University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Lucas: First And Last
April 7, 2026 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Michael Malone was Carolina's first and last call for a new coach, and he sounded like a Tar Heel on his first day.
By Adam Lucas
For someone who consistently painted himself as coming from outside the Carolina Family, Michael Malone sounded an awful lot like a Tar Heel on his first day.
The new Carolina basketball head coach was officially introduced at the Smith Center on Tuesday, a short notice gathering that drew Carolina fans, many current team members, and approximately a dozen former players. The attraction was at least partially curiosity to hear from someone who until yesterday had been a relative unknown to Tar Heels.
As they listened to him talk, however, they should have heard some very familiar sentiments. Early in his remarks, Malone said, "I'm coming from outside the family to be a new member of your family."
But it's possible the new head coach doesn't realize just how much of a Tar Heel he might already be—as you'd probably expect from someone whose father was Brendan Malone, a highly respected coach who spent a lifetime in the game.
Listen to these comments from the younger Malone, who was wearing a DES lapel pin in honor of Dean Smith, and see if they remind you of anyone in particular.
"I shouldn't have to go to practice and motivate every day."
You might recall a certain Hall of Fame coach named Roy Williams frequently reminding his team, "I shouldn't have to coach effort."
Malone also mentioned a belief it sounds like we might hear again over his career as Carolina's head coach: "A lot of teams play with each other. Great teams play for each other."
Reminds you just a little bit of Smith's maxim, "Good people are happy when something good happens to someone else."
And then there's Malone saying he wants his teams to be unselfish: "We were very unselfish in Denver. Don't care who gets the credit. If there's an open man, make the pass. Don't hold the ball. Sharing the ball unites teams."
You might remember that on the first day of every season coached by Roy Williams, the thought for the day at the top of the practice plan was, "It's amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit."
So Malone might have felt like an outsider on Tuesday. He had to meet new people—including a pre-press conference summit with every former player in attendance—learn his way around a new office and get acquainted with a batch of current players he had only seen in passing prior to Tuesday afternoon.
But he sounded very much like he belonged.
Here's the thing, though: Carolina didn't hire him to play a role. He's going to do some things that feel familiar to Tar Heels. When he talked about the way he wants his teams to play the game—"We are going to play at a fast pace and attack before they get set. I don't want to play half-court basketball. We'll be able to do it, but my goal is to get out and run and attack"—it sounded exactly like Carolina basketball.
But again: he wasn't hired to play the role of what he thinks a Carolina basketball coach should be. He was hired to be Michael Malone, and the Queens native showed off a little of the plainspoken approach that will be his hallmark when he discussed his predecessor.
Near the end of the press conference, Malone was asked specifically about Hubert Davis. This is always an incredibly awkward moment in any otherwise celebratory press conference. We all understand why we are there. Someone had the job and doesn't have it anymore. Someone new is here. The most frequent strategy is to give it as cursory a mention as possible, show some respect, and then move on.
Malone, as we're likely to find out in the months to come, doesn't seem to believe in avoiding hard conversations. That's true even in his word choice, as he referred to himself as getting fired in Denver and also referenced Davis getting fired in Chapel Hill. The common vernacular is to avoid that word at all costs. There was a leadership change or the parties parted ways. But it's what happened, and so that's what Malone said.
"Hubert Davis was so, as Coach Williams would say, dadgum passionate"—oh Coach Malone, we love it when you say dadgum—"about North Carolina. Here's a guy putting everything into this program and these players. He's a special person, and in this business this is part of it. You don't get to see it through all the time. I look forward to reaching out to Hubert and connecting with him. What he taught me is that you treat this place with respect and a regard for all those who came before you. And Hubert lived that every single day."
In that one single paragraph, which prompted applause from the fans and players in attendance, Malone might have done more healing of the Carolina fan base than anything else that happened over the last week. He didn't avoid the difficult conversation. He acknowledged the human being who came before him and showed empathy. He likewise acknowledged he is here to work and restore some shine to the program. Earlier in the day, he mentioned Carolina hasn't won the ACC Tournament since 2016 or the NCAA championship since 2017. "That's way too long ago for Carolina and the standards of excellence this program is about," Malone told us when he sat in the Carolina Insider studio on Tuesday afternoon for his first interview as the UNC head coach.
After 24 hours, it's easy to understand why Steve Newmark said Malone was the first coach the search committee called…and also the last. He's saying things we know represent Carolina basketball, but in a new enough way to be exciting.
In the course of that interview in the studio, Malone said the following:
"I love guys who play hard."
"I love guys who have a high IQ."
"I want my team to be selfless. Get over yourself."
Yes, you know exactly what he means. He wants to play hard, play smart and play together. The same goals—our goals, for nearly 70 years. An old philosophy, said in a fresher way, by a new face.
