The UNC-Duke rivalry demands one thing above all else: victory. As NBA Champion Michael Malone takes the helm at Chapel Hill, he’s wasting no time in letting the Blue Devils know that the standard set by his predecessor in key matchups is the bare minimum he expects to achieve.
“I love rivalries,” Malone said in the introductory press conference. “I’m ready to get into that. Watching that game at home this year, when Seth Trimble hit that corner three my wife and I were jumping around back in Colorado. I mean that sincerely. Our daughter was at the game. She Face Timed me as she was leaving the arena, and just to be a part of that moment, life is about moments. And that’s a moment that all Carolina fans will always remember.”
Even with those key head-to-head wins, the programs have gone in different directions in the last few years. UNC has been bounced from the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years and hasn’t won an ACC Tournament since 2016. On the other hand, Duke has won two regular season and ACC tournament titles while reaching one Final Four. But Michael Malone does not intend to let this trend continue.
“I’m excited to be a part of that rivalry,” Malone said. “I want to add to that rivalry. I want to win, and I know that Duke is a program down the road and they’ve had success. But as I said earlier, I didn’t come here to be second best. I didn’t come here to lose in the first round of the ACC Tournament. I came here to win at a big level, to win at a high level.”
North Carolina hasn’t won the ACC tournament in the last 10 years. They won the Conference title in 2016 and then a National Championship in 2017. Duke, while it has been successful as a program, hasn’t won the National Championship in the last 11 years while the Tar Heels have. From the Duke’s side, the rivalry is well and alive as well.
When legendary Coach K learned that Malone was hired at Chapel Hill, he responded with a cheeky comment. He referenced the failed Bill Belichick experiment after Duke beat UNC in football. A reminder that, lately, the Tar Heels haven’t just been losing almost everywhere.
“Well, they had an NFL champion hired as the coach and Duke beat Carolina in football this year,” he said. The Bill Belichick failure is one of the most talked-about things in college sports and North Carolina needs a firm response to keep the rivalry open. Now, Malone will start rebuilding his roster and bring that NBA style to the program.
Michael Malone Plans To Hire Top-Tier Staff, Aims For “Worldwide” Recruitment
Michael Malone is obviously a top-tier hire. He is the 2023 NBA champion from his time with the Nuggets, winning 510 games in 12 seasons as a head coach. He is the winningest coach in Nuggets history. Malone spent 12 years working as an assistant with the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Hornets, and Golden State Warriors.
Malone is one of the most respected tacticians in the basketball world and has spent the past 10-plus months as an ESPN analyst. He brings a swath of experience and plans to use all his contacts to develop North Carolina basketball.
“We have some players on our roster that are currently in the portal. We’re going to talk to them more about that in the coming days, and then we’ll look to see what’s available outside… I’m going to surround myself with the best people possible to help me get a better grasp on it so we can attack it,” Malone said. “And as I hire my staff, I want to hire guys that have great contacts, not only in the country, but around the world, so we can continue to bring the best players here and help them develop.”
So far, 7 Tar Heels have entered the transfer portal, including key bench contributor Kyan Evans, Derek Dixon and Jonathan Powell. They have three seniors graduating, including Henri Veesaar and Seth Trimble. Caleb Wilson will most likely be drafted in the NBA. So, there is work to be done for Malone.
