How head coach Michael Malone was welcomed by the ‘Carolina family’ at UNC

Long before incoming UNC athletic director Steve Newmark made multiple calls and attempts to woo Michael Malone to Chapel Hill — going so far as to fly from Indianapolis to Malone’s house on Easter Sunday — Malone joined a UNC recruiting call on June 15, 2023.

The call wasn’t for him. It wasn’t with anyone connected to North Carolina basketball.

This was a call between his daughter Bridget and UNC volleyball coaches Mike Schall and Rachel Ferguson. And it was almost postponed.

“We set up a call that morning,” Schall told The News & Observer, “and (Bridget) got back to us and said, ‘It’s the parade today.’”

As in the Denver Nuggets championship parade. The one with an estimated 750,000 people packed into the streets. The one where head coach Michael Malone, fresh off leading the franchise to its first NBA title, gave an emotional speech, but also chugged a White Claw tossed from the crowd — all while wearing a shirt that read, “Put that in your pipe and smoke it,” with an image of the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

And still, later that day, Bridget logged on with Schall’s staff.

“Next thing you know, Michael jumps on screen and starts talking,” Schall said. “He went into full dad mode. He really wanted to learn more about our program.

“It was pretty cool that he goes from winning an NBA championship … and then he gets on a recruiting call with his daughter. I think that says all you need.”

That moment — equal parts spectacle and sincerity — has followed Malone to Chapel Hill. It shows, in many ways, the connective tissue between the NBA résumé that made him an unconventional hire and the relationships that ultimately made him the choice.

It all came to a head Tuesday night at the Dean E. Smith Center, where UNC introduced Malone as its next men’s basketball coach — and its first hire from outside the North Carolina coaching tree since Frank McGuire took the helm in 1953.

“I’m not from North Carolina. I didn’t play here,” Malone said. “I’m coming from outside of the family to be a new member of the family.”

But, in some ways, Malone is already part of the circle. Before earning the “Carolina family” endorsement — which is well underway — he already had the one that mattered most.

“I’m thrilled,” Bridget, now a freshman outside hitter at UNC, told the N&O. “For me, for our family, I feel like this is a dream come true.”

‘A lot of chaos’

There was plenty said Tuesday evening.

About banners and icons. About culture and expectations. About what UNC basketball has been — and what it must become again.

“There’s been a lot of chaos,” former athletic director Dick Baddour told the N&O before Malone was introduced. “Some of it around Carolina basketball, around other things about Carolina athletics, about the university.”

Malone inherits a program at an inflection point.

Hubert Davis’ abrupt firing, with no clear succession plan, put pressure on UNC to hire someone who could quickly elevate donor engagement. High-profile departures, including Final Four MOP and national champion Elliot Cadeau, added to the unease around Chapel Hill.

The 40-year-old Smith Center, which hosted Malone’s introduction, faces an uncertain future. Relocation plans drew sharp backlash, as did UNC’s communication with the “Carolina family” throughout the process.

Athletics leadership is in transition. Longtime AD Bubba Cunningham is stepping down, with Newmark set to take over this summer. All of this has unfolded alongside unprecedented investment in UNC football under Bill Belichick, which produced a 4–8 debut season.

And so on Tuesday night, amid the carefully arranged pageantry at the Smith Center — the Carolina blue and white balloon displays, the curated flower arrangements — this was the real backdrop: the unease surrounding the program.

It sets the stage for North Carolina’s pivot to Malone — a hire that, in some ways, mirrors the decision to bring in Belichick from the professional ranks.

But, unlike the football search that led to Belichick’s hiring — which unfolded amid boardroom drama and divided loyalties — the basketball search followed a more conventional path. It was guided by the athletic department, an incoming AD, donors, former players and other UNC basketball dignitaries — all aiming for stability and a clear vision.

“Here, we have an opportunity to get united and pull together,” Baddour said. “I hope, I hope, the institution uses this as a springboard to draw us all together, to draw our community together, in support of this.”

In support of a fresh start with an outsider. In support of a departure from lineage that, upon reflection, may not be so drastic after all.

“I don’t think it was a big deal this time,” said Baddour of hiring outside the proverbial family. “There really wasn’t anybody in the wings... and if you talk to the Carolina family, what you find is, they’re competitive. They’re all competitive. They want to win.”

Cunningham soon underscored that point. Speaking to the crowd Tuesday night, Cunningham joked he had already asked his staff to start moving the banners in the Smith Center rafters to make room for another.

“I don’t want to put any pressure on you,” Cunningham said, gesturing toward Malone, “but they’re starting to move them tomorrow.”

Malone chuckled in the moment, but made it clear he was ready for the challenge.

“I want to win,” Malone said. “And I know that Duke is a program down the road, and they’ve had success. But 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 and win at a high level.”

“And if you’re a competitor, that’s what you want,” Malone continued. “You don’t shy away from that. You don’t run from that. You run towards that. And that’s how I’m wired. That’s in my DNA. And our team’s going to take on that character as well.”

