 During his six-season stint, Malone earned three "Coach of the Year" honors.Malone later became an assistant coach at the collegiate level, at Fordham (1976–1977), Yale (1977–1978), and Syracuse (1978–1984 under Jim Boeheim) before becoming head coach at Rhode Island from 1984 to 1986.Malone then got his first NBA coaching job as an assistant for the New York Knicks in 1986 and served two seasons in the staffs of head coaches Hubie Brown, Bob Hill, and Rick Pitino.