Heel Tough Blog: Malone Adds Veteran NBA Assistant to Coaching Staff

Friar Basketball - Substack

After interviewing for a spot on Michael Malone’s staff last week, veteran NBA assistant Bryan Tibaldi has been hired by Malone, becoming the fourth assistant to be named to the new staff. Tibaldi, who played college basketball for Tom Izzo at Michigan State in the mid-2000s, ironically worked for Kim English last year at Providence, before English was fired as the head coach of the Friars. Earlier this off-season, English accepted a role on Malone’s staff, before ultimately backing out. Before joining the Providence program, Tibaldi served as an assistant on Kenny Atkinson’s staff, with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA, where he climbed the ranks working for both the Cavs and their G-League affiliate, the Canton Charge. In addition to his time with the Cavs and Providence, Tibaldi served in different roles while working for the Chicago Bulls, Cleveland State, DePaul, and Missouri. 

A focus of Malone’s when putting together his first staff at the collegiate level was to hire a coach with a track record and a focus of player development, and considering Tibaldi’s tenure with the Cavaliers in the NBA, Malone has achieved just that. Tibaldi joins a staff that consists of former top assistant for Arkansas, Chuck Martin, as well as holdovers from Hubert Davis’s staff, and UNC alums, in both Sean May and Pat Sullivan. Yesterday, it was announced that former Carolina Basketball player Deon Thompson will join the staff and serve as a grad assistant after reenrolling in classes at UNC, after a long career overseas. 

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