UNC Basketball: Keeping It Heel goes in-depth with Kenny “The Jet” Smith

Keeping It Heel sat down with former UNC basketball standout Kenny “The Jet” Smith to talk about life, career, son K.J. playing for his alma mater, and, of course, working with Shaq and Chuck.

Kenny Smith was a first team All-American at the University of North Carolina in 1987, and a two-time NBA champion as a member of the Houston Rockets. After 10 seasons in the NBA, Smith untied his sneakers for the final time and took up a career in broadcasting.

Smith joined Turned Sports as a studio analyst in 1998, and currently works on one of the most successful, longest-running sports shows in television history. He’s gained notoriety — even more than he did as a star player some two-plus decades ago — working alongside Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal on Inside the NBA.

Now, Smith is living La Vida Más Fina as he returns to the Corona Hotline to answer college basketball fans’ questions and promote Corona’s laid-back, optimistic lifestyle. And when combining an ice-cold Corona with Smith’s unapologetically positive approach to game-day viewing, March Madness really can’t get any better.

Now through April 5, fans can call Smith at 1-844-9-CORONA to receive refreshing advice, learn how to enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win $250 in Fanatics FanCash, receive a home delivery discount code courtesy of Drizly, and more.

Between calls on the Corona Hotline, Keeping It Heel recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk with the former Tar Heel about all of that and more.

KIH: Kenny, tell me what it’s like being not only a former player at the University of North Carolina, but a fan and now the parent of a current player.

KS: I told K.J. that I would be coming to these practices and these games whether he was here or not. But then I’m coming to certain games because he’s there. He enjoys the Carolina experience. It’s been a wonderful experience for him. He’s grown tremendously as a young man. I’m so proud of him. He went from a guy that possibly wouldn’t even be part of the program to then being a part of the program. Then he got a scholarship. He even started games last year. He’s living La Vida Más Fina, man.

KIH: You obviously have your own history as a player with the UNC-Duke rivalry, but now being some years removed from the program, do you still get revved up watching it now? Is it one that you still circle on the calendar?

KS: Well this is one of the greatest rivalries in sports. It’s up there with Yankees and Red Sox, Ohio State and Michigan. It’s one of the best in all of sports. And it’s one of the most watched. Both teams have been so good for a long time, so it’s always a game you circle on the calendar. And to sweep them this year, it’s extra special. It doesn’t matter if there’s one person in the stands due to the pandemic, or 22,000 in the stands like we’re used to, you want to win that game.

KIH: Roy Williams has obviously taken a lot of his core beliefs and his coaching style from his time working under Coach Smith. Having played for both during your time at North Carolina, can you tell me a little bit about how they differ from one another; something that we might not see from on TV or in the stands?

KS: Well, first of all, K.J. always asks me, “Is it very similar [to your playing days]?” I tell him no, you guys have more aesthetically than we ever had. The locker rooms, the hot tubs, cold tubs, trainers. We had one guy, and an ice bucket. It’s a whole different experience; the things that they experience compared to what we did. The access that they have to the university, and that people have to them. We didn’t have that either. But he has so much more access, and it’s great to see that.

But I think that style and commitment between Coach Smith and Coach Williams are very similar. Coach Williams is a disciple of Coach Smith. He mimics a lot of things from Coach Smith. Funny story, K.J. was home one year for a break from school, and I had never shown him tapes of me playing basketball — even in the NBA — while he was growing up. So, I popped in a tape and K.J. says, “Man you guys ran the same plays! But man, you shot the ball a LOT!” But watching those tapes and talking basketball with my son, him going through some of the same things that I was back then, that was my moment right there. That was my La Vida Más Fina.

KIH: You started a career in broadcasting almost right after your playing days ended. Was coaching never something you had interest in, or was television always where you wanted to be?

KS: No, no, I get calls all the time. For coaching jobs, or even front office positions. And some of them I even went on interviews when I thought it was the right time. I think for me, because of what I do, it’s easy to see my philosophy on basketball. I run to the big board. I dissect plays. I talk about your team, and about the league. I talk about why you made a good trade, or why you didn’t. And I foreshadow, and that makes people think, “Wow, what he said actually happened. Maybe this guy should be on the sideline or in somebody’s front office.” But I love what I do, and I love my job at TNT. I just love basketball.

KIH: Working with Shaq and Chuck, tell me what that’s like.

KS: It’s fun. It’s being with your brothers. You’re gonna have the fights. You’re gonna have the laughter. You’re gonna have the rough-house. You’re gonna have the love. You’re gonna have every emotion like when you have a brother. You know, Shaq is our big, little brother, and Chuck is the older brother. I’m right in the middle. I’m the middle child. I get to hear the complaints of the younger brother, and the complaints of the older brother, and I get to decipher between the two. It’s a lot of fun. It’s been a great partnership that we’ve had, and a great TV show with iconic moments that’ll live in sports history forever.

Kenny and I went on to talk about fashion, the ACC Tournament, the upcoming NCAA Tournament and more. And above all else, he wanted to simply promote the La Vida Más Fina way of doing things and living life in general. “We know it’s been a tough year,” Smith said. “I just want everyone to relax and have a good time [during the tournament], and when things don’t go exactly the way you want them to, or your team loses, don’t be too intense. This is all about getting back to normalcy, and living your best life. La Vida Más Fina!”

Check back with Keeping It Heel complete coverage of the Tar Heels in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, and everything UNC basketball.