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Bill Oram: Amid the damage control, what I’ve heard about the Blazers and Michael Malone is that Tom Dundon tried to set up a call with Malone but was rebuffed because the job is not formally open. Also that Blazers were looking to pay about half of what he got from UNC.
Donovan received interest from multiple organizations while under contract with the Bulls -- from the New York Knicks last offseason and the University of North Carolina during this season -- but maintained his desire to complete the commitment on his contract. Donovan plans to continue his coaching career and will be a viable target moving forward in the NBA landscape, sources said.
After firing Hubert Davis on March 24, UNC quickly identified a top group of candidates: Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, Michigan’s Dusty May and Malone, according to multiple sources familiar with the search. Lloyd and May’s resumes spoke for themselves in terms of modern-era college success. Malone was the relative outlier, or so it seemed. In actuality, he’d spent plenty of time around the program last season when visiting Chapel Hill to see his daughter, Bridget, a member of UNC’s volleyball team.
North Carolina is set to pay new head coach Michael Malone more than $50 million across six years, according to a copy of his contract obtained by ESPN, putting him among the top five highest-paid coaches in the sport. The Tar Heels made the hire of the former Denver Nuggets coach official Tuesday. Malone, whose daughter plays volleyball at UNC, was recommended by a search committee led by executive associate athletic director Steve Newmark and director of athletics Bubba Cunningham, the school said in its statement. The university's board of trustees approved the terms of the hire on Tuesday.
Jake Fischer: After dismissing Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley, sources say Chicago very much hopes to retain head coach Billy Donovan, who remains under contract with the Bulls. Although, with Michael Malone off to UNC, Donovan will be a veteran head coach other NBA teams surely covet for jobs that may and will open shortly. More NBA personnel notes @TheSteinLine here: http://tinyurl.com/4cvpsj9j
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The Tar Heels’ top remaining candidate is Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan, according to multiple people briefed on UNC’s strategy, granted anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the search. North Carolina is aggressively pursuing Donovan, 60, despite his not coaching in college in over a decade. Donovan, who won consecutive national titles at Florida in 2006 and 2007, remains open to the possibility, according to multiple industry sources, but is far from a slam dunk to take the job.
However, Donovan is serious enough about the UNC job that he has already begun discussing his potential staff were he to accept a Tar Heels offer, according to two sources. That staff would likely include several people who were with Donovan at Florida in some capacity, sources said, including at least one who is an active college assistant. Donovan has also called at least one prominent high-major assistant with whom he had no prior ties, a source briefed on the search added. UNC stakeholders believe that Donovan — between his prior college success and his NBA pedigree — would have little trouble luring talent to Chapel Hill, to say nothing of his X’s and O’s acumen.
Billy Donovan didn’t deny interest in the UNC job that opened Tuesday night, when the university parted ways with Hubert Davis. Donovan didn’t come close to doing that. The Chicago Bulls head coach said the correct things on Wednesday evening when asked about his potential interest in being the next University of North Carolina head coach. He stated that he is the head coach in Chicago and discussed focusing on the Bulls’ next stretch of games. He talked about concentrating on a roster that changed dramatically at the February trade deadline.
One of the most coveted and prestigious college coaching jobs in the country is now open. North Carolina has fired head coach Hubert Davis, the school announced on Tuesday, ushering in a new chapter for the legendary blue blood program. Davis spent five seasons at the helm, compiling a 125-54 overall record and making four NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the 2022 national championship game. UNC will pay out the remaining $5.3 million on his contract. “Tonight, I was let go by the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill,” Davis said in a statement on Instagram. “My desire was to continue to coach here. This opportunity has truly been such a blessing. I thank Jesus literally every day for giving me the opportunity, relationships and experiences with the kids and my staff. I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish together. My goal is to coach again in the very near future.”
How do you and Vince compare and contrast? McGrady: I’m a little bit more edgy and raw, and I take the chances that he won’t take. I take those chances, but I’m trying to get him to take a little bit of those chances sometimes. But for me, it’s like we complement each other well, because he comes from an educated background. Mom’s extremely educated. He’s educated going to UNC and graduated from UNC. I’m straight out of the gutter. Highest education in my household was high school. Mine was high school. I never went to college, so to end up in this at the same finish line with the Hall of Fame. Both of us had amazing careers in basketball. Now we’re both on NBC. It really doesn’t matter your background and where you come from. We contrast each other really well.
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Drake Powell’s usage rate in college — or lack of usage — was a red flag for some coming into the draft. But not for Jordi Fernández. The first-round pick is clearly raw, but after Powell looked better than many expected during his first preseason action, Fernández said he wasn’t the slightest bit concerned about the wing’s historically low usage rate at North Carolina. “I wasn’t there [at UNC], and I cannot judge whether it’s positive or negative. But I see [Powell] as an elite on-ball defender, as probably the best athlete of this draft, a player that can run a play on the second side, a very good ball handler,” Fernández said. “He was a point guard when he was in high school I believe, or growing up, so you can see all those things.
His most impressive Nike recruit came before he began working for the sportswear behemoth, though. While an Olympic assistant, Raveling played a pivotal role in Nike signing a young Michael Jordan from the University of North Carolina, helping build a global brand that continues to thrive today. In the 2023 movie “Air,” which tells the story of Nike ultimately persuading Jordan to pick the swoosh, Raveling was played by Marlon Wayans.
You've gone very quickly from like a young guy to a vet in this league. And in a lot of ways, you're kind of the face of the franchise. Like as if felt really quick to you and kind of, do you kind of embrace that responsibility? Tyrese Maxey: I definitely have embraced it for sure. But I was telling somebody that the other day, man, I was like, ‘dude, I don't know what happened, but I could have sworn just a couple, maybe two years ago, I was like the youngest guy in rotation.' Now it's like, I got the phone, I called Justin Edwards and he's like, the first thing he said was like, ‘what's up, Unc?' And I was like, ‘Yooo! No, we're not doing that, dude.' But I've embraced it.
Larry Miller, a two-time ACC player of the year for North Carolina and 2022 inductee in the College Basketball Hall of Fame, has died. He was 79. The UNC athletic department said Miller died Sunday in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. No cause of death was given. An athletic department spokesman said Miller was in hospice care and dealing with medical issues for some time. Miller, a native of Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, was a star forward on coach Dean Smith's first two Atlantic Coast Conference championship and Final Four teams in 1967 and 1968. He earned first-team All-America honors both seasons and was a consensus pick in 1968 along with UCLA's Lew Alcindor, Houston's Elvin Hayes, LSU's Pete Maravich and Louisville's Wes Unseld.