Once the shock wears off, Michael Malone makes sense for North Carolina.

That wouldn’t have been the case a few years ago, but times have changed in a big way. College programs these days have general managers, and the talent on the court gets paid a lot of money. There are players who played professionally in Europe playing on college campuses.

Nuggets coach David Adelman admitted to being surprised when he saw the news Monday, but he’s since seen multiple reasons why Malone wants to join his daughter Bridget, a sophomore on the North Carolina volleyball team, in Chapel Hill.

“It’s more of a professional environment now, especially at schools like that where you have to look at it like these guys are under contract now. I think a lot of NBA coaches understand what it means to coach somebody that’s making money. There is a level you can’t go to like it’s 1950, but (there’s) definitely a level somewhere in the middle. I think that’s what’s appropriate nowadays for the college game,” Adelman said prior to Denver’s game against Portland on Monday.

“It’s a completely different landscape, so I think you’re going to see more pro coaches of coach Malone’s caliber looking at jobs like that, and it makes a lot of sense to me.”

That means Malone can hand off most of the recruiting and roster-retention duties and focus on coaching.

Malone’s a really good coach, but the intensity with which he does the job can be a lot over the course of a season that starts with training camp in late September and runs with the best teams playing into the summer. The college season is significantly shorter, and college coaches are able to hold their players more accountable than their peers in the professional game. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed and makes Malone a good fit to revive one of the most decorated programs in college basketball.

“I just think it’s changed everything. A guy like him, he would be perfect for that job,” Adelman said.

“I’m just happy for him and his family. He belongs coaching, and that’s what he should be doing.”

The game is also more international than it’s ever been. Look at the rosters in the Final Four. There were multiple international players on all four with a lot of talent coming from the Balkans. Adelman called the Illinois squad a “EuroLeague team.” Think some of those Serbian big men might like to play for the coach who made the most of Nikola Jokic’s skill set?

Malone joins George Karl and Doug Moe, who both played at North Carolina, as ex-Nuggets coaches with Tar Heel connections.

Monte Morris sees the vision. The former Nuggets guard posted “no better person for the job” on social media soon after ESPN broke the news. Morris knows what it takes to have success in college ball after leading Iowa State to four NCAA Tournament appearances and a couple of Sweet 16 appearances.

Former Tar Heel and current ESPN commentator Danny Green, who played for the Cavaliers when Malone was a Cleveland assistant, also signed off, calling Malone an “offensive juggernaut.”

Don’t be surprised if Malone has the Tar Heels back in the Final Four before long. Hopefully that includes an NCAA Tournament stop in Denver.

“It seems like a really good fit for him. I’m actually really excited to see how he fills out his staff and all those things,” Adelman said.

“He was great to me, man. I’ll be his biggest cheerleader. I just think it’s awesome.”