Michael Malone: 'I've Always Been a Carolina Fan'

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina’s coaching search came to a close Monday afternoon, with sources confirming the expectation of Michael Malone to be hired as the Tar Heels’ basketball coach.

The UNC job will mark Malone’s first head coaching stop at the collegiate level, but the 2023 NBA champion’s ties to Chapel Hill date back before this week, as he was present around the program over the past year. 

Malone appeared on the school’s in-house Carolina Insider production in October to speak about his connections to the program and admiration for Carolina basketball, foreshadowing the news that would follow five months later …

How Carolina Basketball resonates outside of Chapel Hill

Michael Malone: “There is no doubt that there is a healthy, healthy respect for North Carolina, the Carolina family and the tradition of excellence. You go back to Dean Smith and all the success that he, coach (Bill) Guthridge, coach (Roy) Williams — and now — I told Hubert (Davis), I am rooting like hell for Hubert Davis and this team to have a great season, because I just know how much he cares about this. And Hubert Davis is a guy, a great guy, and I’ve learned that in the short time I’ve been around him, and he deserves to have success. I really feel that.

“But I do believe, whether I’m in Denver, Colorado, growing up in Queens, New York, New York area, that the Carolina tradition is definitely a national thing, not just here in Chapel Hill, and there’s a ton of respect for what this program, what this university, has been able to do for many years. We talk about blue blood programs, and you’ve got Kansas, and the connections that they have with Carolina, you’d be hard pressed to find people that may not even be a Carolina fan, they’re definitely going to have a respect for Carolina and the tradition that they have here.”

Relationship with Pat Sullivan

Malone: “Pat Sullivan, who I call Sully on the staff, played here — Tar Heel legend. The first practice I went to was in the practice gym. Then the first time I was in the big gym, the manager brought me in to sit upstairs. The next thing I see Hubert Davis waving, ‘Oh, bring him down here.’ So then I was sitting on the floor and I thought, ‘This is nice.’

” I had no idea what that meant, though, until I went to dinner with Pat Sullivan. He said, ‘Hey, that’s a really big honor,’ because I didn’t coach here, I didn’t play here, I didn’t graduate from Carolina, and that seat is reserved for family. And that made me even feel more welcome … I really enjoyed my time at Chapel Hill and watching the Tar Heels get better every single day.

“My daughter came on her official visit here last year, we’re at a football game, and at halftime, we went over to meet Sully and Coach Davis. 

“And the amount of people that were asking (Sullivan) for autographs and pictures, I was like, ‘Sully…’ And he goes, ‘Man I didn’t win a world championship, you did.’ No one knows me here which is great, but they all know Pat Sullivan…”

Tar Heel ties

Malone: “So my tie right now is our youngest daughter, Bridget, is a freshman, plays on the volleyball team, and she’s been coming to camp here for a few years. She came in January as a gray shirt freshman. 

“So my wife and I have been here a bunch of times, but long before my daughter chose to come here — I’m the son of a coach — and my father was a high school coach in New York City. 

“And the amount of times I heard him talk about Dean Smith and Carolina from when I was a little kid, I’ve always been a Carolina fan. And when she decided to come here, that made it even that much more special, because now I’m ‘Go Heels’ for everything. I root for all the teams and have fallen in love with Chapel Hill.”