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

Basketball I.Q.

Smith has a high basketball I.Q. that is frequently on display for us to see on live television; usually multiple times per week. His position at TNT as a basketball analyst has given us many opportunities to see his philosophy on the game itself, as well as in-game strategies and recruiting and a myriad of other things.

Simply put, Smith may not have the coaching experience or acumen that some of the other names on UNC Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham’s list, but he’s no dummy. He knows the game of basketball, both from a college and professional perspective.

We’ve witnessed it so many times, whether he’s discussing plays the happened or X’s and O’s or running up to the big board on Inside the NBA to show us why something worked or didn’t work, and we’ve been able to get a good feel for Smith’s vast knowledge of the game.

And that knowledge isn’t something he’s just picked up in a television studio over the past 25 years; it’s one that he’s been growing and molding since he was a child, having been around the game of basketball since a very young age. In fact, Smith may have as much or more knowledge of basketball as any of the other candidates on the list, but his lack of coaching experience will be what ultimately holds him back from being a true contender for the position. Well, that and the fact that he has a really sweet gig with TNT that he will be incredibly reluctant to give up.