Mike Krzyzewski was on live with Pat McAfee when news broke of North Carolina's panic hire of Mike Malone. It stunned everyone, including Coach K, but the legendary Duke coach was still quick-witted enough to get in a brutal UNC jab before going on to discuss his admiration for Malone's coaching ability.
McAfee goaded Coach K into the comment by playing up Malone's NBA Championship with the Denver Nuggets in 2023 as a warning shot to the Blue Devils about what Jon Scheyer will have to face now.
"Well, they had an NFL champion [Bill Belichick] hired as the [football] coach, and Duke beat Carolina in football this year," Coach K said to McAfee.
Manny Diaz and Duke football took down Belichick and North Carolina in Chapel Hill last November, 32-25, in a win that helped lead the Blue Devils into the ACC Championship Game, where Duke took down Virginia in overtime for the program's first ACC Championship in 36 years.
UNC will hope the Mike Malone hire goes better than the Bill Belichick one
Coach K cautioned North Carolina that there will be a learning curve for Malone, who hasn't coached college basketball in any capacity in 25 years.
"There is time for adjustment," Coach K said. "That's why I said it takes longer if you ever get adjusted coming from the pros to college. And Mike is a terrific coach and a terrific guy. There's a learning curve."
That learning curve was steep for Belichick in his first season with the Tar Heels, though he brought considerably more off-field drama than Malone will (theoretically) to Chapel Hill. UNC went 4-8 in Belichick's first season at the helm.
Malone will have to hit the ground running as the Transfer Portal opens tomorrow, and UNC has already lost several players, and will likely lose several more. With no working knowledge of how the system works, it'll be a big adjustment for Malone.
Will UNC fans have the patience for that?