Chansky's Notebook: Draft Dodgers?

Bill Belichick and Michael Malone have found themselves in the same undesirable dilemma: neither has any draft picks.

After his first season as a college football coach, Belichick did not have anyone drafted by the NFL. In seven rounds, the Tar Heels whiffed on the two hundred and fifty-nine players selected. The last time that happened to UNC was in 2016, the year before Mitch Trubisky went No. 2 overall.

The prospects don’t look any better for their new basketball coach after Henri Veesaar declared for the NBA Draft last week. Malone has some nice players coming from the transfer portal. But at this point, none of them is a surefire first-round NBA pick.

That leaves Caleb Wilson, a projected top five pick, and late-first rounder Veesaar as one-and-done, proven post men from the overall 24-9 and 12-6 ACC season.

After a disappointing 4-8 debut, Belichick does not have to dumb down the hype that will be nonexistent, considering a brutal schedule that begins with a rematch against TCU in Dublin, Ireland, and has gone from one of the easiest schedules in the ACC to among the toughest in power five football. Tar Heels will trade games against UCF, Stanford, Cal and Wake Forest for Notre Dame, Pitt, Miami, and Louisville.

Belichick and consigliere Mike Lombardi claim they have a much better roster after spring practice. But they are still breaking in more than 60 young players, including new quarterbacks, only one veteran wide receiver and so-so running backs.

The transfer portal lists Carolina at No. 50 overall, with something called a high adjusted rating – whatever that is – by 247 Sports. Lombardi is responsible for bringing in the transfers and freshmen, and so far he has been a miserable failure.

Belichick acknowledges that they got a slow start after taking the job and were late in scouting freshmen and later getting into the fray with transfers, despite the ballyhoo about the six-time Super Bowl champion coach.

Malone has won an NBA championship since the last of Belichick’s crowns. That has not helped his ability to squirrel away transfers and freshmen to join the program once coached by Hall of Famers named Smith and Williams.

The transfer portal is now closed but there are still players who have gone unsigned, which is good for the future but not an immediate run for this season. Malone may already see the writing on the wall for year one as he talks about the value of developing players and solid students.

Malone and new associate head coach Chuck Martin went to Spain and brought back a 7-foot teenager with talent and upside but who is so raw it may limit his immediate production. There is also big transfer from Northwestern with four years of eligibility left.

The barometer he acknowledges is Duke, which continues to load up on recruits and transfers and seems bent on tweaking the process with 5- and 4-star freshmen and veterans from established programs.

Belichick, meanwhile, seems more interested in biding his time with a program that is paying him $10 million a year and looks like a team with no names and no game.

Featured image via Todd Melet

Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs on 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro during football and basketball seasons.

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Chansky’s Notebook: Draft Dodgers?

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