Michael Malone began his press conference by pointing out what might be Carolina’s biggest liability this season.
UNC’s basketball coach, who has a strong reputation for toughness, didn’t mince words after his team’s 76-58 loss at Indiana Sunday. Yes, it was only an exhibition, but Malone signaled out be the biggest problem for his first edition Tar Heels.
“Any time you get out-rebounded 53-31,” he told reporters in Indianapolis, “that’s a crazy number. And to give up 20 offensive rebounds for 17 points… That was a point of emphasis all week in preparation for the team. To be manhandled and outworked on the glass, I was disappointed.”
There were other issues of course — such as Jarin Stevenson going 1-for-7 from three-point range after scoring 25 points in the exhibition opener against Southern Cal. The Trojans played without three regulars and led by two points at halftime before the Heels buried them with a great second-half. Stevenson, who social media has been predicting for a breakout season, looked a different man on Sunday and scored only those three points in 26 minutes against the rugged Hoosiers. But neither team scored well from the field, so the rebounding differential is something glaring that Malone has to deal with.
Carolina needs to get center Cameron Fens eligible by the NCAA, as his court case in Tennessee trying to litigate a fifth-year of college ball appears to be dead. Fens is a 7-foot, 250-pound graduate transfer from South Dakota and would bolster UNC’s current starting frontcourt of Stevenson and freshman Sayon Keita, who is 7-foot-1 but only 205 pounds. Keita is über talented as a shot blocker and rebounder, and showed that off against IU (5 blocks, 9 rebounds). Besides Stevenson’s 3 rebounds, starting guards Matt Able and Terrence Brown had 4 and 3 respectively. Fens is literally a big body that would give Carolina more presence up front and perhaps help more with role definition.
We have seen Malone coach from afar — so how he handles a 28-point loss after an 18-point win will be interesting. Former pro players say he can be demanding, and we will see how that translates to college basketball. The last preseason exhibition against Charlotte and opening regular season games likely won’t tell us much. Playing Western Carolina, Wofford, Wyoming, Georgia, Marshall, Monmouth and West Virginia with a new coach might yield a good record by the end of November. But December begins serious basketball against Arkansas, Butler and Georgetown followed by N.C. State in Greensboro and the CBS Sports Classic against Kentucky in New York, all better indications about how Malone is figuring out college basketball.
There is talent on UNC’s team, for sure. But with 11 new players on the roster, those December games will show if the pieces fit together and be a better barometer if currently unranked Carolina can be a contender in the ACC.
It was a challenge playing IU at legendary Assembly Hall under new coach Darian DeVries, who perhaps had an axe to grind with UNC. DeVries moved to Bloomington from West Virginia after the Mountaineers were the first team left out of the 2025 NCAA tournament and UNC received a bid to the First Four in Dayton. Carolina’s former athletic director Bubba Cunningham was in that kerfuffle as the chairman of the NCAA tournament selection committee. Although Cunningham had to recuse himself from voting on the Tar Heels, many people believed he influenced their at large entry after they went 1-12 in Quadrant 1 games compared to West Virginia’s 6-10 record. It didn’t help Cunningham’s credibility as he received a contractual bonus of about $68,000 when UNC reached the tournament, raising further questions about a conflict of interest.
Did DeVries use that fact to help Sunday’s win? Maybe. But the rebounding numbers are clear why Indiana was more competitive than Carolina and the season could be challenging if Malone’s Heels can’t effectively crash the glass.
Featured image via UNC Athletics Communications/Carolina Basketball on X.
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs on 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro during football and basketball seasons.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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