North Carolina landed a big fish from the NBA – just not the one everyone thought.
Michael Malone, the former NBA championship-winning coach of the Denver Nuggets, will be named the next head coach for North Carolina, according to multiple reports.
The shocking news comes as Tommy Lloyd apparently rebuffed advances from North Carolina and signed an extension with the Arizona Wildcats.
Many expected Bulls coach Billy Donovan, who won two national titles Florida, to be the favorite with Chicago in the middle of another lost season.
North Carolina fired Hubert Davis after they were shocked by VCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Malone has no prior connection to North Carolina, signaling a complete change in direction for the decorated program.
Donovan won back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007 with the Florida Gators before moving to the Oklahoma City Thunder and later the Bulls.
Malone previously worked as an assistant at Providence College and Oakland University and was the Director of Basketball Operations for Virginia earlier in his career.
Malone was fired by the Nuggets before the playoffs last season after a successful run in Denver.
