It's difficult to judge a team after three preseason games. Despite escaping their exhibition slate with a winning record, the North Carolina Tar Heels have concerns amongst their own fan base.
UNC played amazing in its preseason opener, an 88-70 win against a Top-25 USC
team, then followed that up with a 76-58 setback at Indiana. On Tuesday night, North Carolina needed a free throw, late fortune and dominant overtime to beat Charlotte, 89-82.Games now count for the Tar Heels, starting with their season-opener Monday vs. Western Carolina, then continuing November 6 vs. Wofford. If there's one thing UNC fans should already know about Michael Malone, it's that he coaches hard and his players love him.
On a recent Field of 68 podcast appearance,
former North Carolina legend Tyler Hansbrough defended Malone, saying the first-year collegiate head coach can lead his players to another NCAA Tournament appearance.
"There’s nobody that knows X’s and O’s in college basketball, or the game of basketball, better than Michael Malone," Hansbrough said. "You give him a situation, you need a bucket, he’s going to know how to draw it up. He knows how to hide teams’ weaknesses. When you see this team play this year, you’re going to realize how good of a coach Michael Malone is. You can see how hard and how competitive this team is. You can see specific X and O players designed in situations. That’s going to give us an advantage.”
Could North Carolina MISS the tournament this season?! 👀
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) October 27, 2026
"That's ridiculous. We have a world championship coach. There's nobody that knows X's and O's like Michael Malone... He won a championship with Joker, who couldn't guard a bench." - @THANS50
🎥: https://t.co/8aXOGtdo64 pic.twitter.com/dF0FYGGmKN
Hansbrough was First-team All-ACC in each of his four seasons, winning national player of the year honors in 2008, plus leading the Tar Heels' best team of all time to a National Championship in 2009. Hansbrough's NBA career lasted just seven seasons, then he played in the G League and China for a few years, before entering broadcasting in 2021.
If there's anyone whose opinion in Chapel Hill you should listen to, it's Hansbrough, the best collegiate player to even don a UNC jersey. Expect to see Hansbrough in the Dean Dome plenty this fall, when Malone officially starts his first collegiate coaching campaign.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Former UNC basketball legend defends Michael Malone as head coach
