New UNC HC Rumors Update Buzz on Bulls' Billy Donovan After Dusty May's Decision

The UNC men's basketball program might still have a shot at hiring Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan after missing out on Michigan's Dusty May and Arizona's Tommy Lloyd.

CBS Sports' Matt Norlander reported Sunday that Donovan "is open to the possibility" of taking the UNC head coaching job.

Norlander noted that Donovan isn't expected to discuss any future job opportunities until after the end of the regular season on April 12, putting his arrival behind the opening of the NCAA transfer portal this Tuesday.

He also noted "there is no guarantee as of this point that UNC would offer Donovan the job nor if Donovan would take it."

"[Donovan] could have another NBA opportunity in short order if his time with the Bulls is up at the end of the season," Norlander wrote.

Meanwhile, NBA insider Marc Stein reported there is "pressure mounting" on the Bulls' front office:

Should the Tar Heels ultimately turn away from Donovan, the program has been tied to Vanderbilt's Mark Byington, Baylor's Bryce Drew, Texas Tech's Grant McCasland and Iowa's Ben McCollum, per Norlander.

The Field of 68's Jeff Goodman reported Sunday, however, that UNC is "solely focusing" on recruiting Donovan.

Donovan coached at Florida from 1996 to 2015, a period over which he recorded sixteen consecutive 20-win seasons and won two national titles.

He joined the NBA as head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2015 and has since spent five seasons coaching for the Thunder followed by six with the Bulls.

Rumors of a potential impending split from the Bulls have come as Chicago was eliminated from postseason contention for the first time since 2021 last month.

UNC has reportedly targeted, but fallen short of successfully recruiting, multiple coaches whose teams were competing in the Final Four this weekend.

According to Norlander, May is no longer in play for the UNC head coaching job "after he communicated this weekend to all concerned parties that he'd be staying in Ann Arbor moving forward."

The news came after Lloyd agreed to a five-year extension to stay in Arizona as one of the highest-paid coaches in college basketball.

That news left UNC, which fired former head coach Hubert Davis on March 24, still without a head coach with less than two weeks to go until the regular signing period opens April 15.

Targeting either a current college head coach, or someone with past college experience like Donovan, could help the Tar Heels get a jump on their recruitment efforts this spring.