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It’s all about power and explosiveness for Caleb Wilson. He plays with terrific bend and balance as a driver. Combine that with his strength and leaping ability, and you get a special player who can dominate at the rim. The further into the cycle we get, the more I hear from scouts who see Wilson in the same group as Peterson, Dybantsa and Boozer, with some even ranking him as a top-three player in the class. It didn’t hurt Wilson’s case that he outperformed all three of those players when North Carolina played them this season (in Dybantsa’s case, in the preseason, but still).
While his exact spot won’t be clear until after the Draft Lottery, once each pick is determined, some teams value the high-flying North Carolina freshman above the more ground-bound Cam Boozer from Duke. Others view Wilson as having similarly high upside as Kansas guard Darryn Peterson with dramatically lower downsides due to Peterson’s availability concerns.
Patrick Ewing on playing against Michael Jordan: You know he was good. You know he was athletic. You know he was talented. So we played in the McDonald's games together. I also visited North Carolina when he was at North Carolina. He had already committed but I think they brought him back just to talk me into coming to North Carolina. There were other guys that I thought might have been better than him at that time but the thing that that separated him from a lot of people is that belief. He had a belief in himself. He had a drive and I think also the athleticism. I think all that separated him from everybody else.
New Balance executive Chris Davis: If you look at the NBA, I’m pretty sure we have seven or eight All-Stars, starting with Kawhi (Leonard) to Zach LaVine, Tyrese Maxey, Jamal Murray, Dejounte Murray, Darius Garland, and then enter Cooper Flagg. In this year’s draft, we have Caleb Wilson, who is a star freshman from North Carolina and will be a top-five pick. And then as a senior in high school, we have Jordan Smith Jr., who’s the top recruit in the country going into the NCAA; he’s committed to Arkansas. So that’s what the basketball landscape looks like.
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.
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"I think he's going to do a really good job because he can coach the guys and teach them how to play the game the right way." "I'm happy for him." Nikola Jokic on Michael Malone taking the North Carolina job
Bennett Durando: Nikola Jokic: "I think it's a little bit different ... But he definitely has the poise and the brain to do it. I think he's gonna do a really good job because he can actually coach the guys. He's gonna have time to coach the guys and teach them how to play the game the right way"
Bennett Durando: Jamal Murray: “Shoutout to Coach Malone. I think he’ll be great. I think he’ll be a great college coach. I think his daughter is there as well. So I think it’s a win-win for him, and I think he’ll enjoy his next chapter of his coaching career.”
Jeff Goodman: Billy Donovan wanted to wait until end of season to make a decision on North Carolina and one source close to Donovan felt as though he might have taken it. But source said that new North Carolina AD Steve Newmark panicked after Tommy Lloyd and Dusty May spurned the Tar Heels.
Pete Thamel: Sources: North Carolina intends to hire longtime NBA coach Michael Malone as the school’s next basketball coach. He’s an NBA Championship coach with the Denver Nuggets from the 2022-23 season and has won 510 games as an NBA head coach.
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Joe Tipton: NEWS: NC State guard Matt Able will enter the @TransferPortal and declare for the NBA Draft while maintaining his eligibility, source told @On3. The 6-6 freshman averaged 9.2 points per game in ACC play, shooting over 37% from three. Scored 19 points against North Carolina earlier this season and is a former top-20 recruit.
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.
One major sticking point has been Donovan’s desire to remain with Chicago through the end of the NBA regular season on April 12 — five days after the transfer portal opens, which would seemingly put him at a major disadvantage in building his first UNC roster. Additionally, while industry sources told The Athletic that Donovan has multiple years remaining on the contract extension he signed with the Bulls last summer, there is some industry chatter about Donovan potentially looking at different NBA openings this summer instead, with double-digit professional vacancies a possibility.
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.