The University of North Carolina has announced the hiring of former Denver Nuggets head coach and NBA champion Michael Malone to lead the Tar Heels men’s basketball program.
Malone, 54, succeeds Hubert Davis, who was recently dismissed after five years of service.
The former head coach took his team to the national championship game during his first season, but was unable to advance beyond the Sweet 16 in the four subsequent seasons.
What is surprising about this decision is that Malone has not been a college head coach before.
He has spent his entire head coaching career in the NBA and has won 510 games in 12 seasons.
His most notable achievement came in 2023 when he guided his Nuggets to their first ever NBA Championship with superstar player Nikola Jokić.
But Denver surprisingly fired Malone after three games before the end of 2024-25. He spent the last year as one ESPN analyst when he failed to secure an NBA head coaching position.
Although Malone is not starting from scratch as a college coach, he coached as an assistant in Oakland, Providence and Manhattan in the 1990s.
The current volleyball player at UNC for her daughter likely sped up the negotiation process.
