Michael Malone, North Carolina to hire Arkansas' Chuck Martin as associate head coach

North Carolina is set to hire Arkansas assistant Chuck Martin as associate head coach, Inside Carolina has confirmed. Inside Carolina first reported Martin as a potential target for new UNC coach Michael Malone.

Martin worked on John Calipari’s staff at Kentucky from 2023-24 and joined him at Arkansas in 2024. He previously served as the head coach at Marist from 2008-13 before working as an assistant at Indiana, South Carolina, Oregon, Kentucky and Arkansas.

From 1999-2000, Martin worked with Malone on the staff at Manhattan. That was Malone’s last college coaching job before making the move to the NBA following the 2000-01 season, and Martin is set to be his first major hire after taking the North Carolina job.

The Manhattan job was Martin’s first at the college level, and he left for UMass in 2000-01. He then worked on the staff at Drexel from 2001-04, at St. John’s from 2004-06 and at Memphis from 2006-08.

In 2008, Martin got his first college head coaching opportunity at Marits, but went 41-117 during his five seasons at the helm. Indiana brought him aboard as an assistant coach from 2014-17 and South Carolina hired him in 2017. In 2021-22, he served as Frank Martin’s associate head coach before a season under Dana Altman at Oregon in 2022-23.

Then, in 2023, Chuck Martin joined Calipari at Kentucky and later followed him to Arkansas. He’ll bring plenty of experience with him to North Carolina as the Tar Heels begin a new era under Malone, the former NBA champion head coach of the Denver Nuggets.

Prior to his time alongside Martin at Manhattan, Malone previously worked on the staff at Oakland under Greg Kampe from 1995-98. After stints with the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Hornets and Golden State Warriors as an assistant, he got his first head coaching opportunity with the Sacramento Kings in 2013. In 2015, Malone became the Denver Nuggets’ head coach and led the franchise to a title in 2023.

As North Carolina went through its search to replace Hubert Davis, who spent the last five years at the helm, Malone’s name was not a hot one in the process. Inside Carolina listed him on its initial Hot Board as a potential candidate outside of the top-tier targets, but the hire seemed to be a bit of a surprise.

North Carolina officially announced Malone as head coach Tuesday, and the school is set to make him one of the highest-paid coaches in college basketball. As Inside Carolina first reported, he agreed to a six-year deal worth $50 million. At $8.3 million on average, his salary will make him the second-highest paid coach in the country behind Kansas’ Bill Self.