“Michael’s like, ‘If you let them in, we’ll never come back'” – Kenny Smith on UNC stars shutting Duke players out of barbershop

In the 1980s, the University of North Carolina was the center of the state’s sports culture. Dean Smith’s iconic Tar Heels were producing NBA talent left and right while also competing for national championships every year.

While college athletes today enjoy some sense of popularity, it still doesn’t come close to the fame that surrounded UNC players during that period. One of those guys was Kenny Smith, who played alongside legends like Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins.

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Speaking on The Pivot Podcast, Smith reflected on his fame and how he never truly realized how revered UNC basketball players were until he first set foot on campus.

“Even in the visit, I didn’t know. But when I got there, I’m like, there was no pro teams in North Carolina, we were the pro team. We were the its of it,” Smith recalled.

“Like if you went off campus, from our first man to our 12th man were like rock stars. When we used to go to a mall, they’d have to shut the mall. Kids couldn’t come in, they let you shop,” he added.

Smith joined UNC in 1983, a year after Jordan hit the legendary game-winner against Georgetown in the National Championship game, so they were arguably the most popular college sports team in the nation, and with that fame came great power, which they used once against their arch-rivals, Duke.

Power and influence

Smith recalled that he, along with Jordan and Perkins, often got haircuts at North Carolina Central. And when the time came, when Duke players who also hung out in that area were looking for haircuts, they used their influence to the full.

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“We used to go get haircuts at Central North Carolina Central and in the student union. Duke used to come in. There was myself, Michael and Sam Perkins, and we’re getting a haircut. They got the door locked so nobody comes in,” he said.

“Duke guys are coming in to get their haircut, Michael’s like, ‘If you let them in, we’ll never come back,” Smith continued.

It was a bizarre yet appropriate story to represent the iconic…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/michaels-let-them-well-never-221600475.html

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Publish date : 2026-06-07 22:16:00

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