UNC Basketball Possible coaches - UNC hires ex-Nuggets HC Michael Malone

[fourheels]

I'm calling props now to those who stuck to their guns that we had to make the change. I know I was one who pushed back hard, with grave concerns about how the new coaching search would go (and was going).

Malone is still a risk IMO in not having college ball experience, but everything we're hearing about him and all the immediate moves he's making have been spot on. It's pretty clear that at a bare minimum he will be a step up... which is something I did not feel about a lot of the other candidates who were left. Not to say they couldn't be a big step up, but there were enough question marks about all of them that there would have to be a sizeable leap of faith... much more of one that I think we have with Malone.

We obviously have to wait and see, but I'm feeling pretty good right now that I'll have some crow to eat.

I loved Hubert as a player. His senior year was my freshman year. My S-I-L who was three years behind me at UNC got to know him fairly well through some other UNCBB connections. We bumped into Hubert on campus after he had been in the NBA a few years and they stopped and had an extended conversation.

I really wanted Hubert to work out as head coach, but I just kept seeing the same red flags over and over again, regardless of year and roster. After 5 years, the common denominator was Hubert and the Clemson and VCU games were perfect microcosms of so many things that were problematic during his tenure and. It getting better. It's unfortunate but it was time.

Malone never would have been on my radar as a potential replacement and I was completely shocked at the announcement on Monday. However, stepping back from things and listening to other players as well and Malone's press conference and other interviews, it seems like the planets lined up just right for a potentially incredible hire. He's got an interesting personality but he certainly seems to understand and appreciate the UNC history and the Carolina family. I'm incredibly excited for what the future may hold for Carolina basketball.

 

[stankeylegjones]

 

[rodoheel]

Where will Hubert end up? Coaching somewhere else? Back to TV? Chilling at home counting his money?

I would think the most likely path is analyst work this coming year and then potentially back into the coaching ranks depending on what opportunities he has.

 

[Calheel]

I would think the most likely path is analyst work this coming year and then potentially back into the coaching ranks depending on what opportunities he has.

Given his prior connections with ESPN, that seems like a highly likely outcome

 

[rodoheel]

I'm calling props now to those who stuck to their guns that we had to make the change. I know I was one who pushed back hard, with grave concerns about how the new coaching search would go (and was going).

Malone is still a risk IMO in not having college ball experience, but everything we're hearing about him and all the immediate moves he's making have been spot on. It's pretty clear that at a bare minimum he will be a step up... which is something I did not feel about a lot of the other candidates who were left. Not to say they couldn't be a big step up, but there were enough question marks about all of them that there would have to be a sizeable leap of faith... much more of one that I think we have with Malone.

We obviously have to wait and see, but I'm feeling pretty good right now that I'll have some crow to eat.

This is funny, only because my immediate reaction to the news was to give props to the people who criticized the admin in advance because I really didn't want someone with no college HC experience and the Malone news without him ever moving higher up the IC radar really caught me off guard and seemed like a desperation move. But moving past the initial surprise of the reaction I agree with pretty much everything you say here. It may not mean anything six months from now when we lose a couple games in a row, but right now at least Malone is looking to be a wonderful representative of the university, with much more respect for coming to the college level than Belichick ever showed, and a deep appreciation for the program.

I'm not under any illusion that we've really accomplished anything yet. There is no guarantee this is going to work, or that Malone will be well-suited for this level. But right now I think optimism is the right feeling to have.

 

[rodoheel]

My off the record question for Michael Malone - After day 1 as an outsider coming into Carolina basketball, have you wondered if you may have gotten yourself involved with a cult?

lol!

The question I'd still like to see someone ask him, just to hear his answer (because he comes off as very genuine so far), is what he learned about himself, and how to operate as part of a larger organization, from the way his tenure in Denver ended. I bet we'd get a pretty good answer.

