The University of North Carolina has reportedly made a surprising move to replace fired head coach Hubert Davis by hiring former Denver Nuggets head coach and NBA champion Michael Malone, according to ESPN.
Malone, 54, has extensive NBA head-coaching experience but has never been a head coach at the collegiate level. His hiring mirrors UNC's previous appointment of football coach Bill Belichick, another professional legend without college head-coaching experience.
Malone's NBA career peaked when he led the Nuggets to their first championship in 2023. Despite this success, he was surprisingly fired by Denver late in the 2024-25 regular season and spent this past season as a broadcaster for ESPN.
At UNC, Malone faces the immediate challenge of navigating the opening of the college basketball transfer portal and the long-term task of restoring the program to national championship contention, a standard set under former coach Roy Williams.