Michael Malone isn't satisfied with UNC despite opening-night win: 'We can't sustain anything'
DAMAKORONKOWA - Michael Malone has officially secured his first victory as head coach of the UNC basketball program.
However, don't expect him to spend much time celebrating it.
The Tar Heels came away with the victory in their season opener, giving Malone his first official win since taking over the program. While the win mattered, Malone's postgame comments made it clear that he wasn't satisfied with how his team got there.
In fact, his assessment of where the Tar Heels currently stand was rather simple.
"Right now, we're a team that takes two steps forward, three steps back," Malone said. "We can't sustain anything."
That's quite a statement after a victory, but it perfectly summarizes what Malone saw from his team.
North Carolina showed flashes of the team it hopes to become. The Tar Heels started strong and made the necessary plays down the stretch to pull away, but there were stretches in between where things weren't clicking.
That's what Malone wants to eliminate.
"We have really good stretches, but we're unable to sustain it for long stretches," Malone said. "We have to find a way to build those habits where we can start putting longer stretches together, putting halves together, putting a full 40 minutes together."
It's important to remember just how new this group is.
Malone is trying to build a roster of 11 new players while simultaneously installing his system and figuring out which combinations work best together. He admitted after the game that he has to remind himself that the process won't happen overnight.
That doesn't mean he's willing to accept inconsistency.
Malone wants the Tar Heels to start "stacking plays"
There were certainly positives.
UNC generated plenty of open looks from the three-point range, even though the Tar Heels connected on just nine of their 30 attempts. They also got to the free-throw line 35 times and made enough plays late to put the game away.
For Malone, though, it's about turning those positive possessions into extended stretches of winning basketball.
"I just want to see us be a lot more consistent and stack plays," Malone said. "We're not stacking enough plays right now."
That's probably going to be one of the biggest points of emphasis moving forward.
There are going to be growing pains with a roster featuring this much turnover. Some lineups will work one night and not the next. Malone will continue experimenting with rotations and learning which players complement each other best.
But the expectations at North Carolina don't change simply because the roster does.
Malone knows that.
His first official game as the Tar Heels' head coach ended in a victory, and Roy Williams presented him with the game ball. It was a memorable night for the newest head coach of one of college basketball's most storied programs.
Still, Malone's mind was already on what comes next.
The first win is officially out of the way; now comes the challenge of turning those brief flashes into 40 minutes of Carolina basketball on a nightly basis.
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