Son of former UNC star Kenny Smith to play for Roy Williams’ Tar Heels

Kenny Smith is coming to Chapel Hill to play for Roy Williams’ Tar Heels.

Thirty years after his father, also named Kenny Smith, was an All-American as a senior playing for Dean Smith, Kenny Smith Jr. is transferring to Chapel Hill to play for Williams. He posted a photo of himself on social media Monday night, wearing the same number his father did, No. 30.

Smith Jr., known as “KJ,” is transferring from Pacific and will be a walk-on player for the Tar Heels. He’ll sit out the 2017-18 season per NCAA transfer rules. Smith Jr., a 6-foot-2, 160-pound guard, averaged 3.2 points in one season at Pacific.

In high school, Smith Jr. played at Oaks Christian, a private school near Los Angeles, and national power Mater Dei (CA) High before finishing his career at another national power, IMG (Fla) Academy, playing on the school’s post-grad team. As a senior at Mater Dei, Smith Jr. helped lead the team to a 29-5 record, averaging 8.2 points, 2.6 points and 2.4 assists.

This story was originally published June 20, 2017 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Son of former UNC star Kenny Smith to play for Roy Williams’ Tar Heels."