New UNC coach Michael Malone has landed his biggest commitment out of the transfer portal with the news of Utah guard Terrence Brown joining the Tar Heels. It seemed like Brown was a lock with UNC after his first visit to Chapel Hill, but Kansas and Kentucky both made a push for his commitment and has Tar Heel fans wondering if it would be another portal loss.
In the end, Brown became a Tar Heel, but it seems like Malone pulled out a veteran recruiting move that could have sealed the deal on Brown's commitment. After all of his visits to potential schools, Brown returned to his training gym in Las Vegas, and there were a few people ready to meet with him.
Malone and his entire coaching staff flew out to Vegas to meet with Brown per Inside Carolina and his commitment came the following day. Now, could this be a coincidence? Potentially, but to have an entire coaching staff greet you in your own home training gym is something not a lot of programs probably do, and it worked out in Malone's favor.
After a much-needed break, Terrence Brown returned to his training gym in Las Vegas on Monday.
— InsideCarolina (@InsideCarolina) April 21, 2026
And there to greet the future Tar Heel was North Carolina’s entire coaching staff.
Story: https://t.co/K09iMSO1EK pic.twitter.com/j8ktbe0pke
Terrence Brown can be a game-changer for UNC next season
With the coaching change, UNC certainly took a hit to its roster for next season, losing multiple players to the transfer portal - the team even parted ways with five-star Dylan Mingo. So, for Malone, trying to build a roster has not been the easiest, but he might have just found his cornerstone piece.
Brown can be a difference maker for the Tar Heels, especially on the scoring end. After spending two seasons at Fairleigh Dickinson, Brown made the jump to a power conference, arguably the toughest power conference with the Big 12, and he certainly was able to handle it.
Brown averaged 19.9 points per game this past season, along with 2.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. Malone needed a player to build around and Brown can be that guy. So, taking his entire coaching staff out to close the deal for the Tar Heels paid off for the new coach.
Some questioned the choice to bring in a former NBA coach, but clearly Malone has been able to figure it out quickly, and hopefully a few more recruiting wins are on the way.
Add us as a preferred source on Google