that if you squint, looks a little bit like what he had in his Nuggets heyday. Henri Veesaar is not in the portal after enjoying a career year, and his skill set at the center position will make Malone feel right at home. He's not Jokic — nobody is — but Veesaar has a well of post moves, he's a capable passer and outstanding rebounder, and at 42.6 percent on pretty solid volume, he was also Carolina's best 3-point shooter.

Rising sophomore point guard Derek Dixon did put his name in the portal, but the fact that he was in attendance with Veesaar and many other teammates at Malone's introductory press conference yesterday is a pretty telling sign that he'll be back. Dixon played alongside the now-graduated Seth Trimble this past season, and Trimble once pulled this same trick of entering the portal and then returning to Chapel Hill. Dixon showed some Jamal Murray-like flashes when given the chance, as he was arguably the most clutch player on UNC's roster. He was also the team's second-best outside shooter behind Veesaar, so if he comes back, their inside-out combo provides a heck of a foundation. Luka Bogavac has already said he'll be back too, so that's yet another roster building block in place.

Malone's former players have given him glowing endorsements in the time since his signing was announced. Jokic said, "He definitely has the poise and the brain to do it. I think he's gonna do a really good job because he can actually coach the guys. He's gonna have time to coach the guys and teach them how to play the game the right way. I'm happy for him." Murray agreed, saying, "Shoutout to Coach Malone. I think he’ll be great. I think he’ll be a great college coach."

Malone will find recruiting easier in the NIL era

The obvious drawback to hiring a pro coach is that nobody has any idea how he'll be as a recruiter. That's a fair question to ask of Malone since he's never had to hit the recruiting trail before, but it's less of a concern now in the NIL era.

Carolina has the built-in advantage of being one of the few true blue bloods in the college game. Having a top recruit and a soon-to-be top NBA draft pick in Caleb Wilson shouting how special UNC is from the rooftops only helps, and it could be contributing to the fact that five-star commit Dylan Mingo hasn't announced that he's reopening his recruitment, something which seemed like a lock after Hubert was let go. On the contrary, Mingo's brother Kayden announced that he's entering the portal after a superb freshman season at Penn State, so the rumors are already spreading that he may join his brother in Chapel Hill.

Malone's salary is reportedly in the $9 million-per-year range. That puts him among the highest-paid coaches in the sport, but the fact that UNC didn't have to pay a buyout, as they would have if they poached someone like Lloyd, Dusty May, Mark Byington or Ben McCollum, means that they're already ahead of the game.

Having the NIL money to lure top players shouldn't be an issue, especially thanks to the wave of optimism that inevitably comes with a new coaching hire. Hubert's lack of results had reportedly dampened enthusiasm among donors. With Malone in place and a new direction promised, that enthusiasm is back in a big way. Incoming freshmen and transfers will want to wear that Carolina blue, especially when they know they'll be playing for a coach with an NBA ring.

Malone has already been accepted into the Carolina family

Since Dean Smith (who went to school at Kansas), Carolina has always hired from within the family, for better or for worse. Bill Guthridge found short-term success after succeeding Dean, but Matt Doherty flamed out. Roy Williams won three national titles and returned the program to glory, but after one magical run to the championship game, the rest of Hubert's tenure was filled with disappointment.

There really weren't any good options this time around for Carolina to stick with tradition. Jerry Stackhouse is a Warriors assistant but was uninspiring at Vanderbilt. Wes Miller was let go by Cincinnati and just took the Charlotte job. Promoting someone without head coaching experience like Sean May from Hubert's staff would have been a lateral move at best.

It was vital that whoever UNC hired had to not only embrace the school's rich tradition, but be embraced by the Carolina family. That's already happened with Malone. He's already a Carolina dad, as his daughter Bridget plays for UNC's volleyball team. That means he knows Chapel Hill and knows the school, giving him a leg up on pretty much every other candidate.

Malone attended a few basketball practices last year as Hubert's guest, and he said at his press conference that Hubert had already reached out to him with some kind words. Roy and Wanda Williams were also in attendance to welcome him, which is no small thing. Malone is also keeping May and director of operations Eric Hoots on his staff, which is a much savvier move than coming in and blowing everything up.

Former Tar Heels are unanimously ecstatic about the move. Ty Lawson, Danny Green and Antawn Jamison played for Malone in the NBA, and they all sang his praises. Tyler Hansbrough called him "a brilliant basketball mind," while Kenny Smith noted that he's the only current college head coach to win a ring as an NBA head coach. Raymond Felton and Theo Pinson are also on board.

Malone will have to produce on the court to keep these good vibes going, but he couldn't have asked for a better start to his Carolina career. He's been immediately embraced as the newest member of the Carolina family, and it looks like he already has the foundations of a top-tier roster next year. His tough coaching style and X's and O's mastery is a welcome change of pace. After weeks of uncertainty, the Tar Heels have emerged in a good place.

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