What Stood Out to Michael Malone in UNC’s Exhibition Win

Here's what caught the 55-year-old head coach's eye in the Tar Heels' opening performance.

Oct 7, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Michael Malone answers questions from the media during the ACC Tip-Off in Charlotte, NC. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's been a positive start to the Michael Malone era in Chapel Hill.

Following an impressive offseason, especially given the circumstances Malone faced when taking over as the North Carolina Tar Heels' head coach, the team made a statement last Friday with an 88-70 win over the USC Trojans in the opening exhibition game. While speaking with the media during his postgame press conference, Malone highlighted several of his personal takeaways from the performance.

Lack of Production From Two Cornerstone Players

Matt Able | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

• “Matt Able and Terrence Brown are a lot better players than what they showed tonight, and we’re going to need them to be a lot better players than they were," Malone said. "And that’s not just on them; I always put it on myself as well. My job as a head coach is to help those guys into the game."

Brown and Able were two under-the-radar prospects in this year's transfer portal cycle. Malone built this roster around the backcourt trio of Brown, Able, and Neoklis Avdalas. On Friday night, Able and Brown combined for five points, while shooting 2-of-8 from the field, including 0-of-4 from three-point range. It goes without saying that both players need to be better if the Tar Heels want to reach their potential.

Second Half Adjustments

Oct 7, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels Neo Avdalas and Jarin Stevenson answer questions from the media during the ACC Tip-Off in Charlotte, NC. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

• “I felt that we got a lot more aggressive," Malone said. "I felt we were getting downhill more to the rim. We played in the post more, and I’m not sure how many free throws we took tonight. We got to the foul line 30 times, so we really spent a lot of time talking about our shot spectrum. We do not want to be a mid-range shooting team."

• "It’s just the worst shot in the game, so we want to live at the rim. We want to live at the foul line, and we want to get quality threes up.”

In the first half, the Tar Heels settled for threes, which made it easier for USC to defend. Additionally, North Carolina's defense in the pick-and-roll left much to be desired. Coming out of halftime, the Tar Heels made a concerted effort to attack the rim and open up space on the perimeter. Defensively, the guards and wings fought over the ball screens, funneling USC's ball handlers into Sayon Keita and Jarin Stevenson in the paint. We didn't see those types of adjustments last season.

Sayon Keita's Development

Mar 27, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; The North Carolina Tar Heels logo on the video board during practice prior to NCAA Tournament at West Regional at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

• “For Sayon [Keita], a lot was going on," Malone said. "I thought the game was kind of fast for him, and then I felt in the second half he showed glimpses of the player that we know he can be, blocking shots. You saw, you can tell a lot about a team and a player when he has a play like he had, and the whole bench is up, going crazy because they’re happy for him, and that’s the kind of young man that Sayon Keita is."

Anyone who has evaluated this roster has made it abundantly clear that the center position is a major question mark and a work in progress entering this season. North Carolina's brass utilized the transfer portal to revamp the backcourt. With few frontcourt options available by the time Malone arrived, the coaching staff traveled overseas to bolster the frontcourt. During that process, the Tar Heels landed Keita and Alexandros Samodurov.

North Carolina signed Northwestern transfer center Cade Bennerman early in the offseason, before landing South Dakota transfer Cameron Fens later. Fens' status to play in games this season is still up in the air. If Fens remains ineligible, Keita is projected to be the starting center. Keita showed flashes of being an elite rim protector and help defender, but his inexperience and raw skill set were apparent on offense.