Michael Malone reveals Hubert Davis reached out after taking UNC job: 'This is bittersweet'

After Michael Malone took the North Carolina job this week, he got a message from his predecessor. Hubert Davis reached out, Malone told reporters Tuesday.

Davis allowed the former Nuggets coach to visit multiple UNC practices this past season while he was taking a year away. Malone was let go late in the 2024-25 season and spent this year working as an analyst for ESPN, covering the NBA.

But while visiting his daughter Bridget, who plays for the Carolina women’s volleyball team, Malone was able to attend some basketball practices. He thanked Davis for letting him in the building and also acknowledged the unique feeling of Tuesday’s press conference.

“I have to say this. Hubert Davis let me in,” Malone told reporters. “This is bittersweet. Coach Davis sent me an amazing message yesterday. But he allowed me to come in and watch and be a part of this family, which does not happen very often, if ever.

“I always spent time with the coaches, and as I was rooting them all year long, [Pat Sullivan] and I would talk about, ‘What are you seeing, Coach? What can we do better, what recommendations do you have?’ And I wish I could’ve been better help.”

More on Michael Malone’s hiring at UNC

Michael Malone last coached at the college level in 2001 as an assistant coach at Manhattan after previously working 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.