The North Carolina Tar Heels will introduce Michael Malone as the next head basketball coach on Tuesday night.
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One of the more unconventional moves in recent years places the former NBA championship-winning head coach in Chapel Hill for the foreseeable future. Malone is scheduled to address fans and media along with UNC officials at the Dean E. Smith Center. The event will be at 6 pm ET.
Malone won an NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets in 2023. He is part of the league’s 500-win club between two stops as an NBA head coach.
What channel is Michael Malone’s UNC press conference on today?
Michael Malone’s UNC Press Conference How to Watch
Date: Tuesday, April 7
Time: 6 pm Eastern Time
Dean E. Smith Center – Chapel Hill, North Carolina
TV: ACC Network, ESPN+
Stream: GoHeels YouTube
Live updates, highlights from Michael Malone’s introductory press conference
6:20 pm ET: Malone is asked about the transfer portal. He said there is an effort to test a player save in the portal in the coming days. He will also look elsewhere.
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6:19 pm ET: Malone is asked about understanding the family aspect of UNC. He talked about the 15 former NBA players who attended and knowing they came back for a reason.
6:17 pm ET- There is a ‘DES’ pin on Malone’s suit in honor of Dean Smith, the late legendary UNC basketball coach.
6:16 pm ET: Michael Malone yells at Bill Belichick, who is available for press.
6:14 pm ET- Michael Malone says UNC officials flew to his house on Easter Sunday to seal the deal.
6:13 pm ET: Michael Malone thanks his daughter, Bridget, for not coming to see him play volleyball.
6:11 pm ET- Michael Malone takes the podium. Thank you to the UNC staff and Antawn Jamison and Kenny Smith on the search committee. “I come from outside the family to be part of the family.”
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6:06 pm ET-UNC AD Bubba Cunningham says the program searched for its next head coach in both the NBA and college.
The legendary Roy Williams will be there to usher in the Michael Malone era at UNC.
Malone will become the second-highest-paid coach in college basketball with a 6-year, $50 million contract, according to reports. This puts him just below Kansas’ Bill Self at $8.8 million per year, and probably the highest-paid ACC coach. For UNC to get a coach who was at the highest level of the NBA is a success.
An additional fact: Bridget Malone, Mike’s daughter, is a freshman spiker for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels volleyball team, making this move family-related.
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Malone will be UNC Basketball’s 20th head coach and the first without ties to the program since Dean Smith was hired in 1961.