 

[Calheel]

This is funny, only because my immediate reaction to the news was to give props to the people who criticized the admin in advance because I really didn't want someone with no college HC experience and the Malone news without him ever moving higher up the IC radar really caught me off guard and seemed like a desperation move. But moving past the initial surprise of the reaction I agree with pretty much everything you say here. It may not mean anything six months from now when we lose a couple games in a row, but right now at least Malone is looking to be a wonderful representative of the university, with much more respect for coming to the college level than Belichick ever showed, and a deep appreciation for the program.

I'm not under any illusion that we've really accomplished anything yet. There is no guarantee this is going to work, or that Malone will be well-suited for this level. But right now I think optimism is the right feeling to have.

FWIW, Bill showed a lot of respect to UNC in his initial press conference. He brought out his father’s UNC sweatshirt and referenced all the UNC greats of the past - not just LT.

It is easy to show respect and love at the introductory press conference. Bill’s disrespect didn’t manifest itself until much later in the process.

 

[UNCBAdookJD]

Correct . Malone had a 56% winning record... not great but not a losing record

And that includes Malone’s gig with the Kings who have been a horrid franchise for most of their existence.

 

[tallheel95]

lol!

The question I'd still like to see someone ask him, just to hear his answer (because he comes off as very genuine so far), is what he learned about himself, and how to operate as part of a larger organization, from the way his tenure in Denver ended. I bet we'd get a pretty good answer.

THIS. I think some people were trying to get at it at the press conference but it wasn't answered directly. My only hesitation at this point with Malone is in regards to interpersonal skills... I'm just wondering how he views his role in his exit from Denver and if he takes any responsibility there.

 

[rodoheel]

FWIW, Bill showed a lot of respect to UNC in his initial press conference. He brought out his father’s UNC sweatshirt and referenced all the UNC greats of the past - not just LT.

It is easy to show respect and love at the introductory press conference. Bill’s disrespect didn’t manifest itself until much later in the process.

I was talking more about Malone showing respect for the fact that he has things to learn about the college game, not respect for UNC specifically. Belichick and Lombardi very clearly came into college football with the idea that it was the minor leagues and they were going to run circles around the yokels who coach at this level. 33rd NFL franchise and all that crap. And I think that disrespect was, indeed, apparent from the beginning of their tenure.

And Malone is simply a much more genuine person than Belichick is. belichick may have mouthed the words of respect for UNC football but there was no feeling behind them. Seeing Malone so far, not just as his PC but in other interactions, is like night and day compared to Belichick. And he was that way in the interview he did with the Carolina podcast last October too, long before he actually had the job.

 

[rodoheel]

Really?

The family has generational wealth.

Knowing Belichick I would not think it's a given at all that any of his wealth will be going to his kids, haha.

 

[Calheel]

I was talking more about Malone showing respect for the fact that he has things to learn about the college game, not respect for UNC specifically. Belichick and Lombardi very clearly came into college football with the idea that it was the minor leagues and they were going to run circles around the yokels who coach at this level. 33rd NFL franchise and all that crap. And I think that disrespect was, indeed, apparent from the beginning of their tenure.

And Malone is simply a much more genuine person than Belichick is. belichick may have mouthed the words of respect for UNC football but there was no feeling behind them. Seeing Malone so far, not just as his PC but in other interactions, is like night and day compared to Belichick. And he was that way in the interview he did with the Carolina podcast last October too, long before he actually had the job.

Maybe. But it is also easy to misjudge these things by the bias of being in the crush stage. You tend to give a new girlfriend/boyfriend the benefit of the doubt in the first few months. Everything is filtered through loving eyes.

Bill is like the deadbeat boyfriend who has been sleeping during the day the last year.

 

[SnoopRob]

Ha. I thought the same thing about Wanda. She didn’t look like she was in the mood for nana pudding.

On the day Roy retired...

Roy: "I think I'm going to enjoy retirement and not having to worry about recruiting and leading the team anymore."

Wanda: "I'm excited. I'm ready to do all that travel we've always talked about. And maybe we can go somewhere warm for the winter!"

Roy: "What do you mean? I still plan to go to every game."

