UNC needed a head coach this offseason after it fired Hubert Davis. Long before current head coach Michael Malone came into the picture, there was a drastic push for Billy Donovan to get the job.
Donovan is a two-time NCAA champion and knows his way around college basketball. He most recently served as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls and was in play for the UNC job. Meanwhile, Michael Malone is experienced in the NBA, where he led the Denver Nuggets to a championship, but in college, it was not the case.
Ultimately, UNC Athletic Director Steve Newmark went on to sign Malone. Now, weeks after the decision, Joe Ovies and Matt Norlander discussed Newmark’s decision to hire Malone instead of waiting for Donovan, who was still coaching the Bulls and was downplaying rumors regarding UNC.
The two podcasters believe UNC was right not to wait for Donovan to step away from his job with the Bulls in favor of hiring Malone. Ovies added that Newmark didn’t want to get played since he was the new AD.
“If you are the new AD, if you’re new, if you’re Steve Newmark, you cannot get played,” Ovies said. “You can’t get played by Billy Donovan. And if Malone was a yes and Billy Donovan was a maybe, you’re going to go, Malone every single time.”
Matt Norlander Testifies Optimism in Chapel Hill After UNC Hired Michael Malone
During the same segment, Matt Norlander testified that the spirits in Chapel are high at the moment after the program brought NBA title-winning head coach Michael Malone.
“I’d have a decent amount of optimism right now if I’m a Carolina fan,” Norlander said. “I like the Malone stuff and how it came about. It was really, really fast because I kept getting these no’s from all these college coaches, and you just so happened to have a title-winning NBA coach literally in your building that was there for the taking. Yeah, this could wind up working beautifully.”
Norlander also said that this hiring was nothing like UNC football head coach Bill Belichick. The former New England Patriots head coach failed in his first season and then there were constant controversies around him and his girlfriend Jordon Hudson. However, Norlander claims Malone’s hiring is nowhere the same.
“This has not been Belichick. I’m just telling you from people that have been on the ground there and talked to him from afar. The vibes are very, very high in Chapel Hill,” Norlander added.
The analyst claims the people are actually happy in Chapel Hill after Malone was hired. He will be tasked to take UNC deeper into March Madness after the program failed to advance past the first round in the last two seasons.
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