Mike Malone might be using Nuggets blueprint for UNC basketball

The North Carolina Tar Heels made waves this offseason by bringing in NBA champion Mike Malone to run their program as head coach. Malone was a splashy hire given his resume at the next level, but is largely an unknown commodity when it comes to the strategy he'll deploy at the college level.

Fans might be getting a glimpse of what Malone has in store for the Tar Heels next season by the way he's aimed to construct the roster. North Carolina tried to pull out all the stops to keep Henri Veesaar at Chapel Hill before Tar Heels Wire and others noted that the big man intended to stay in the NBA draft.

Malone and the Tar Heels quickly pivoted and scored a commitment from Northwestern transfer Cade Bennerman. The seven-footer redshirted his freshman season but figures to be a huge part of Malone's plans to control the paint in Chapel Hill.

Bennerman was a well-regarded prospect after his high school career in Tennessee concluded.

North Carolina also brought in Neoklis Avdalas from Virginia Tech, a 6-foot-9 guard who displayed a well-rounded skill set as a freshman with Virginia Tech.

It'll be interesting to see how Malone deploys Avdalas, Bennerman, and fellow transfer Maxim Logue. Malone went with a big frontline during his days with the Denver Nuggets that featured Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr., and could be aiming to recreate that type of size advantage with North Carolina.

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