North Carolina has officially hired NBA championship-winning coach Michael Malone to lead the Tar Heels’ basketball program.

The school announced Malone's hiring on Tuesday and scheduled an introductory news conference for later in the day. Malone will replace Hubert Davis, who was fired March 24 after five seasons as the successor to retired Hall of Famer Roy Williams.

In a statement, UNC executive associate athletic director Steve Newmark described Malone as a “selfless teacher and innovator.”

"He is a brilliant coach who will deliver a modern and disciplined approach to leading our men’s basketball program, which is critical in the current landscape of college athletics," said Newmark, who will succeed Bubba Cunningham as AD on July 1. "Carolina Basketball is unique and special — and we have hired a leader well-suited to continuing our championship tradition.”

The 54-year-old Malone spent 12 seasons as a head coach in the NBA, including a 10-year run in Denver. He led the Nuggets to the 2023 championship behind three-time league MVP Nikola Jokic.

The Nuggets fired Malone last spring with less than a week left in that regular season. Almost a year to the day, in another surprise move, Malone is taking over a blueblood program with six national titles, a record 21 appearances in the Final Four and alums including Michael Jordan, James Worthy Vince Carter and Atlantic Coast Conference career scoring leader Tyler Hansbrough.

“Carolina is one of the most historic programs in college basketball, and I am honored to be the head coach of the Tar Heels,” Malone said in a statement. “It is humbling to follow so many legends in Chapel Hill.

“I know from the many Tar Heels in the NBA how special the Carolina Basketball Family is, and I will do everything I can to continue UNC’s championship legacy while preparing our players for professional careers and life after basketball.”

Davis’ firing opened one of the top jobs in college basketball for only the fourth time since the late Hall of Famer Dean Smith’s retirement after 36 seasons in October 1997. The job had stayed in the “Carolina Family” ever since. Longtime assistant Bill Guthridge replaced Smith, followed by former UNC player Matt Doherty, former Smith assistant Williams and then Davis, who played under Smith and worked on Williams’ staff.

Malone has never been a college head coach and has spent most of his career in the NBA. His primary connection to UNC athletics is the presence of daughter Bridget on the Tar Heels’ volleyball team, while he told the UNC athletic department’s “Carolina Insider” podcast in October that he had attended multiple recent basketball practices — with Davis even asking him to speak to the team at least once.

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Duke star freshman and top NBA prospect Cameron Boozer is still healing, both emotionally after the Blue Devils' devastating March Madness loss to UConn and physically after suffering a facial injury in that game.

The 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward said Sunday he sustained “a couple of fractures” during the Blue Devils' loss in the Elite Eight.

Boozer, who on Friday became only the fifth freshman named as The Associated Press men's national player of the year, was hurt in the first half last Sunday when he went up for a shot against 7-foot-1 center Eric Reibe. Reibe's left elbow struck Boozer near his right eye as Reibe contested the shot, leading to significant swelling around and under the eye.

The swelling around his right eye was down Sunday, though the white part was still bright red. Boozer said he opted against having surgery in favor of giving it time to heal.

“I have a couple of fractures, but I’m all good,” Boozer said during Sunday’s award presentation for winning the AP national honor, along with another from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. “Just going through the healing process.”

Boozer fought through the injury the rest of the way and finished with 27 points, including a tough spinning basket into the paint against traffic with Duke leading by just one in the final minute. It was one of multiple examples this season of Boozer playing through bumps, blows and hard fouls, such as a late-season win at N.C. State in which Boozer had gnarly long scratches near his right shoulder after being scratched by a Wolfpack defender.

The Huskies went on to win on Braylon Mullins' last-second 3-pointer to complete a stunning comeback from 19 down. Boozer's twin brother, Cayden, received torrents of online abuse after committing Duke's last turnover before Mullins' winner.

Cameron pointed out that “that one play isn't the reason we lost.”

“There’s not really that much I can say to make him feel better," Boozer said. "We're all hurting as a team, but we’re going to get through it together. We're a super-connected group.

"It's definitely a hard moment. But he’s a tough guy. We're all tough, it’s going to make us so much better going forward. It's something you’ve got to take on the chin and learn and grow from.”

UConn went on to beat Illinois in Saturday's national semifinal and will face a Michigan team that has rolled through the tournament, scoring 90-plus points in every game and winning each by at least 13 points. Duke, the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, was one of three teams to beat Michigan all year.

Boozer’s award presentation came on the same stage where UConn and Michigan were holding news conferences ahead of playing Monday for the national title.

“It’s a lot of emotions going into it,” Boozer said of being at Lucas Oil Stadium. “But yeah, it’s definitely tough being here for sure.”

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