Wanda:

 

[hedge]

the Malone news without him ever moving higher up the IC radar really caught me off guard and seemed like a desperation move

I think this is more of a reflection (I won't say indictment) on the IC radar than on Malone. I mean one dude in here was guaranteeing it was going to be Brad Stevens (I assumed everything he was saying in here was coming directly from IC). The other candidates were just the obvious choices, i.e., currently highly successful college coaches and some less successful ones with a record of steady improvement as the second tier candidates. Throw in a curveball option (besides Stevens) of Donovan and anybody who even marginally follows college hoops could've put that list together but it took on some kind of holy grail significance b/c some dudes at IC stating the obvious.

Granted, it appears that Malone was approached and gently rebuffed us several times (and nyfan did drop a sleeper post mentioning Malone somewhere in there) so maybe "the insiders" at IC (or wherever) weren't mentioning him b/c they knew he was unlikely to come, but you'd think if anybody knew we had asked the guy multiple times, esp after being rebuffed, one of those IC "insiders" would've mentioned it. Basically today's fan (myself included, obviously) seems to expect that they should be privy to every molecule of "information" out there, but clearly somebody kept this one buttoned up pretty tight from the beginning. I guess I'm saying (and not calling out rodo here at all) that just b/c a move like this caught the average Carolina fan off guard doesn't mean it was a desperation move, it just means we didn't know about every move and thought being had by the people who ultimately made the decision. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, but I think that was what spurred the initial negative reaction rather than anything about Malone himself...

 

[rodoheel]

I think this is more of a reflection (I won't say indictment) on the IC radar than on Malone. I mean one dude in here was guaranteeing it was going to be Brad Stevens (I assumed everything he was saying in here was coming directly from IC). The other candidates were just the obvious choices, i.e., currently highly successful college coaches and some less successful ones with a record of steady improvement as the second tier candidates. Throw in a curveball option (besides Stevens) of Donovan and anybody who even marginally follows college hoops could've put that list together but it took on some kind of holy grail significance b/c some dudes at IC stating the obvious.

Granted, it appears that Malone was approached and gently rebuffed us several times (and nyfan did drop a sleeper post mentioning Malone somewhere in there) so maybe "the insiders" at IC (or wherever) weren't mentioning him b/c they knew he was unlikely to come, but you'd think if anybody knew we had asked the guy multiple times, esp after being rebuffed, one of those IC "insiders" would've mentioned it. Basically today's fan (myself included, obviously) seems to expect that they should be privy to every molecule of "information" out there, but clearly somebody kept this one buttoned up pretty tight from the beginning. I guess I'm saying (and not calling out rodo here at all) that just b/c a move like this caught the average Carolina fan off guard doesn't mean it was a desperation move, it just means we didn't know about every move and thought being had by the people who ultimately made the decision. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, but I think that was what spurred the initial negative reaction rather than anything about Malone himself...

Yeah, I pretty much entirely agree with you. And I wasn't really throwing shade at IC, either - we are just used to them having excellent sources for what's going on with the program. To have a tiered candidate list that they updated frequently and explained in great detail conveyed that it was unlikely something was going to happen that unexpectedly, and that quickly. I will fully admit I was not expecting the national news to break a candidate - one who never made it off the "other names" of IC's board - before IC did.

There are still things about Malone I don't love as a candidate. I would have preferred someone with more, and more recent, college experience. But I really do write off my initial negative reaction mostly to just not having anyone think to try to sell Malone as a real candidate before the news was announced.

 

[SnoopRob]

I think this is more of a reflection (I won't say indictment) on the IC radar than on Malone. I mean one dude in here was guaranteeing it was going to be Brad Stevens (I assumed everything he was saying in here was coming directly from IC). The other candidates were just the obvious choices, i.e., currently highly successful college coaches and some less successful ones with a record of steady improvement as the second tier candidates. Throw in a curveball option (besides Stevens) of Donovan and anybody who even marginally follows college hoops could've put that list together but it took on some kind of holy grail significance b/c some dudes at IC stating the obvious.

