The only person ever to win both an NBA championship and an NCAA championship as a head coach is a member of the world-famous Carolina basketball family.
Larry Brown, who played point guard for the Tar Heels in the early 1960s and served as an assistant coach under Dean Smith in the mid-‘60s, led the Kansas Jayhawks to the NCAA title in 1988, then immediately launched his lengthy NBA coaching career. In 2004, Brown led the Detroit Pistons to the NBA title, completing his unprecedented — and still unmatched — coaching double.
Brown long ago gained entry into both the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
Now UNC fans would love to see the newest member of the Carolina family join Brown in his exclusive club.
Michael Malone, introduced Tuesday as the Tar Heels’ new head coach, already has his NBA championship ring. That came just three years ago, when Malone led the Denver Nuggets to the franchise’s first and only championship during an impressive stretch in which he built seven consecutive playoff teams.
UNC signed Malone to a six-year, $50 million contract, meaning his average annual compensation of $8 million-plus immediately makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in college basketball. A school doesn’t make that sort of high-end investment unless it believes Malone can lead the Tar Heels to consistent high-level success, including — at some point — what would be the program’s seventh NCAA title. That number puts UNC behind only UCLA and Kentucky, two programs that have only one national championship between them since the start of the 21st century. In that same modern period, of course, thanks to Roy Williams, Carolina already has three NCAA titles.
When it comes to Xs and Os, Malone already has received the seal of approval from many members of the Carolina family, including Williams and long-time NBA player Danny Green. Malone drew raves for his offensive creativity as an assistant in Cleveland and as the head coach in Denver, and he also made a name for himself by creating a defense-first mentality with the Nuggets.
In what Carolina fans can hope is a sign of good things to come, Malone already has at least five things in common with Brown. Both are New York City natives, both are former point guards, each had an older family member who was a basketball coach, both sometimes communicate with an unapologetic, in-your-face, veins-bulging, Big Apple-style intensity, and — of course — each has an NBA championship ring as a head coach.
If Malone can eventually join Brown in just one more category — that incredibly rare NBA/NCAA championship double — the new guy clearly will be well worth the investment.
David Glenn is filling in for Art Chansky today, as Art is temporarily out on a medical leave recovering from an accident.
Featured image via Todd Melet
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