WEBVTT - Mac & Bone - Michael Malone Interview

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<v Speaker 1>He is the first year coach of UNC basketball. A

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<v Speaker 1>man that Jaron Stevenson said the word to describe him

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<v Speaker 1>is intense. He is Michael Malone. Coach, how you doing?

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<v Speaker 1>What's going on?

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<v Speaker 2>I'm intense, man. I'm intense.

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<v Speaker 1>I respect that. I do, and I think he did too.

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<v Speaker 1>The way he talked about you, I think he respects

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<v Speaker 1>the intensity. Coach, what has it been like coaching these

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<v Speaker 1>young bucks? I know I was a young knucklehead in college.

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<v Speaker 1>You would have yelled at me. I know that. What's

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<v Speaker 1>it like from going grown men in the NBA to

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<v Speaker 1>these young guys? How's it been?

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<v Speaker 3>I think it's an adjustment. You go from coaching 25-,

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<v Speaker 3>30-year-olds guys with families, wives, and kids, and now you're

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<v Speaker 3>coming into a situation where you are coaching every day

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<v Speaker 3>and pouring into 17, 18, 19-year-old kids, and that's not

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<v Speaker 3>lost on me. My job responsibility has changed. I have

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<v Speaker 3>to make sure I show up every day and not

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<v Speaker 3>just from a coach's perspective in terms of helping them offensively, defensively,

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<v Speaker 3>be the best players that they can be, but also

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<v Speaker 3>pouring into them and helping them continue to develop as

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<v Speaker 3>young men who can every single day represent this great

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<v Speaker 3>program in a positive light.

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<v Speaker 4>Coach, we're in a time and space in the college

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<v Speaker 4>sports world where we're seeing a lot of coaches that

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<v Speaker 4>don't want to be a part of it. We know

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<v Speaker 4>the names of the college basketball coaches, college football coaches.

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<v Speaker 4>They go other places because of the way the sport

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<v Speaker 4>is going. You've won a championship in the NBA. You're

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<v Speaker 4>a lifespan in the NBA. What drew you at this

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<v Speaker 4>point to the college game when a lot of other

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<v Speaker 4>people are going away from the college game?

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<v Speaker 3>You know, I know that the first interaction I had

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<v Speaker 3>with UNC and when they approached me we had multiple

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<v Speaker 3>conversations and my first thought was I was really you

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<v Speaker 3>know honored of their interest but you know I viewed

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<v Speaker 3>myself I'm an NBA coach I'm gonna stay in this

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<v Speaker 3>space I want to try to win another championship and

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<v Speaker 3>see what opens up but the more I thought about

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<v Speaker 3>it and thought about the tradition at Carolina and the

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<v Speaker 3>coaches that have sat in that seat I did not

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<v Speaker 3>want to in 10, 15, 20 years down the road

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<v Speaker 3>look back and have any regrets. And I wanted to

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<v Speaker 3>come to this space. I wouldn't have left the NBA

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<v Speaker 3>just to go to any school. And people think, well,

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<v Speaker 3>he went to Carolina because his daughter was there playing volleyball.

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<v Speaker 2>That's just a coincidence.

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<v Speaker 3>I came to Carolina because I truly feel that we

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<v Speaker 3>have everything in front of us to make this program

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<v Speaker 3>a team that can compete every single year for a

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<v Speaker 3>national championship.

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<v Speaker 2>That requires a lot of hard work. That requires a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of commitment.

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<v Speaker 3>But it's something that I know myself and our entire

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<v Speaker 3>coaching staff are committed to trying to make it happen,

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<v Speaker 3>and I think we're off to a pretty good start.

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<v Speaker 1>Michael Malone with us. He's live a couple of miles away.

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<v Speaker 1>ACC tip off here in Charlotte. Chat with us. New

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<v Speaker 1>heels coach. So, coach, man, you had to hit the

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<v Speaker 1>ground running.

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<v Speaker 2>Right.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, you come back. It's been a long time

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<v Speaker 1>since you coached in college. And dang, you get this

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<v Speaker 1>job and it's like, I got to go put this

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<v Speaker 1>roster together right away. And honestly, it feels like you

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<v Speaker 1>did a heck of a job considering kind of the

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<v Speaker 1>time crunch. What was that process like and how how

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<v Speaker 1>confident are you that, hey, we kind of pulled it off,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, for what we had to work with?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, it was a wild ride, as you mentioned. I mean, literally,

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<v Speaker 3>the day I was hired, I left the press conference.

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<v Speaker 3>I went to a little get-together to shake some hands

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<v Speaker 3>and kiss some babies. I've never felt more like a

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<v Speaker 3>politician than I have the last four or five months.

