The University of North Carolina basketball family has a new adopted son thanks in part to his father, Brendan, and youngest daughter, Bridget.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father, who passed about two years ago, was a huge Carolina fan and a huge Dean Smith fan,\u201d Michael Malone, new coach of the Tar Heels, shared at his introductory press conference Tuesday in Chapel Hill. \u201cHe passed that on to me.\u00a0I know he\u2019s looking down today, and he\u2019s very, very proud. I wish he was here.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the university\u2019s search committee initially reached out to the former Nuggets coach, Malone told executive associate athletic director Steve Newmark he thought it was little more than a courtesy call. When Bridget, a sophomore on the Tar Heels\u2019 volleyball team, heard her father\u2019s name was in the mix, she inquired about his interest. He initially told his youngest there wasn\u2019t much. She requested he reconsider.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think she wanted to be near her mother a little bit more,\u201d Malone cracked.<\/p>\n
The process played out over roughly 10 days after Hubert Davis was fired following first-round losses to Clemson in the Atlantic Coast Conference and Virginia Commonwealth in the NCAA Tournament. Davis, a former standout for the Tar Heels in the late \u201980s and early \u201990s who went on to play more than decade in the NBA, invited Malone to attend some of his team\u2019s practices when he was in town to visit Bridget. Malone\u2019s top priority those days was being more present with his wife, Jocelyn, and daughters Caitlin, a student in Boulder, and Bridget. He wasn\u2019t thinking about coaching college ball, but Davis provided some valuable lessons.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat he taught me was \u2018treat this place with respect,\u2019\u201d Malone said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHubert lived that every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, it\u2019s Malone responsibility to protect and promote one of college basketball\u2019s most recognizable brands, as the college sports landscape continues to evolve. Newmark shared the search committee\u2019s requirements before introducing the 20th coach in program history. It\u2019s the first time since Frank McGuire\u2019s hire in 1952 that North Carolina hired an outsider to lead its flagship athletic program.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst and foremost, they need to be an elite teacher, innovator, strategist and leader. That\u2019s really following in the mold of coach (Dean) Smith, coach (Bill) Guthridge and coach (Roy) Williams. Second, they need to display and possess the character and integrity that\u2019s consistent with our university and our principles. Third, they need to believe in \u2013 not just acknowledge and recognize \u2013 the importance of the Carolina family and the Carolina tradition and what that means to the UNC community,\u201d Newmark said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoach Malone exemplifies every single one of those. He checked every single box.\u201d<\/p>\n
Malone credited his father, who got his start at the high school level, with showing him how to satisfy the primary requirement. Brendan famously failed to talk his son out of following in his footsteps.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best coaches in the world are teachers,\u201d Malone said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love this game. I have a passion for the game of basketball. I have a passion for teaching the game of basketball, which I learned from my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Malone said he would lean on the other Tar Heels at his disposal to take care of the final two prerequisites. Williams, who coached the Tar Heels to three national championships, attended the press conference, while longtime UNC and NBA assistant Pat Sullivan was the first to put Newkirk and Malone in touch. The search committee included Antawn Jamison, who Malone coached when he was a Cavaliers assistant, and Kenny Smith, a longtime NBA player and commentator.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of elite coaches out there. We started with a fairly long list, but even in that point, we had a select few that were at the top. The way that we actually started the process is where ended the process,\u201d Newmark said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody came to the same conclusion that coach Malone is the ideal fit for this university.\u201d<\/p>\n
Malone wasn\u2019t sure that was the case until Newmark spent five hours of Easter Sunday at the family\u2019s residence in Colorado. Malone joked that the associate athletic director neglected to bring his wife flowers, but he passed another important test.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dog didn\u2019t bite him, so he knew it was OK,\u201d Malone said, mixing in another joke.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t an easy decision, but what I kept thinking about was I have the chance to be a part of something special, the history and tradition. \u2026 This was the only college job I would ever consider. Any other job, I wouldn\u2019t even answer the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
North Carolina, reportedly, provided 50 million reasons for Malone to continue taking calls from Tar Heels brass. His six-year contract will make him one of college basketball\u2019s highest-paid coaches. The kind of money comes with a bunch of expectations. North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham mentioned Larry Brown was the only coach to win championships at the college and NBA level before Malone spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have won an NBA championship already. I\u2019ve asked our staff to start moving those banners, so that we can hang another. I don\u2019t want to put any pressure on you. They\u2019re starting to move them tomorrow,\u201d Cunningham said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great day to be a Tar Heel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Malone\u2019s former three-time Most Valuable Player isn\u2019t the biggest college basketball fan, he agrees with Cunningham\u2019s sentiment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy for coach. I wish him all the luck. I think it\u2019s a little bit different just because he was coaching NBA for how many years, 12, 15 years? He definitely has the poise and the brain to do it,\u201d Nikola Jokic said after Monday\u2019s win over Portland. \u201cI think he\u2019s going to do a really good job, because I think he can actually coach the guys. I think he\u2019s going to have time to coach the guys and teach them how to play the game the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The only former Tar Heel on Denver\u2019s roster, Cam Johnson, doesn\u2019t have the same familiarity with his school\u2019s new coach. He hopes to change that before long.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really know coach Malone. I came 17 games too late, but I\u2019ve been talking to the guys,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThey think he\u2019s going to be a good fit for what we got going on back there. I wish him the best. I\u2019ll probably connect with him soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
North Carolina\u2019s new coach acknowledged the difference in jobs. They range from the obvious. Malone used to coach older players with families of their own. That largely won\u2019t be the case in his new gig. There\u2019s also the difference in roster building. The transfer portal didn\u2019t exist when Malone was last on a college staff at Manhattan in 2001. There\u2019s also the difference in how the game is broken up, but the game is still about putting a sphere through a round rim.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still don\u2019t understand why college basketball is the only level that plays two 20-minute halves. I got to get my head around that. At the end of the day, basketball is basketball,\u201d Malone said. \u201cWe used to say in the NBA \u2018players don\u2019t care how much you know until they know how much you care.\u2019 I believe that, and I buy into that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Malone made it clear he didn\u2019t take the job solely to be closer to Bridget as she continues her college volleyball career. The new coach of the Tar Heels worried about invading the space Bridget had made her own after being known as the coach\u2019s daughter for most of her life. He joked about her needing to stay out of the college bars late at night now that she\u2019s once again living close to her high-profile father, but she wanted it this way.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said \u2018Dad, I want you to come,\u2019\u201d Malone shared. \u201cSo, I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
<\/p>\n