The move by North Carolina to bring in Mike Malone continues to be the talk of the town. Former UNC players, Duke players, coaches, and more have all had a ton to say.
Mike Krzyzewski was the latest to do so, and had some questions about.
Krzyzewski didn’t question Malone’s ability to win. Instead, he pointed to something much more common when it comes to the jump from the NBA to college basketball.
“Well, they had an NFL champion hired as the coach and Duke beat North Carolina in football this year,” he said on ESPN’s “Pat McAfee Show,” per USA Today. “That doesn't mean Coach Belichick isn't a great coach, but there is time for adjustment.
“It takes longer, if you ever get adjusted from the pros to college,” he said. “(Malone) is a terrific coach and a terrific guy. There's a learning curve. ... Whatever the reasoning is, maybe they're changing. (North Carolina) now have two pro coaches coaching in college.
“The infrastructure their athletic department (has), is it now going to become more of a pro organization? Which. I think if that's true, everybody should be doing that. And the fact that he knows how to do that, and so does Coach Belichick, maybe that's a sign that they're moving in that direction.”
Coach K. is a legend at Duke and will always throw his shots at UNC every chance he gets. However, a lot of what he said is fair to question.
Again, Malone can win in this world and has proven that at the highest level. However, doing so in the NBA, especially when you have Nikola Jokic, is a lot different than doing so in college basketball.
It’ll be interesting to see how UNC does and even more interesting to see how it impacts Duke. The Blue Devils have their man with Jon Scheyer, while UNC has some questions to answer in the short and long-term.