Jeff Goodman explains why Billy Donovan to North Carolina deal never materialized
By Mark Kern
Published:
Field of 68 analyst Jeff Goodman has been following the North Carolina coaching search that ultimately led to the Tar Heels hiring former Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone as the next coach in Chapel Hill. He made an interesting comment on the fine details of the search process Monday afternoon.
The Tar Heels had originally been linked to Dusty May and Tommy Lloyd, but both Final Four coaches announced that they would be staying with their respective schools. Another popular candidate for the job was former Florida coach Billy Donovan, who currently coaches the Chicago Bulls.
While North Carolina was reportedly interested in Donovan, Goodman said conversations never truly materialized because the Tar Heels wanted to move quickly with their decision after May and Lloyd decided to stay put.
Donovan enjoyed a ton of success coaching at the college level, where he won back-to-back national championships at Florida in 2006 and 2007. However, with the Chicago Bulls season still ongoing, Donovan wasn’t going to make a decision until after the season. It’s worth noting that Michael Malone was unlikely to be hired elsewhere within the next week, however.
The timing is very important in this hiring, as the NCAA men’s basketball transfer portal officially opens on Tuesday. It closes on April 21. Not having a head coach during this time, at a program as big as North Carolina, no less, could be devastating in today’s college basketball.
The Tar Heels now have a coach who won an NBA Championship in 2023 with the Denver Nuggets, which could go a long way in bringing in the proper talent for UNC to get back to truly competing next season.
It all comes to an end tonight. Here’s a look at the latest odds to win the national title, via Kalshi:
