Michael Malone is already working to fill out his staff.

According to reports from both Inside Carolina and college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, Malone and UNC are hiring Arkansas assistant Chuck Martin to be the Tar Heels’ associate head coach.

This will not be the first time Martin and Malone have sat on the same bench. The two worked together at Manhattan University in the 1999-2000 season before going their separate ways. Martin would then go on to work for UMass (2000-01), Drexel (2001-04) and St. John’s (2004-06).

Martin began to enjoy tremendous success when he joined the staff at Memphis in 2006, the first of three collaborations with then-Tiger head coach John Calipari. From 2006 to 2008, Memphis won 71 out of 77 games, reached the 2008 national championship game and produced NBA No. 1 pick Derrick Rose.

Martin took the head coaching job at Marist in 2008 and stayed there five seasons. He was fired in 2013 after winning just 41 games across those five seasons. He later worked for the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder (2013-14) before returning to the college ranks at Indiana (2014-17), South Carolina (2017-22) and Oregon (2022-23). He reunited with Calipari at Kentucky for the 2023-24 season and served as both assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Martin helped Calipari’s Wildcats build a 2024 class ranked No. 2 in the nation.

Martin followed Calipari to Arkansas, where he spent the previous two seasons. The Razorbacks have reached back-to-back Sweet 16s in the NCAA Tournament and secured the services of highly-ranked recruits, including SEC Player of the Year and first team All-American Darius Acuff in 2025. Both of Arkansas’ recruiting classes under Calipari and Martin ranked in the nation’s top five.

The program has not yet confirmed Martin’s hiring, nor has it divulged any information as to the futures of the remaining assistants from former head coach Hubert Davis’ staff. In an interview with the Carolina Insider Podcast, Antawn Jamison (who served on the committee which worked to hire Malone) expressed confidence that assistants Sean May and Pat Sullivan would return. Marcus Paige has already been named an assistant at Charlotte.

 

Featured image via Todd Melet

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.

Related Stories
‹
Report: UNC Men's Basketball Hiring Former Tar Heel Brandon Robinson to Staff
According to a report from Inside Carolina, former UNC men’s basketball player Brandon Robinson is set to join head coach Michael Malone’s staff in Chapel Hill for the upcoming season. Robinson played four years in Chapel Hill and was a freshman on UNC’s 2016-17 national championship team. He played in 130 total games during his […]
Former LSU Signee Kevin Thomas Commits to UNC Men's Basketball
Kevin Thomas, a four-star recruit who initially signed with LSU but decommitted in March, has now committed to head coach Michael Malone and UNC. View this post on Instagram Thomas, a 6-foot-6 wing from Fort Lauderdale, FL, committed to and signed with LSU last fall. But following the Tigers’ firing of head coach Matt McMahon, […]
Freshmen, Transfers and More: Every Newcomer Joining UNC Men's Basketball for the 2026-27 Season
As Michael Malone embarks on his first season as the head coach of the UNC men’s basketball program, he’s gotten busy securing the additions of several newcomers to the program. Malone and his staff have mined from traditional high school recruiting and the transfer portal to fill out Carolina’s roster, and that work is continuing […]
Report: UNC Men's Basketball Hiring Bryan Tibaldi as Assistant Coach
According to a report from Inside Carolina, Bryan Tibaldi, who spent the 2025-26 season as an assistant coach at Providence, will join head coach Michael Malone’s UNC staff in the same position. Prior to arriving at Providence, Tibaldi had spent several years in the Cleveland Cavaliers organization in the NBA. Cleveland initially hired Tibaldi as […]
Report: Former Tar Heel Deon Thompson to Join UNC Men's Basketball Coaching Staff
According to a report from Inside Carolina Tuesday morning, former player Deon Thompson is set to join UNC men’s basketball head coach Michael Malone’s staff in Chapel Hill. Thompson was a four-year standout for the Tar Heels, appearing in 152 games, starting 113 and helping UNC win the 2009 national championship. Playing alongside Tyler Hansbrough […]
Multiple UNC Teams Post Perfect Academic Progress Rates, New Report Says
Several UNC sports programs posted perfect single-year and multi-year academic progress rates for the 2024-25 academic year, according to the NCAA’s latest report. Academic progress rate (APR) is used to track performance of scholarship students who compete on varsity teams, and the score measures eligibility and retention each semester. A perfect score is 1000, and […]
Chansky's Notebook: Draft Dodgers?
Bill Belichick and Michael Malone have found themselves in the same undesirable dilemma: neither has any draft picks.
Update: Florida Atlantic's Maxim Logue No Longer Expected to Join UNC
Update: Inside Carolina reported Thursday afternoon that Florida Atlantic’s Maxim Logue is “no longer expected” to transfer to UNC this offseason. Breaking: Maxim Logue is no longer expected to transfer to UNC, sources have confirmed. The Florida Atlantic reserve post player's commitment was announced on April 21. Story: https://t.co/eusOm2uKnu pic.twitter.com/tmAiJa0DXu — InsideCarolina (@InsideCarolina) April 30, […]
International Prospect Sayon Keita Commits to UNC Men's Basketball
Sayon Keita, a seven-foot center currently playing with FC Barcelona in Spain, has committed to the UNC men’s basketball program for the 2026-27 season. View this post on Instagram Keita, originally from Bamako, Mali, is currently 18 years old and will arrive in Chapel Hill with multiple years of eligibility. But the belief is he […]
Northwestern's Cade Bennerman Announces Commitment to UNC Men's Basketball
Cade Bennerman, who spent his freshman season at Northwestern, announced his commitment to UNC out of the transfer portal Monday. Bennerman, a seven-foot center, arrived at Northwestern as a three-star recruit out of high school who 247 Sports ranked as the No. 1 player in the state of Tennessee. He was a star at Nashville’s […]
›