Michael Malone's main goal for UNC is totally corny, but exactly what's needed

You've got to love it when a coach isn't going to just blow smoke to make a fanbase happy. That's exactly what's going on at UNC with Michael Malone in charge, as the veteran coach continues to say all the right things leading up to his debut campaign. And in a major positive, Malone is keeping it real on what he wants to see out of his group next season.

While the Carolina faithful is always going to hold this team accountable and push for the Tar Heels to be in the natty hunt, Malone himself knows it's not fair to put that on his guys in Year 1. Instead, he's taking things day by day, focusing instead on making sure the program plays a bit of a long game in getting back to where it belongs.

"This may sound corny, but it's something that I truly believe in, and I told our players since the day I got the job," Malone said. "Goal No. 1 is not to win a championship because every team says that. If you're serious about that, your first goal is to going to be, 'we have to find a way to get better every day.'"

Michael Malone knows UNC won't be able to fix its problems overnight

Yes, this is such an incredibly corny answer from Malone, but it's something that people should appreciate it. While we have nothing but love for UNC legend Hubert Davis, no one can forget that this team has struggled mightily in recent years, with the Tar Heels almost missing the tournament two seasons ago.

Then this past March, a first-round loss was posted to VCU, with a nightmare collapse in that defeat playing a huge role in Davis' time on campus coming to an end. This is nowhere near what people expect out of North Carolina, but the administration believes that Malone is going to be the one to bring back the glory days.

And with that, some patience will be needed. This is also something Denver Nuggets supporters learned about with Malone when he was still coaching in the pros. During his first season in charge, the Nuggets went 33-49. In Year 2, Denver went 40-42.

After that, however, the team kept gradually growing, which of course led to the NBA Finals win in 2022-23. That's a moment the city will never forget, with Malone helping drive the bus there. Now, it's time to see if he can make something similar happen in Chapel Hill.

Thus far, Malone has been crushing it with recruiting, and the expectation is that he'll be able to create some more 5-star magic for the 2027 class. That's only going to help UNC for next season and beyond. You're always going to have bright lights on you when you're the coach for the Tar Heels, but Malone isn't shying away from things. However, the fact that he's not overhyping up this squad is great too, and speaks to his vision moving forward. If anything, it once again proves that Carolina made the right call here in bringing him to town.

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