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<v Speaker 3>But then after that, I get into a room to

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<v Speaker 3>discuss the transfer portal, something that was my first venture

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<v Speaker 3>and experience going through. And when you mentioned, I think,

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<v Speaker 3>looking back now, Getting a guy like Neo Abdalas from

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<v Speaker 3>Virginia Tech, Terrence Brown, Matt Abel, as well as all

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<v Speaker 3>the other players that we signed, I think we did

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<v Speaker 3>a pretty good job considering the circumstances. And now we're

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<v Speaker 3>moving forward trying to recruit the kids that are in

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<v Speaker 3>the class of 2027. So it is a whirlwind. There's

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<v Speaker 3>no off days. You're always building your program. You're always

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<v Speaker 3>selling your program. And we want to make sure that

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<v Speaker 3>we're not just bringing in talented players because that's a given.

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<v Speaker 3>We want to bring in the guys that we know

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<v Speaker 3>that can represent this program in the best possible way.

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<v Speaker 4>Coach, what's the status of fifth-year guy Cameron Fins for

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<v Speaker 4>the exhibition games?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, as of right now, Cameron Fins is ineligible. He

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<v Speaker 3>will not be playing on Friday night. Obviously, we have

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<v Speaker 3>a lot of trust in what's going to play out.

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<v Speaker 3>We think Cameron Fins is an outstanding young man and

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<v Speaker 3>even a tremendous basketball player on top of that. But

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<v Speaker 3>at this moment, he is not eligible. and we're going

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<v Speaker 3>to let that process play out. But he's been a

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<v Speaker 3>joy to be around, and if and when he is

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<v Speaker 3>ruled eligible, I have no doubt that he's going to

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<v Speaker 3>be able to go out there and help this program.

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<v Speaker 4>Coach, in this weird world of college sports right now,

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<v Speaker 4>you're playing NC State in a non-conference game in Greensboro

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<v Speaker 4>in the middle of December. How did that come about,

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<v Speaker 4>and how cool do you think that is for Greensboro

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<v Speaker 4>and both fan bases to have a game, albeit unconventional,

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<v Speaker 4>like that in Greensboro?

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<v Speaker 2>I think it's great.

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<v Speaker 3>Myself and Justin did a press conference a month and

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<v Speaker 3>a half ago in Greensboro to talk about that game.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm learning so much about the tradition, the history of

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<v Speaker 3>not only Carolina, but also the conference.

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<v Speaker 2>That game matters to our fans.

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<v Speaker 3>The last year was the first time in over 100 years,

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<v Speaker 3>I believe, that UNC and State did not play two

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<v Speaker 3>times in a season.

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<v Speaker 2>The fans wanted it. They're getting it.

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<v Speaker 3>I think The fans are the ones that kind of

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<v Speaker 3>carry these programs, and they want to see it, looking

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<v Speaker 3>forward to.

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<v Speaker 2>It, another opportunity for us.

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<v Speaker 3>To challenge ourselves against some of the best teams around us.

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<v Speaker 1>Last thing, Coach, you mentioned your big man there, Cameron Fensch.

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<v Speaker 1>You mentioned we're confident he's going to be eligible. This

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<v Speaker 1>whole fifth-year eligibility thing is crazy. The whole college landscape

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<v Speaker 1>is crazy, the uncertainty. Did you, like, is this major

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<v Speaker 1>headaches coming from the NBA? Like, this feels like it

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<v Speaker 1>would stress me out to coach college athletics.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, it's definitely different. It's a completely different league.

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<v Speaker 3>And what you had in the NBA is you had

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<v Speaker 3>defined rules. You had a level playing field. You had transparency.

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<v Speaker 3>And there was things. They weren't moving the goalposts every

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<v Speaker 3>single day. For me, first year in college athletics in

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<v Speaker 3>a long time, it feels that you don't have the

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<v Speaker 3>level playing field. You don't have transparency at all times.

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<v Speaker 3>And you don't know what's going to happen from a

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<v Speaker 3>day-to-day basis. Court cases getting overturned. So... As I mentioned earlier,

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<v Speaker 3>we're going to let things play out. They're out of

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<v Speaker 3>our control at this moment, and we'll be ready to

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<v Speaker 3>move no matter what the final results are because that

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<v Speaker 3>is our job, to make sure no matter who's available

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<v Speaker 3>that we go out there and put them in a position.

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<v Speaker 2>To have success. Don't worry, Coach.

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<v Speaker 1>Eventually, it'll be games and your biggest pain in the

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<v Speaker 1>butt will be rival ACC fans being annoying. What are

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<v Speaker 1>you looking at me for? What are you looking at

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<v Speaker 1>me for? Sorry, Coach, my friend here.

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<v Speaker 2>That's all good.

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<v Speaker 1>We appreciate you, man. Best of luck.

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<v Speaker 2>I appreciate it, guys. Thank you.