North Carolina to reportedly hire former Nuggets coach Michael Malone as Hubert Davis' replacement

Key Points:

• The University of North Carolina is reportedly hiring Michael Malone, former Denver Nuggets head coach and NBA champion, as the new men's basketball head coach following Hubert Davis' firing, marking Malone's first college head coaching role.
• Malone, 54, has extensive NBA coaching experience, including leading the Nuggets to their first NBA title in the 2022-23 season, but he has never been a head coach at the collegiate level despite previous assistant roles in college basketball.
• UNC conducted a thorough coaching search, considering candidates like Tommy Lloyd, Nate Oats, Todd Golden, and Billy Donovan, but ultimately moved quickly to hire Malone ahead of the college basketball transfer portal opening.
• Malone's hiring is notable given his NBA background and parallels UNC's previous hiring of Bill Belichick as football coach, who also lacked college head-coaching experience; Malone's daughter currently plays for UNC's volleyball team.
• UNC expects Malone to revive its basketball program to national championship contention after recent disappointing seasons and early NCAA tournament exits under Davis, who succeeded Roy Williams as head coach.