GoHeels Exclusive: Stay Ready

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

K.J. Smith never thought it would come like this or here, of all places, in the famed facility that fostered the basketball careers of Michael Jordan, James Worthy and even his father, Kenny.

But Smith always knew his time would come.

So, this summer, the redshirt junior guard took all the necessary steps to prepare himself for a larger role on this North Carolina team. Extra shots with his father and cousin? He took them. Early-morning workouts with Jonas Sahratian? He did them. His uncle's wise words inspired him along the way.

"He said, 'If you stay ready, you never have to get ready,'" Smith recalled. "That's just how I approached (this summer)."

It's also how he's approached the start of this season. Until Sunday, that wasn't entirely evident, given his limited playing time behind Cole Anthony at point guard. But in the Tar Heels' 68-64 loss to Wofford at Carmichael Arena, Smith, at the very least, proved to be prepared.

Making his first start in 31 games at UNC, the former Pacific transfer tallied seven points with four assists and three rebounds, his top totals at Carolina. He did that while playing 25 minutes and 47 seconds, almost four minutes more than he'd played in eight previous games this season.

What made the outing even more memorable was it came at Carmichael – where Kenny started the last regular-season game against NC State in January 1986 – with Kenny in the stands.

"It hasn't hit me until now," said Smith moments after the game. "I was just locked in for today's game. It's a blessing, honestly. Me and him (Kenny) were in the gym every day this summer, every night, sometimes two times a day, with him rebounding for me. It means a lot."

The circumstances, however, were undesirable.

About 90 minutes before tipoff, UNC announced Anthony and Leaky Black, who has also played some minutes at the point, would have to sit out. Anthony is out indefinitely due to a right knee injury, the treatment of which will be determined over the next few days. Black has a sprained right foot and is out on a game-to-game basis.

Roy Williams said he learned around 10:30 a.m. Saturday that the Tar Heels would be without Anthony against the Terriers. At about that same time, Smith started thinking he'd receive the start, a suspicion he said was confirmed Sunday morning.

Needing Smith and Jeremiah Francis to do more, Williams said his message to them was just to play as hard as possible. Apparently, that's not all he said to Smith.

"Right before the game started, he said, 'You've got this big boy,'" Smith said. "That's all I needed."

Smith suffered no lack of confidence, taking two of Carolina's first four shots. Neither fell. On UNC's fourth trip down the court, though, he dished the ball to Brandon Robinson for a 3-pointer that accounted for the team's first points. That was also a sign of what was to come.

Entering Sunday, the Tar Heels had assisted on just 36 of 86 made field goals (41.9 percent) over their last four games. But against Wofford, they notched 17 assists on 23 made field goals to post their highest assist percentage of the season (73.9). Smith played a key part in them moving the ball more effectively.

Arguably his best sequence came with about seven minutes left in the first half, when he drained a 3-pointer from the right side for his first points of the season. After Robinson snared a rebound on the next defensive possession, he fed the ball to Smith, who jetted down the floor and fired a pass across the court to Christian Keeling for a long 2-pointer.

That shot pushed Carolina's lead to 26-19. Ultimately, that ended up being UNC's largest of the game, as the Terriers outscored the Tar Heels the rest of the half and reeled off 16 unanswered points in a decisive second-half run.

The lone positive Williams could point to after his team's third straight loss was how Smith and Francis, who finished with three assists, stepped up with Anthony and Black sidelined.

"They played exceptionally hard and tried to do the right thing," Williams said. "I'm so proud of Jeremiah Francis for trying. I mean, he hasn't played in three years. K.J. hadn't played. He did some things that helped us. We're going to benefit in the long run from it, but that doesn't make it any more pleasant to go through right now, for sure."

Even on an afternoon he'll never forget – and long prepared for – Smith agreed.

"I don't think in my basketball career yet there's been a greater feeling than playing (today) and being there for my guys," he said. "But we've gotta piece it together."

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Cole Anthony

Leaky Black

Jeremiah Francis

Christian Keeling

Brandon Robinson

K.J. Smith

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