Kennedy Smith's 2026 USC season was greatly underappreciated
Kennedy Smith's numbers this past season weren't eye-popping, but that's part of the point about her: Her stats don't begin to reflect her value
If you followed USC women's basketball this past season , you know that Jazzy Davidson and Kara Dunn were the Trojans' leading scorers. Kennedy Smith's numbers usually didn't jump off the stat sheet. Yet, if you follow this program, you also know Kennedy Smith is not a box score player.
Translated: Her value and importance go far beyond numbers and raw statistical averages. USC often went into games knowing that if defenses took away one of Jazzy Davidson or Kara Dunn, the other of the two would have great chances to score and create offense. That's one reason Kennedy Smith didn't dominate at the offensive end of the floor for the Trojans.
Yet, the reality of Smith's place on this team in 2026 is a lot more layered and complicated than that. Kennedy Smith -- as USC women's basketball analyst Cece Clay often says -- is the "connector" of this offense. She will make the unselfish pass, set screens, and perform the non-box-score-based tasks which create fluid, crisp halfcourt possessions.
She will pick her spots on offense but is not the elite perimeter shooter who should be looking to launch every time she has the ball. Jazzy and Kara were better options in that regard this season. Smith showed good discipline in not taking too many shots, especially 3-pointers, on most occasions.