Fans and media across the basketball world had quite the reaction on Monday as it was reported that North Carolina is planning to hire former NBA coach Michael Malone as its next coach.
Malone has won 510 games as a head coach in the NBA, as well as an NBA Championship with Denver in 2023. However, his time ended abruptly in Denver, as he was fired by the Nuggets just before the start of the playoffs last year.
After Tommy Lloyd and Dusty May announced they were staying at Arizona and Michigan, the Tar Heels had to go a different way.
Here’s the best of the reaction to the news on social media:
Michael Malone is either going to go really great at UNC or it's going to go exceptionally poorly. There will be no in-between, IMO, and he's going to have to hire an awesome staff.
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) April 6, 2026Whoa! As a 90s kid who rocked his UNC Starter jacket as often as I possibly could, I would love to see North Carolina basketball thriving again. And it would be cool to see a bounce back from Michael Malone.And oh, Malone and Bill Belichick in the same athletic department? t.co/37hdBY1c7U
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) April 6, 2026New UNC head coach Michael Malone has not coached in college basketball since 2001.He was an assistant at Manhattan. Interesting hire for the Tar Heels. pic.twitter.com/2yoS9mECsz
— College Basketball Content (@CBBcontent) April 6, 2026With Michael Malone, North Carolina reportedly hired outside of UNC ties for the first time in three-quarters of a century pic.twitter.com/U4uaig0MVg
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) April 6, 2026Imagine if this goes south and then UNC has Bill Belichick and Michael Malone as the faces of their athletic programs…just straight up satirical comedy stuff that nobody would’ve thought of. t.co/cHDTTwXZPO
— ky (LOADED) (@RealKYMuskie) April 6, 2026This was always a name thrown around early in the process, Carolina kicked the tires on top tier college coaches then ultimately decided to go with a proven coach with championship NBA experience. This happened quicker than many expected, helps Malone to hit the ground running… t.co/wHBKgwdz8d
— Tate Frazier (@tatefrazier) April 6, 2026Most schools want the young, hungry, and aggressive head coaches for this new era of college athletics with NILMeanwhile at UNC? It's Bill Belichick and Michael Malone t.co/0E96JZtA0n
— Todd Fuhrman (@ToddFuhrman) April 6, 2026Oh wow!!! I don’t think anybody really saw this coming!Coach Michael Malone is heading to North Carolina.Anxious to see how this works out for the Tar Heels. He’s obviously an elite basketball coach. t.co/Ko6FqEERyt
— Brandon Ramsey (@BRamseyKSR) April 6, 2026Not the NBA coach I expected, but an interesting move that comes with no big buyout and his daughter plays volleyball at UNC. Last worked in college basketball in 2001 — but college ball is pro ball now. t.co/ZTtDQh6VCK
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTuckerCBB) April 6, 2026The last time that Malone coached in college was in 2001 as an assistant at Manhattan. The move is especially shocking because North Carolina has long been known to hire internally, or bring someone in with ties to North Carolina.
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Malone is the first coach in 74 years that North Carolina has hired without any previous ties to the school.
The Tar Heels are bringing Malone in to get the program back competing for national championships. Hubert Davis had North Carolina in the NCAA Championship in his first season in Chapel Hill, but his team has been eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons.
Fans, media react to North Carolina’s reported hiring of Michael Malone Saturday Down South.
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