North Carolina basketball moved quickly on Monday to hire a former NBA coach … but not Billy Donovan. The Tar Heels hired former Denver Nuggets head coach Mike Malone in a surprisingly low-key move that experts didn’t see coming. Let’s talk about a huge development for UNC basketball that happened before the national championship game between UConn and Michigan.
don’t want to wait
The transfer portal will open this week. North Carolina clearly didn’t want to wait around for Billy Donovan to coach the remainder of the NBA season with the Chicago Bulls before committing to UNC shortly after the door opened. We can debate the merits of this decision, but it’s clear that this was a calculation that North Carolina made.
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What about portals?
Clearly, UNC basketball is banking on Mike Malone’s status as an NBA championship coach to bring in transfers. However, this is a cutthroat market. Michigan State’s Dusty May, Florida State’s Todd Golden, Arkansas’ John Calipari and other experienced coaches are all looking for their players. The idea that Mike Malone will naturally attract the best portal prospects is not a given.
Mike Malone needs an elite recruiter
Mike Malone needs a proven high-end college assistant. He is a career coach who is deeply involved in the college game. He’ll need assistants who understand the ins and outs of college basketball recruiting to make this move work.
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Satire
One irony of all this is that Mike Malone needs someone like Tommy Lloyd as an assistant. Of course, Lloyd was never going to be an assistant coach. Now that he has gone on to great success at Arizona State, he will never be an assistant basketball coach again. Purely to illustrate the point, however, Lloyd became Mark Favre’s ace recruiter at Gonzaga, which set the stage for his promotion to Arizona’s head coach. That’s what UNC basketball needs in Lt. Mike Malone.
brad underwood
Frankly, Illinois’ Brad Underwood makes more sense as a head coaching hire than Mike Malone. Underwood doesn’t need to relearn the college game like Malone did. Additionally, Underwood has found his secret sauce in international recruiting, particularly from Eastern Europe. Underwood has improved as a coach in many ways off the field than on it. He will give UNC basketball a coach who is ready to win. Mike Malone can coach basketball, but his recruiting ability is a question mark. Underwood would involve fewer question marks.
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Jon Schell and Duke
Jon Shaye and Duke have suffered some extremely unlikely losses in the NCAA tournament in recent years, but that doesn’t change the reality that Duke is the king of ACC basketball. Is Mike Malone ready to coach against Schell? Yes. Is he ready to recruit troops to fight Shaye? This is a big problem. Malone can be a coach. Roster construction makes this move feel like a gamble…at least until Malone proves he can acquire top players on par with Schell. If Carolina can’t bring in elite talent, Malone’s move will fail.
use money wisely
North Carolina reportedly spent nearly $14 million in the transfer portal last cycle. That’s not to say UNC basketball isn’t investing; It failed to invest wisely and effectively. North Carolina must find the right players for Mike Malone, just like Dusty May assembled a massive roster at Michigan State.
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Other ACC teams in good shape
Virginia’s Ryan Odom and Louisville’s Pat Kelsey are two good coaches with positive situations in the ACC. Mike Malone’s main focus is Duke, but other ACC basketball programs will also be driving Carolina’s game. Mike Malone has to be able to build a strong roster, and Hubert Davis has a hard time doing that.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Mike Malone’s coaching staff must bring in top players for UNC basketball
