Kenny Smith sounded off on headlines about who will replace Hubert Davis as North Carolina coach after his firing.
fired its head coach, Hubert Davis, after five seasons with the program, and it created speculation on who would fill the vacancy. That allowed ESPN's Stephen A. Smith to throw a wild suggestion out for the next Tar Heels coach: Kenny Smith.
He's currently associated with ESPN's"Inside the NBA" and CBS's March Madness coverage on various channels, appearing on the pregame, halftime, and postgame show with Nate Burleson, Clark Kellogg, and Charles Barkley. Smith was absent for several days, but was back on Thursday for CBS's coverage of Purdue against Texas in the Sweet 16. During their halftime show, Burleson mentioned to Smith that his name was in recent headlines associated with the Tar Heels' job, which seemingly frustrated Smith."We can talk about North Carolina, but that vacancy, I thought that was obviously disrespectful," he said, also shaking his head. He then delivered a passionate speech, thanking Davis for what he did while playing for and coaching the school, and about the significance of the job with the Tar Heels. "I also think that this is a precarious position for North Carolina, and for us as Tar Heels, because what makes us special when you fire one person, that's coach Davis, you have a lineage to every era of basketball that's Carolina that was on that staff, including Hubert Davis," he said, mentioning the various members of Davis's coaching staff. "What makes Carolina family is the connection of all those eras in one building, at one time, and that makes everyone pay attention and have some animosity or some love for us," Smith said. Smith mentioned all of the members of staff who have been there for decades, and a new person might come in for the staff and decide to bring in one of the people they're familiar with working with to replace them. "Dean Smith retired as a Tar Heel. Roy Williams retired as a Tar Heel. Hubert Davis was going to retire a Tar Heel. Whoever we have come in they have to retire a Tar Heel, I don't care what that means," he said. Smith played for UNC from 1983 to 1997, alongside Tar Heels legends Michael Jordan and James Worthy under North Carolina's legendary coach, Dean Smith. Due to his strong connection with the team, it prompted Smith to rant about him taking the UNC coaching job soon after news broke that Davis was fired. "If Kenny the Jet Smith wants to do it, he should be the next head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels," Smith said on ESPN."That's right, I said it." "Kenny The Jet Smith is a brilliant basketball mind, but I got news for you, I think he'd be an even better recruiter," Smith suggested. "And I bet my check that if he were at UNC, Duke would not have been the number one recruiting class for the last five years. I think North Carolina would have been one or two of them," he added. "You're not out-recruiting Kenny Smith year after year after year. I'm here to tell you it ain't happening," he said. Based on Smith's recent fiery response, it sounds like he wants someone to be the Tar Heels' next coach who will be devoted to carrying on the legacy and tradition that others started and kept intact while working at UNC. Whether that means he will be in consideration or conversations for the job is still unclear, as there are other names currently speculated for the position, including current Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan.
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