North Carolina basketball moved quickly on Monday, hiring a former NBA coach … but not Billy Donovan. The Tar Heels hired former Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone in a surprising off-the-radar move experts did not anticipate. Let’s talk about this huge development for UNC basketball, which occurred before the national championship game between UConn and Michigan.
Didn’t want to wait
The transfer portal opens this week. North Carolina very obviously did not want to wait for Billy Donovan to coach out the remainder of the NBA season with the Chicago Bulls and then pivot to UNC well after the opening of the portal. We can debate the value of the decision, but it’s clear that was the calculation North Carolina made.
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So what about the portal?
Obviously, UNC basketball is banking on Mike Malone’s identity as an NBA championship coach to bring in transfers. However, it’s a cutthroat market. Dusty May of Michigan, Todd Golden of Florida, John Calipari of Arkansas, and other seasoned coaches are out there looking for their guys. The idea that Mike Malone will naturally attract the very best portal prospects is not a given.
Mike Malone needs an elite recruiter
Mike Malone needs proven high-end college assistants. He is a pro coach diving into the college game. He needs assistants who know the ins and outs of college basketball recruiting for this move to work.
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Irony
An ironic element of all this is that Mike Malone needs someone like Tommy Lloyd as an assistant. Of course Lloyd would never be an assistant coach. He will never again be an assistant coach in basketball now that he has hit the big time at Arizona. Purely to illustrate the point, however, Lloyd became Mark Few’s ace recruiter at Gonzaga, which prepared him for the jump to Arizona head coach. That’s the kind of lieutenant Mike Malone needs at UNC basketball.
Brad Underwood
Brad Underwood of Illinois frankly would have made more sense as a head coaching hire than Mike Malone. Underwood doesn’t need to freshly learn about the college game the way Malone will have to. Moreover, Underwood has found his own secret sauce in international recruiting, particularly from Eastern Europe. Underwood has evolved as a coach, in many ways off the court more than on it. He would have given UNC basketball a ready-to-win coach. Mike Malone can coach basketball, but his recruiting chops are a question mark. Underwood would have involved fewer question marks.
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Jon Scheyer and Duke
Jon Scheyer and Duke have endured some wildly improbable NCAA Tournament losses 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 Scheyer? Yes. Is he ready to recruit against Scheyer? That’s the huge question. Malone can coach. It’s roster construction which makes this move feel like a gamble … at least until Malone proves he can acquire top players on par with Scheyer. If Carolina can’t bring in elite talent, the Malone move will fail.
Wise use of money
North Carolina reportedly spent near $14 million on the transfer portal this past cycle. It’s not that UNC basketball failed to invest; it failed to invest wisely and effectively. North Carolina has to get the right pieces for Mike Malone, the way Dusty May assembled a tremendous roster at Michigan.
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Other ACC teams in good shape
Ryan Odom at Virginia and Pat Kelsey of Louisville are two good coaches in positive situations in the ACC. Mike Malone’s main focus is Duke, but other ACC basketball programs will push Carolina as well. Mike Malone has to be able to build strong rosters, something Hubert Davis struggled to do.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Mike Malone coaching staff must get top players for UNC basketball