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

Ability to recruit

Kenny Smith is cool. And he’s cool in a way that others on Bubba Cunningham’s list probably cannot claim. He works with a pair of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball in Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal, and has routinely rubbed shoulders with sports and pop culture icons like Tony Romo, Snoop Dogg, Jermaine Dupri, Quavo, 2 Chainz, Ice Cube and the late, great Chadwick Boseman.

Let’s not act like these things wouldn’t resonate with young players on the recruiting trail. Smith having played in the NBA for 10 years, and winning two NBA championships only adds to that. And Smith is also one of the most cordial, likable people you’ll ever come across, much like he was in a March 2020 interview with Keeping It Heel.

I’m not trying to make the argument that likability and personal connections are more important than coaching experience — and that’s probably why Smith will remain stuck just as a coaching candidate rather than a true contender — but they sure couldn’t hurt in the current climate of the sport of basketball.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the Tar Heels’ search for a new head coach, as well as all the latest on the UNC basketball program.