North Carolina is hiring Mike Malone as its new basketball coach, reports claimed on Monday. However, earlier in the day, the Tar Heels got some bad news about recruiting five-star talent Dylan Mingo.
Earlier on Monday, On3’s Pete Nakos reported that Mingo de-committed from North Carolina to reopen his recruitment. Now, it is believed that several other top programs, including Syracuse, Illinois, UConn, and Miami, are pursuing a move for the Long Island Lutheran High School guard.
Mingo had committed to UNC in February. At the time, Hubert Davis was coaching the team.
However, the Tar Heels fired Davis in March after the team suffered an 82-78 overtime loss to VCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Now, Malone and UNC will face a challenge to lure Mingo back to the program.
The Tar Heels were linked with several candidates after firing Davis. They even reportedly took their time to decide on their next hire.
According to reports, UNC was willing to wait until the culmination of the national championship to target its next coach. However, Malone appears to be the man to replace Davis.
Mike Malone Won the NBA Championship With Denver Nuggets in 2023
Mike Malone was hired as the Denver Nuggets coach in June 2015. He led the franchise to its first NBA championship in 2023.
Malone was fired by Denver in April 2025. He joined ESPN as an analyst just a month after being dismissed by the Nuggets.
Malone also coached the Sacramento Kings for two seasons. He has compiled a 510-394 regular-season record as a coach in the NBA.
Although Malone has served as an assistant coach at the collegiate level, he will become a college basketball head coach for the first time with UNC.
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