K.J. Smith Will Walk on at UNC

By Derrick Clyburn

Congratulations Kenny! I know you and your family are extremely excited to have your son K.J. play for the Tar Heels. I believe that is a dream of most Tar Heels players, alumni, and fans. To have your son play for the school that you love and adore.

I remember walking on campus, taking classes and playing ball with Kenny. We would talk about basketball and life in the mid 1980’s, and Kenny would always say, “ I just got the breaks”. Now his son has the chance to have the breaks go his way.

I have 2 sons, and my oldest son played college basketball at Presbyterian and Queens. I can only imagine the joy I would have had if one of my sons had the chance to play for my alma mater.

A 6’2, 160 pound guard, K.J. Smith averaged 3.2 points per game as a freshman at Pacific. He had a season high 17 points and four assist against Cal State Fullerton. Smith will come in with a reputation as good stroke from the outside.

K.J. Smith will join Shea Rush, another player with basketball pedigree for this year’s Tar Heels team. Rush at 6’6, 200 pounds, averaged 0.8 points per game and 0.2 rebounds per game as a freshman. Shea is the son of JaRon Rush who starred at UCLA in the late 1990’s. His uncle, Kareem, played at Missouri, and seven seasons in the NBA. Shea’s uncle, Brandon, won an NCAA title at Kansas in 2008, won an NBA title with Golden State in 2015 and is a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rush was a walk on last season for UNC.

It will be interesting to see how these two players develop and are able to contribute for the next 3 to 4 years. Only time will tell. I know all Carolina fans will watching and rooting for these players to live up to their full potential.