Fansided

Ranking the top 30 UNC basketball players in program history

By Cooper Watson

CHAPEL HILL, NC - MARCH 7: Michael Jordan kisses former coach Dean Smith of the North Carolina Tar Heels during a halftime ceremony honoring the 1993 national championship team during a game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at the Dean Smith Center on March 7, 2007 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - MARCH 7: Michael Jordan kisses former coach Dean Smith of the North Carolina Tar Heels during a halftime ceremony honoring the 1993 national championship team during a game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at the Dean Smith Center on March 7, 2007 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
12 of 30
Next
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 26: TV personality/former NBA player Kenny Smith speaks onstage during the 2017 NBA Awards Live on TNT on June 26, 2017 in New York, New York. 27111_002 (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TNT)
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 26: TV personality/former NBA player Kenny Smith speaks onstage during the 2017 NBA Awards Live on TNT on June 26, 2017 in New York, New York. 27111_002 (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TNT) /

19. Kenny Smith (1983-87)

Kenny Smith is perhaps best known at this point for his post-playing career on Inside the NBA alongside Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, and Shaq, but his days as a player were also incredibly successful.

While at UNC, Smith, then a freshman, teamed up most notably with Michael Jordan on a team that finished 28-3 and won the ACC with a 14-0 conference record. A four-year player, Smith’s UNC teams finished with a combined record of 115-22 and made two Elite Eights and two Sweet Sixteens. As a senior, Smith averaged 16.9 PPG and 6.1 APG, earning him first-team All-America honors.

Nicknamed “The Jet,” Kenny Smith was known for his elite speed but also for his athleticism, proven later by his second-place finish (to Dominique Wilkins) in the 1990 NBA Dunk Contest. As a pro, Smith’s most memorable stop was in Houston, where he was the starting point guard on back-to-back NBA Championship teams in 1994 and 1995. Although often recognized for his TV gig or tenure with the Rockets, Kenny “The Jet” Smith was one of the best point guards in UNC history as well.