North Carolina legend and former NBA All-Star Jerry Stackhouse, recently opened up about a moment he believed could have brought him back to UNC. When the North Carolina Tar Heels men’s basketball parted ways with Hubert Davis, Stackhouse expected at least a conversation about the head coaching vacancy.
Instead, UNC decided to go in a different direction, hiring Michael Malone who has coached in the NBA but doesn’t have any prior college head coaching experience.
Speaking candidly on The Jim Rome Podcast, Stackhouse revealed that he wasn’t offered an interview at all. For someone who not only played at UNC but also has experience in coaching, the snub hit really hard.
“Being part of the family and then to not have an opportunity to talk about it, I think that was the most disappointing thing for me. They were like, ‘We’re not going to interview you.’” he said.
He pointed to his time at Vanderbilt, where he developed multiple NBA-level players.
“Just from an Xs and Os standpoint and being able to develop guys – guys that didn’t get all the four-star, five-star guys, but we developed them and they became all-league players. Scotty Pippen’s a pro, Aaron Nesmith is a pro. These are guys that I helped to develop while they were there. Saben Lee. So I think those are the things that was disappointing, that I didn’t get a chance to at least state my case for why we shouldn’t have to go out of the family.” he added.
Stackhouse made it clear: he wasn’t asking for the job, just the opportunity to present his vision to the team.
Stackhouse still didn’t take shots at Malone. Rather, he acknowledged Malone’s strengths, and expressed confidence that he could succeed in Chapel Hill.
How Far Will UNC Go in the Next Season
With Malone now in the head coach role, the Tar Heels enter the 2026-27 season with just one starter returning, Jarin Stevenson, and have rebuilt the rest of the roster through transfer additions.
Early projections place UNC around a mid-tier NCAA Tournament seed, with some analysts slotting them as a No. 9 seed entering the season, which is still great considering the current situation.
Integrating new players takes time. Malone also requires adjustment at the college level, where roster turnover and pace differ significantly from the NBA.
If the Tar Heels find rhythm early and Malone successfully translates his pro experience into the college game, UNC can make a deep tournament run
On one side, a new era under Malone. On the other, a lingering “what if” involving one of UNC’s legends who waited for an opportunity that never came.
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