It was way back in 2011 that CBS and Turner Sports partnered on a rights deal. Since then, NBA regulars Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley have annually taken a break from Inside the NBA to jump in for March Madness, offering their analysis of the college game. This arrangement has brought notable star power to the NCAA. But this journey hasn’t been without its bumps. Over the years, both Barkley and Smith have taken heat for occasional gaffes that reveal some, let’s say, gaps in their college hoops knowledge. One of the more infamous moments came in 2018, when Smith complimented Duke freshman Marvin Bagley III as the best defensive player in the nation. Fans were quick to push back, pointing out that while Bagley had plenty of skills, defense wasn’t exactly his strong suit. Fast forward to 2025, and Smith still finds himself at the receiving end of fan backlash.

Despite carrying years of experience, Smith’s analysis has come under scrutiny, with many fans pointing to a lack of extensive knowledge on the college basketball game. There have been some other noted incidents like the Marvin Bagley one, which have seen Smith’s reputation in these circles take a hit.

• ​In 2019, during NCAA Tournament coverage, analyst Kenny Smith mistakenly referred to Maryland sophomore Bruno Fernando as a freshman. Fernando was in his second collegiate year and had declared for the NBA Draft after his freshman season in 2018, but chose to return to Maryland for his sophomore year. 
• March 2024: While analyzing Kentucky’s unexpected loss to Oakland in the NCAA Tournament, Smith described it as a “dynamic loss  in terms of expectations from fans around the country.” Since this was clearly an upset, Barkley trolled Smith for being “Captain Obvious.”
• March 2025: During the first round of the tournament, Smith labelled Duke’s Cooper Flagg as a “possible NBA lottery pick,” despite him being projected as a No. 1 pick in the draft. Needless to say, this didn’t go down well with the Duke fans, who called for his removal from the panel.

This season, Smith has also been accused of being disinterested in games when the discussion is not about his beloved alma mater, UNC. As the tournament moved to its end, the sentiment hasn’t wavered for many fans after Smith’s awkward comment during the championship game between Florida and Houston.

During the finals, all the narrative was whether the Cougars could keep the Gators at bay. After all, they were successful against the Cooper Flagg-led Duke. However, Smith gave a different analogy to describe the situation, and the words caught the netizens by surprise! “We don’t have the girth, but we have more length.” This led to a fan on X tweeting their astonishment, “We don’t have the girth, but we have more length. – Kenny Smith on national television.”

Fans just cannot stop venting on social media. So much so that when one types in “Kenny Smith” in the explore bar of Twitter, almost every other person is going “?????” because of what he said during the game. You put it like that, and it sounds like an innuendo that shouldn’t be part of the broadcast.

This only adds to Smith’s March Madness woes, with accusations of being biased also leveled at him. Smith’s strange analogy did take away some attention from Barkley, who himself made a blunder during the halftime of the national championship game.

Barkley and Smith were joined by the studio crew of Ernie Johnson, Jay Wright and Clark Kellogg as they were shouting out some of the other big moments in sports that happened during the men’s Final Four. As the highlights of the women’s NCAA Final were played, Barkley referred to UConn star Azzi Fudd as “Azeez.” Fudd had scored 24 points in the national championship win against South Carolina.

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Not at all. People that criticize this statement have a serious personal issue. Those criticizing have the problem...more

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Needless to say that this didn’t go down well with the Huskies fanbase, with comments like, “charles barkley put some respect on azzi fudd’s name her name is NOT azziz!!!” finding its way to social media. But for now, the fans are turning against Kenny Smith yet again after his strange analysis of the game and are calling for his removal.

Fans feel “crazy” statements from Kenny Smith should stop

During the entire March Madness, the Inside the NBA duo hasn’t shied away from showcasing their allegiances. On multiple attempts, Charles Barkley used the term “we” while speaking about his alma mater, Auburn. Meanwhile, Kenny Smith’s disdain for Duke was visible from the very beginning. But still, no one probably expected The Jet would say something like this while describing teams that aren’t the Tar Heels.

One angry fan said, “Hey CBS Sports, Candace Parker is much better than Kenny Smith. You dropped the ball in the fourth quarter by opting for him over her in your tournament central final panel. Stop bringing in NBA guys at the end of our college season. Their knowledge is lacking.” Well, all one can say in response to this is that the NBA flair Smith was supposed to bring to College Basketball is pretty different from what one imagined.

It was back in 2010 when Turner and CBS entered into an agreement, which meant the college basketball tournament got the Inside Show feel. However, the two worlds are very different. The Emmy award-winning show doesn’t have a hard script, and the analysts are not time-bound to explain their narrative. In fact, Shaquille O’Neal has complained multiple times about Charles Barkley hoarding the maximum camera time to put his point across.

But since then to now, the frustration has never stopped brewing. Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch made the same point about ending the Kenny-Barkley experiment almost 12 years ago. What he said then still remains the crux of the criticism against the duo. “After three years of CBS/Turner Sports’ run televising the NCAA Tournament, it is becoming increasingly clear that Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley are not a good fit in the studio,” he said. “What viewers are left with is a pair of “NBA guys” who seem not only out of place, but almost as if they do not want to be there”.

So, the fans knew about the dynamic, and it seems like the girth comments finally had them wondering.”Kenny Smith just said something so crazy, PAUSE.” This sentiment from a netizen is understandable. Even after taking some time to understand the statement, the comment doesn’t make sense, and one fan was done with Smith, writing, “Can someone please tell Kenny Jet Smith that his TJMAXX Bracelets is too much for a grown man on TV!! He dresses like an NBA WANNABE! Wear a suit, be Grateful others still think your commentary is Relevant because I’m OVER the TNT BUNCH!! C’mon CBS SPORTS

The numbers also tell a broader story. The 2025 NCAA Tournament viewership soared, with the Final Four averaging 12.8 million viewers across CBS and Turner networks, up 10% from 2024 and also the best since 2017. Yet, social media buzz suggests the Smith-Barkley duo is a difficult price to pay for better accessibility. Also, better numbers mean better pay for those involved, like the broadcasters. So, as Skip Bayless put it, “I can’t help wondering if he walks off camera and says, “I can’t wait till this sh— is over. If they didn’t pay me so damn much money …”
Well, whatever the case. Fans are just too tired, and it seems like they do not want another season of this in the NCAA or even the NBA. As one user tweeted, “Just realized Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith are going back to covering the NBA again”. For a clearer picture of the fan’s feelings, a GIF of a man smashing his television accompanied the tweet.

The 2x NBA champion has been in the broadcasting business for nearly 3 decades now. On the other hand, Charles Barkley has been with TNT since 2000, and yet the fans are not happy with the former players turned analysts. What are your opinions?