Granted, it appears that Malone was approached and gently rebuffed us several times (and nyfan did drop a sleeper post mentioning Malone somewhere in there) so maybe "the insiders" at IC (or wherever) weren't mentioning him b/c they knew he was unlikely to come, but you'd think if anybody knew we had asked the guy multiple times, esp after being rebuffed, one of those IC "insiders" would've mentioned it. Basically today's fan (myself included, obviously) seems to expect that they should be privy to every molecule of "information" out there, but clearly somebody kept this one buttoned up pretty tight from the beginning. I guess I'm saying (and not calling out rodo here at all) that just b/c a move like this caught the average Carolina fan off guard doesn't mean it was a desperation move, it just means we didn't know about every move and thought being had by the people who ultimately made the decision. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, but I think that was what spurred the initial negative reaction rather than anything about Malone himself...

1) If by the "one dude in here was guaranteeing it was going to be Brad Stevens" you mean theel4life, you have to realize that he's an idiot and he may very well have been making up everything he was posting.

2) IC had Malone on the "others in the mix" list, but they never said or implied he was near the top of the list. It seems as if the real Gs of the hiring committee moved in silence like lasagna and it didn't get out Malone was a high-level candidate.

 

[rodoheel]

Maybe. But it is also easy to misjudge these things by the bias of being in the crush stage. You tend to give a new girlfriend/boyfriend the benefit of the doubt in the first few months. Everything is filtered through loving eyes.

Bill is like the deadbeat boyfriend who has been sleeping during the day the last year.

I understand that, and we have already talked about the inclination to get excited about any new hire. But I can promise you there was no stage at all where I felt as positive about Belichick as I do about Malone right now. I was dead set against it from Day 1, and we saw all the warning flags from Day 1. As I said, it's no guarantee at all that things will go well with Malone. But I don't think it's just a filter telling me that Malone is clearly more willing to admit what he doesn't know about the college game than Belichick ever did. And we already see far more of a commitment to surrounding himself with people who know the college game than we ever saw from Belichick.

 

[hedge]

It seems as if the real Gs of the hiring committee moved in silence like lasagna

As real G's tend to do (I say that like I know what that phrase means. Never heard it before, but rest assured I will be using it)...

 

[NYCBlueBlood]

This is funny, only because my immediate reaction to the news was to give props to the people who criticized the admin in advance because I really didn't want someone with no college HC experience and the Malone news without him ever moving higher up the IC radar really caught me off guard and seemed like a desperation move. But moving past the initial surprise of the reaction I agree with pretty much everything you say here. It may not mean anything six months from now when we lose a couple games in a row, but right now at least Malone is looking to be a wonderful representative of the university, with much more respect for coming to the college level than Belichick ever showed, and a deep appreciation for the program.

I'm not under any illusion that we've really accomplished anything yet. There is no guarantee this is going to work, or that Malone will be well-suited for this level. But right now I think optimism is the right feeling to have.

Yeah, I won't lie. My immediate reaction was not a positive one. It's amazing what 48 hours can do.

At first glance, this hire looked like everything I had feared... publicly blown off by all our top picks. Our secondary picks start reaching out proactively to take their names off the list... then out of the blue we announce some guy I did not even recall being on any list (though in truth he had been on lists from the start... just way down).

It came across as a panic pick when it became clear BD was using us like Lloyd had, and we decided to stem the bleeding and get somebody for cheap (I know he did not end up cheap, but the initial story was about no buyout).

But honestly, I feel positive and relived right now... something I could not have imagined 48 hours ago.

 

[Calheel]

1) If by the "one dude in here was guaranteeing it was going to be Brad Stevens" you mean theel4life, you have to realize that he's an idiot and he may very well have been making up everything he was posting.

2) IC had Malone on the "others in the mix" list, but they never said or implied he was near the top of the list. It seems as if the real Gs of the hiring committee moved in silence like lasagna and it didn't get out Malone was a high-level candidate.

may?