Los Angeles Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma went full savage on Twitter recently when he replied to a tweet from basketball analyst and radio host Doug Gottlieb.
The original tweet from Gottlieb criticized J.R. Smith — obviously pertaining to his end game blunder in Game 1 — and went as far back as the Cleveland Cavaliers guard’s decision to skip college. According to the tweet, Smith would have been a better all-around player had he opted to play for the North Carolina Tar Heels instead of entering the pros right out of high school.
JR Smith, always been crazy talented, missing some little things in his game. I think those things would have been fixed had he played at North Carolina. We skip steps, we rush the process, and this is the usual result
— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) June 2, 2018
Kuzma was having none of this and savagely responded to Gottlieb by questioning UNC’s basketball program altogether.
What above average pros has UNC had recently….. https://t.co/bMoQC7d8Pw
— kuz (@kylekuzma) June 3, 2018
Kuz did have a point here as a quick Wikipedia search shows that in terms of “above average” NBA players that are currently active, the Tar Heels have a bit of a shortage in representation. The only name that stands out is Dallas Mavericks man Harrison Barnes. However, he was drafted in 2012 which validates Kuzma’s claim that North Carolina has failed to produce superstar-caliber players in at least the last five years.
Other names on the list include Danny Green of the San Antonio Spurs, Charlotte Hornets forward Marvin Williams, and John Henson of the Milwaukee Bucks.
To their defense, UNC is the alma matter of some of the biggest names in basketball including Vince Carter and James Worthy. One of the greatest of all time, Michael Jordan, is also a North Carolina alum so they’ll always have that to fall back on.
