Former Houston Rockets guard Kenny Smith still loves Houston — and he’d like to love the University of Houston’s basketball team. He just doesn’t see a lot of the Bayou City in the Tom Penders’ program to embrace.

Which is one of the reasons why Smith expects Maryland to beat the Cougars rather easily in tomorrow night's 4 vs. 13 game in Spokane, Washington.

"No, Houston gets no upset love from me," Smith told CultureMap in an exclusive phone interview. "I don't have any ties to the program anymore, so no love."

Smith isn't just talking about the fact that Clyde Drexler, his former Rockets teammate, found himself pushed out after two largely disastrous seasons as the Cougars head coach in the late 90s. Instead, it's more of a lament of what Smith sees as a lack of Houston in UH basketball.

"I wish U of H well. It's to good to see them back in the tournament," Smith said. "I'm just not sure that program's connected to the city though ... I don't think people realize what a draw the city of Houston is for basketball players. Houston is really a basketball mecca that people don't talk about. High school, college, NBA guys, (Houston) draws them all in. It's one of the top spots in the country where guys get together and play over the summertime.

"You have pro and college guys coming in from all over the country to train in Houston."

While Smith only spends a few weeks a year in Houston these days, he's still connected to the city's basketball pulse through his ties to the Fonde Rec Center, the legendary, old historic gym in the shadow of I-45 in the city's Sixth Ward. A plaque on Fonde's wall reads, "To play here, your game has got to be established, your desire must be proven and your love for the game had better be pure."

Whenever Smith is in town, this is where you can find the former New York City school boy star with the Jet nickname. These days in his role as a TNT analyst and Charles Barkley sparring buddy, Smith is probably best known by those in the know for the incredible parties he hosts (Smith's annual NBA All-Star Weekend bash is one of the hottest events, and hardest tickets, of the NBA's showcase).

But when the Jet comes to Houston, he comes to work.

"Houston is one of the best places in the country for a basketball player to be," Smith said, as he worked this interview in-between takes of some TV spots. "The training and innovations that guys have come up with here ... You have some of the best trainers in the country in Houston. The top basketball guys.

"You're fortunate if you're a basketball player in Houston."

Yet, Penders continues to be hounded by the perception that he doesn't recruit Houston high school players well — or put all that much effort into it. This current NCAA Tournament Cougars team has three players from Houston on its 14-man roster. That includes the nation's leading scorer, Aubrey Coleman. All three city Cougars (Coleman, Sean Coleman and Jamon Wilson) went to a junior college before coming to UH though.

Penders told the New York Times this week that he plans to continue to lean on JC players.

And even with the Cougars having made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 18 years, the joke about UH not even being the best basketball team in the city continues — with undefeated state champion Yates High School drawing mention as a superior.

"There is definitely better basketball in Houston," Smith said.

Not that the guy who helped make Clutch City is dwelling on it. Smith's already penned in a first-round knockout of the Cougars on his bracket.

"I don't think Houston will be around that long at all in the tournament," Smith said. "What else do you want to talk about?"