Antawn Jamison, Danny Green help welcome Michael Malone to UNC

For the first time in more than six decades, North Carolina has gone outside the “Carolina family” to hire a men’s basketball coach.

Michael Malone , who has spent the last two-plus decades in the NBA and has little direct connection to the program, is taking over in Chapel Hill. His last college job came in 2001 as an assistant at Manhattan.

Despite his limited ties to UNC, several prominent former Tar Heels have publicly backed the hire. Malone cited the support of three in particular, including Antawn Jamison, who served on the search committee. Their stated priority is restoring the Tar Heels to national prominence, and Malone said he fully understands that mandate.

“I coached Antawn Jamison and Danny Green in Cleveland for 26 games and 21 games,” Malone said. “Think about that. I didn’t coach them for five, six seasons — 26 games. And Antawn Jamison, all these years later, remembers our time together and not only my ability as a coach but how I carried myself and how I demanded and kept guys accountable. That stuck with him.

“So, I see Danny Green — I was working for ESPN this year and we were together a couple of times,” Malone continued. “Just that connection and then what I’ve always marveled at is for players to show up today to introduce themselves to a new coach they don’t even know. Tyler Hansbrough grabbed me by the arm, said, ‘I’m so happy you’re here. I know we’re going to play hard and we’re going to be tough.’ That’s not lost on me. That means the world to me.”

Jamison said he saw firsthand how Malone handled star-powered locker rooms when he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers while Malone was an assistant with the franchise.

"Coach Malone was on the coaching staff when I was with Cleveland. He's an unbelievable coach who knows the game. He's very relatable to his players and was one of the guys on that team who could talk to LeBron and get him on board. A coach has to be able to do that with his superstars and the last guy on the bench, and he could do that."

Despite Malone not being a member of the Carolina family, Jamison believes he will fit well with the program, the university and Chapel Hill.

"He also genuinely embodies all the characteristics of Carolina basketball," Jamison said. "He sat down with us this week and talked about Coach Smith, Coach Guthridge, Matt Doherty, Roy Williams and Hubert Davis. He said he knows what Carolina basketball is about and he wants to continue to do the things that helped get Carolina where it is today and take it into the future."

Those relationships helped drive the hiring process. Malone had visited campus several times in the fall as a guest of then-head coach Hubert Davis and attended multiple practices when came to visit his daughter, Bridget, who is a member of UNC’s volleyball team. He also has coached several former Tar Heels in the NBA, including Jamison and Green.

Malone is the first UNC men’s basketball coach in more than 65 years with no prior ties to the program. When Frank McGuire left North Carolina for the Philadelphia (now Golden State) Warriors, Dean Smith was promoted. Every head coach since then has been Smith himself or one of his former assistants or players.

Malone said he has embraced that challenge.

“I challenged the former players that were in my office,” he said. “‘Yes, I know I’m not a guy that’s been here before. But I want to do everything I can to make sure the former players are coming back.’ Because they said to me, ‘It’s not like it used to be.’

“So, one of my goals — not just on the court, wins and losses — is, how can I strengthen that family atmosphere and get guys coming back? And help pay it forward because you always want to pay it forward to the guys that are coming next after you. I think we’re going to have a great chance to do that.”

Ultimately, Malone knows the surest way to win over skeptics is to win games. His attention now turns to building a championship-caliber roster.

The transfer portal opened Tuesday, and UNC has already seen players depart. The Tar Heels must also identify key additions for the 2026-27 season. How Malone reshapes the roster — and how his team-building vision takes hold — will be closely watched.

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: Former Tar Heels back Michael Malone as UNC