Kenny Smith nixes UNC job talk, calls for long-term commitment from next coach

North Carolina’s men’s basketball program parted ways with head coach Hubert Davis earlier this week following an upset loss to VCU in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

UNC did not release details about Davis’ departure, instead characterizing the move as a change in leadership.

The former Tar Heels coach later confirmed on social media that he was “let go” despite wanting to continue coaching in Chapel Hill.

Since Davis’ departure, several prospects with ties to UNC have emerged, including Kenny “The Jet” Smith, whom ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith specifically mentioned.

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After praising Hubert Davis, who both played and later coached at North Carolina, Kenny Smith shut down his interest in the vacant job and called speculation linking him to the opening “disrespectful.”

“Yes, we can talk about North Carolina,” basketball analyst Smith said at halftime of the Texas-Purdue Sweet 16 game in the NCAA tournament.

“But I thought that gap was really disrespectful. But first of all, Coach Hubert Davis, thank you. Your service and what you did to North Carolina basketball as a player and as a coach, you pushed that forward. I think people forget that because of a game here and there.”

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Smith emphasized the importance of preserving North Carolina’s coaching pedigree.

“But I also think it’s a risky position for us as North Carolina and the Tar Heels. Because what makes us special is when you fire one person, it’s Hubert Davis. But that’s what makes us special when you fire a coach.” [Brad] Frederick, you’ve got Sean May, you’ve got Jeff Lebo, you’ve got Marcus Paige, you’ve got Pat Sullivan.

“So you have roots in every era of basketball, including Carolina, Hubert Davis, who was on that roster. Every era was interconnected.

Former North Carolina Tar Heels basketball player Kenny Smith takes a selfie with fans while hosting kickoff for the annual Late Night with Roy Williams basketball at the Dean Smith Center on October 23, 2015 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

“That’s what makes us special. Forget all that ‘blue blood’. What makes the Carolina family is the connection of all these eras in one building at the same time. That’s what makes people gravitate towards us and have some animosity or love for us.”

It remains to be seen how far UNC will cast its net, but hiring from outside the program would disrupt a tradition firmly tied to Dean Smith. Still, Smith hopes the next head coach will stick with Chapel Hill for the long term, just like Davis.

TNT basketball analyst Kenny Smith appears on air before the NCAA Tournament Final Four semifinal game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the North Carolina State Wolfpack at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on April 6, 2024. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

“I will say this. Dean Smith retired as a Tar Heel. Roy Williams retired as a Tar Heel. Hubert Davis was going to retire the Tar Heel. No matter who we come in, they have to retire the Tar Heel,” Smith said.

“I don’t care what that means. ‘Oh, [what] JJ Redick did it in Los Angeles. ‘I want to be a Laker.’ You retire the next person, the Tar Heel.”

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Davis replaces Roy Williams in 2021 after he was relieved of his duties as an assistant. Williams led the Tar Heels to three national championships. In his first season as head coach, Davis led North Carolina to the national championship game, where they ultimately fell to Kansas.

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