‘So happy you’re here’

They came in waves Tuesday night — the past, present and future of Carolina basketball folding into the same room.

Former players like Tyler Hansbrough and Shammond Williams lingered on the court and shook hands. Former assistants, including Dave Hanners and Eddie Fogler, found their seats near current staff. Members of the 2025-26 roster — headlined by Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar — filled the front rows, watching the introduction of the man who will shape what comes next.

And there, in the front row, sat Roy and Wanda Williams. Roy — perhaps knowingly, perhaps not — wore the same Carolina blue suit and pastel patterned tie he donned five years ago when he announced his retirement.

“Really, I met him for the first time today, but I feel like I’ve known this person for 10 years,” Malone said, turning toward Roy and Wanda. “I really appreciate you guys making the effort to be here today. It means the world to me.”

Malone said he spoke with Williams multiple times during the search process. Each time Malone insisted he was staying in the NBA, the former Nuggets coach reflected further.

“I talked to my wife, Jocelyn,” Malone said, “and I said, ‘You know what? This is North Carolina. This is Roy Williams. This is Dean Smith. This is Coach Guthridge.’ And I wanted to be a part of something so much bigger than me.”

Malone thanked a string of former Tar Heels — including Antawn Jamison, Danny Green and Harrison Barnes — for advocating on his behalf. He had coached several of them in the NBA, some of them for fewer than 30 games. But the relationships endured.

“I never take it lightly when somebody believes in you,” Malone said. “When they endorse you and feel that strong to put their name behind you.”

On Tuesday, that belief was returned in person.

At some point Tuesday, Hansbrough approached Malone, grabbed his arms and delivered a message as direct as any delivered all night.

“I’m so happy you’re here,” he told Malone. “I know we’re going to play hard, and we’re going to be tough.”

Malone thanked him, and the other former players, for their support.

“One of my goals is not just wins and losses, but how can I strengthen that family atmosphere to get guys coming back and help pay it forward?” Malone said. “Because you always want to pay it forward to the guys that are coming next after you. I think we have a great chance to do that.”

‘It’s not easy being my daughter’

For all the voices that helped bring Malone to Chapel Hill, one carried differently.

Malone smiled when the question finally came — the one about his daughter.

“This process went on for maybe around 10 days,” he said. “And she called me up. She goes, ‘Hey, I’m hearing that your name is being mentioned. Do you have any interest?’”

At first, he didn’t. He told her as much.

“And she was like, ‘No, you should do it. You should come. That’d be great,’” Malone recalled.

He joked she just wanted to be near her mother more. Then, his tone shifted.

“I mean this part sincerely — it’s not easy being my daughter,” Malone said. “She was always known as Coach Malone’s daughter.

“No — she’s Bridget Malone.”

At UNC, Bridget had found something different. She had her own space, her own identity.

So, when his conversations with North Carolina heated up, Malone asked Bridget directly: Would this change things? Would his arrival disrupt what she had built?

“I said, ‘Listen, I don’t want to come in here and kind of crash your party,’” Malone said. “You have your thing going on right now.”

Her answer was simple.

“Dad,” she told him, “I want you to come.”

And so he did.

Late Tuesday night, long after the crowd had thinned and the floor cleared, Bridget, her dad, and a small group of her volleyball teammates walked through the tunnels of the Smith Center. They walked together past the weight room and facilities. They strolled past the hardwood displays of championships and former players, and other glimpses of Carolina basketball history. Senior associate Clint Gwaltney walked with them, showing off Malone’s new workplace.

By all indications, Bridget looked happy to have her dad there.

“Our entire lives, it’s been about finding the balance between dad and coach,” Bridget said. “I know basketball is what he loves, and I know spending time with us is something he loves too. Having him here is literally the best of both worlds. I think he’ll do amazing.”

‘This is all about relationships’

Malone ended his last answer to his last question on Tuesday night by saying, “we got work to do.”

As it turns out, Malone had already begun the work earlier in the day.

He met with UNC’s players shortly after arriving in Chapel Hill, making his priorities clear as many of them weigh options in the portal or the pro ranks.

He also gathered that day with former players in his new office. He asked for their input. He listened.

“They all said to me, ‘It’s not like it used to be,’” Malone said.

That holds true for this blue blood program in flux — and for Malone, its new blood hire.

North Carolina spent weeks searching for its next coach and, in the end, the answer arrived with a championship résumé, fresh face and deep respect from the outside looking in.

“I have to balance the delicate balance of being true to the past and honoring tradition, while also having my eyes on the future,” Malone said. “The game is always changing. And so if you see us doing things a little bit differently, it’s OK. Embrace that.”

Bridget welcomed her dad to Chapel Hill first. By the end of Tuesday night, it seemed the rest of the Carolina family had wrapped its arms around him, too.

Staff writer Jane Sartwell contributed to this article

This story was originally published April 8, 2026 at 6:00 AM with the headline "How head coach Michael Malone was welcomed by the ‘Carolina family’ at UNC."