From high school to his time as an NBA analyst, Kenny Smith has been a success at nearly every level of basketball. For the next few weeks, he’s setting his sights on March Madness.
Kenny Smith was a McDonald’s All-American basketball player at Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, New York. From there, he went on to play four years at the University of North Carolina. Out of UNC he was drafted by the Sacramento Kings with the sixth pick in the 1988 NBA Draft. Smith went on to play 10 seasons in the NBA, winning two titles with the Houston Rockets before retiring in 1997.
Smith has had a successful post-NBA career, making a name for himself as one of the NBA’s best analysts. He’s one third of TNT’s award-winning Inside the NBA, along with Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley. Smith compliments Barkley’s absurdity well, and they both gang up on Johnson whenever they can.
For the NCAA tournament, CBS is borrowing the services of Smith and Barkley, as they’ll be members of the network’s in-studio team for the duration of the tournament. Smith has also partnered with Coke Zero and their NCAA March Madness Social Arena, a site hosting in-game stats, live streaming footage, and real-time social media updates on all the action.
I talked to Smith about making the switch from the NBA to the NCAA, March Madness, and being a good man. And yes, I’m a writer for a reason. Please excuse the idiot on the phone
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Kenny Smith needs to remember that not so long ago the terms inferior and superior were used to characterize him and not in a positive way. He needs to find other terms to use in defining the athletic ability of teams playing in the ncaa tournament. He especially needs to do so when a hbcu team makes even to the first round.