But it all feels mighty familiar.
For someone who consistently painted himself as coming from outside the Carolina Family, Michael Malone sounded an awful lot like a Tar Heel on his first day.
The new Carolina basketball head coach was officially introduced at the Smith Center on Tuesday, a short notice gathering that drew Carolina fans, many current team members, and approximately a dozen former players. The attraction was at least partially curiosity to hear from someone who until yesterday had been a relative unknown to Tar Heels.
As they listened to him talk, however, they should have heard some very familiar sentiments. Early in his remarks, Malone said, "I'm coming from outside the family to be a new member of your family."
But it's possible the new head coach doesn't realize just how much of a Tar Heel he might already be—as you'd probably expect from someone whose father was Brendan Malone, a highly respected coach who spent a lifetime in the game.
Listen to these comments from the younger Malone, who was wearing a DES lapel pin in honor of Dean Smith, and see if they remind you of anyone in particular.
"I shouldn't have to go to practice and motivate every day."
You might recall a certain Hall of Fame coach named Roy Williams frequently reminding his team, "I shouldn't have to coach effort."
Malone also mentioned a belief it sounds like we might hear again over his career as Carolina's head coach: "A lot of teams play with each other. Great teams play for each other."
Reminds you just a little bit of Smith's maxim, "Good people are happy when something good happens to someone else."
And then there's Malone saying he wants his teams to be unselfish: "We were very unselfish in Denver. Don't care who gets the credit. If there's an open man, make the pass. Don't hold the ball. Sharing the ball unites teams."
You might remember that on the first day of every season coached by Roy Williams, the thought for the day at the top of the practice plan was, "It's amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit."
So Malone might have felt like an outsider on Tuesday. He had to meet new people—including a pre-press conference summit with every former player in attendance—learn his way around a new office and get acquainted with a batch of current players he had only seen in passing prior to Tuesday afternoon.
But he sounded very much like he belonged.
Here's the thing, though: Carolina didn't hire him to play a role. He's going to do some things that feel familiar to Tar Heels. When he talked about the way he wants his teams to play the game—"We are going to play at a fast pace and attack before they get set. I don't want to play half-court basketball. We'll be able to do it, but my goal is to get out and run and attack"—it sounded exactly like Carolina basketball.
But again: he wasn't hired to play the role of what he thinks a Carolina basketball coach should be. He was hired to be Michael Malone, and the Queens native showed off a little of the plainspoken approach that will be his hallmark when he discussed his predecessor.
Near the end of the press conference, Malone was asked specifically about Hubert Davis. This is always an incredibly awkward moment in any otherwise celebratory press conference. We all understand why we are there. Someone had the job and doesn't have it anymore. Someone new is here. The most frequent strategy is to give it as cursory a mention as possible, show some respect, and then move on.
Malone, as we're likely to find out in the months to come, doesn't seem to believe in avoiding hard conversations. That's true even in his word choice, as he referred to himself as getting fired in Denver and also referenced Davis getting fired in Chapel Hill. The common vernacular is to avoid that word at all costs. There was a leadership change or the parties parted ways. But it's what happened, and so that's what Malone said.
"Hubert Davis was so, as Coach Williams would say, dadgum passionate"—oh Coach Malone, we love it when you say dadgum—"about North Carolina. Here's a guy putting everything into this program and these players. He's a special person, and in this business this is part of it. You don't get to see it through all the time. I look forward to reaching out to Hubert and connecting with him. What he taught me is that you treat this place with respect and a regard for all those who came before you. And Hubert lived that every single day."
In that one single paragraph, which prompted applause from the fans and players in attendance, Malone might have done more healing of the Carolina fan base than anything else that happened over the last week. He didn't avoid the difficult conversation. He acknowledged the human being who came before him and showed empathy. He likewise acknowledged he is here to work and restore some shine to the program. Earlier in the day, he mentioned Carolina hasn't won the ACC Tournament since 2016 or the NCAA championship since 2017. "That's way too long ago for Carolina and the standards of excellence this program is about," Malone told us when he sat in the Carolina Insider studio on Tuesday afternoon for his first interview as the UNC head coach.
After 24 hours, it's easy to understand why Steve Newmark said Malone was the first coach the search committee called…and also the last. He's saying things we know represent Carolina basketball, but in a new enough way to be exciting.
In the course of that interview in the studio, Malone said the following:
"I love guys who play hard."
"I love guys who have a high IQ."
"I want my team to be selfless. Get over yourself."
Yes, you know exactly what he means. He wants to play hard, play smart and play together. The same goals—our goals, for nearly 70 years. An old philosophy, said in a fresher way, by a new face.
But it all feels mighty familiar.
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