UNC Basketball: 4 reasons Tar Heels should hire Kenny Smith as HC

Carolina family

The University of North Carolina basketball program is unlike any other when it comes to tradition, and the practice of hiring head coaches that are part of the proverbial “Carolina family.”

Longtime UNC assistant coach Bill Guthridge taking over for Dean Smith when he unexpectedly retired in 1997 was a perfect example of that. So was the Tar Heels’ unsuccessful attempt at bringing then-Kansas head coach Roy Williams on board, which ultimately led them to hire another former Tar Heel, Matt Doherty. And when Doherty was removed as head coach of the Tar Heels three years later, the North Carolina basketball program again turned to Williams, a 1972 graduate of the school and a 10-year assistant coach under Smith and Guthridge from 1978 to 1988.

Kenny Smith could follow that same lineage, having played four seasons for the Tar Heels in the mid-80s, and establishing himself as one of the most dynamic point guards in program history. Smith, who averaged 12.9 points, six assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game over four season in Chapel Hill, earned All-ACC honors on three occasions, and was named a first team All-American in 1987. His No. 30 jersey is honored in the Dean Smith Center rafters, and he’s still one of the most beloved former players in team history.

So, Smith, similar to the likes of Hubert Davis, Wes Miller, Jerry Stackhouse and a few others, has his roots deep within the UNC basketball program, and would certainly carry on the team’s long-standing tradition of having a member of the Carolina family fill the head coaching position.