Billy Donovan was still a heavy favorite to be the next head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels just one hour before UNC tabbed Mike Malone as their next men’s basketball boss. In fact, Malone wasn’t even on the board early this afternoon, highlighting the fact that UNC’s pick was a big surprise nationally.
Donovan to become the next head coach of North Carolina was trading at 67 cents at Fanatics Markets at 1:30 p.m. ET on Monday. News of the school hiring Malone occurred just a half hour later, around 2 p.m. ET Monday.
Here is what the market looked like just prior to the announcement:
- Billy Donovan Yes 67 cents/No 42 cents
- Mark Byington Yes 20 cents/No 91 cents
- Ben McCollum Yes 13 cents/No 94 cents
- Grant McCasland Yes 10 cents/No 98 cents
- Dusty May 6 cents/No - off the board
- Kenny Smith 6 cents/No - off the board
- Rick Pitino 6 cents/No - off the board
- TJ Otzelberger 6 cents/No - off the board
- Todd Golden 6 cents/No - off the board
- Tommy Lloyd 6 cents/No - off the board
- Mark Few 1 cent/No - off the board
- Nate Oats 1 cent/No - off the board
Brendan Marks of The Athletic posted a story at 1:03 p.m. ET stating Donovan was still UNC’s top remaining candidate.
“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 college in over a decade,” The Athletic piece read.
“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 … 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.”
College hoops reporter Jeff Goodman posted on X at 3 p.m. ET that “Donovan wanted to wait until the end of the [NBA] season to make a decision on North Carolina and one source close to Donovan felt as though he might have taken it. But a source said that new North Carolina AD Steve Newmark panicked after Tommy Lloyd and Dusty May spurned the Tar Heels.”
The NBA regular season is set to conclude this Sunday. Donovan’s Bulls have already been eliminated from the playoff field due to their 29-49 record. Donovan has been head coach of the Bulls since 2020.
Malone is a proven winner at the NBA level, having led the Denver Nuggets to their only NBA championship in 2023. He amassed a 471-327 career record in the pros.
The 54-year-old Malone does not have many ties to North Carolina, although his daughter Bridget Malone is a volleyball player at the university. The surprise hire of Malone showed urgency by North Carolina, with the transfer portal opening at midnight tonight.
This is the second splashy, high-profile head coaching hire by North Carolina in the past 18 months. UNC hired legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick to run their football program in December 2024. Belichick struggled in his first year at the helm with the Tar Heels, going 4-8.