Kenny Smith

Kenny "The Jet" Smith (born March 8, 1965) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, and Denver Nuggets. Nicknamed "The Jet", Smith was an All-American at the University of North Carolina and a two-time NBA Champion with the Houston Rockets. Smith is currently a basketball analyst, and has won several Emmys for his work on Inside the NBA on TNT. He also works as an analyst for CBS/Turner during the NCAA Men\'s Division I Basketball Tournament.\n', ' Smith was born in Queens, New York and grew up in LeFrak City. He played some of his earliest basketball at New York\'s Riverside Church. Smith attended Archbishop Molloy High School, where he was coached by Jack Curran, the winningest high school coach in New York City and New York State history. Smith was named a McDonald\'s All-American in 1983, then played basketball at the University of North Carolina for Dean Smith. Smith credits former South Carolina State star Bobby Lewis with his development as a shooter and ballhandler. Lewis averaged 30.9 points per game and was a First Team Division II All-American as a senior at South Carolina State. He later developed the Bobby Lewis Basketball Skills Development Program, a training regimen that he presented at basketball camps around the country. Smith attended several of his lectures while in high school, and continued to use Lewis\'s drills throughout his basketball career, and teaches them at his own basketball camps. Of Lewis, Smith said, "He\'s the best lecturer ever. He had the best influence in terms of my workout regimen without question."\n', ' Kenny Smith joined Michael Jordan as a freshman on a North Carolina team that was a Pre-season #1 and finished the season ranked #1 with a 28–3 record. Smith averaged 9.1 points and 5.0 assists per game, and the Tar Heels lost to the Indiana University in the Regional Semifinals of the 1984 NCAA Tournament. He led North Carolina to the Elite Eight in 1985, losing to eventual National Champion Villanova Wildcats. Smith was named a Consensus All-American (1st Team) as senior in 1987, averaging 16.9 points, 6.1 assists per game while helping North Carolina to return to the Elite Eight. Playing in a game that featured eleven future NBA players, Smith led the Tar Heels with 25 points and 7 assists but they lost to Syracuse University, 79–75.\n', '