BERKELEY – Cal freshman guard Kianna Smith will be in the unique position Saturday of watching her Cal family do battle against her actual family.

But her father, Cal State Fullerton Associate Head Men's Basketball Coach John Smith, says the decision who to root for is a simple one.

"She better be rooting for me," he said with a laugh. "She knows how this business works."

John Smith and Kianna's older brother, Jamal, will be in town Saturday as the Titans take on the Bears at 1 p.m. at Haas Pavilion. Jamal is Cal State Fullerton's starting point guard.

The Titans will then stay to watch Cal's women's game against BYU at 5 p.m.

"I know a lot of guys on (Cal State Fullerton) because I was always around last year," Kianna Smith said. "They are all my friends. Just to have them in the gym, and then have them watch my game, it's going to be fun."

Kianna Smith spent her last two years of high school at Troy, which is right across the street from Cal State Fullerton's campus. After school, she would cross over State College Boulevard and spend hours at Titan Gym, working out with the team, watching her brother and his teammates in open gym or hanging out with Jamal at his apartment.

"She pretty much has 13 other big brothers on this team," John Smith said. "Ever since she was a junior in high school, she would jump in some of our workouts or get in a lot of shots. She really learned a lot from these guys. It was like a village atmosphere."

The proximity of Kianna's high school to Cal State Fullerton also made for some extra father-daughter bonding time. John would drive Kianna to school before work, and the commute to and from the family's home in Moreno Valley took over an hour each way.

That time in the car was special to both father and daughter, especially as Kianna got older and they stopped the date nights John would arrange for her and her younger sister, Kylee.

"I used to take my daughters on date nights, but they got to a certain age when it became corny," John said. "Being able to drive together every day, we were able to get closer and still have that strong bond we had when she was a little girl."

Kianna's time in Titan Gym and in the backyard with Jamal helped her develop into one of the nation's top recruits. She became a McDonald's All-American as a senior and was ranked as the No. 17 overall prospect in the nation by ESPN. 
 

A big key to Kianna's development was her back yard battles with Jamal, who was under orders from their father not to take it easy on her.

"When Kianna started really enjoying basketball and getting good at it, I told her brother to play her hard and not to give her anything," John said. "They would go at it. At first, Kianna couldn't score and she would throw the ball at him and come in crying. But it helped her growth, and by the time she was a senior, Jamal really had to focus on trying to stop her from scoring. It was great for her development. Jamal is probably the main reason she became a McDonald's All-American."

While it was a challenge at the time, Kianna enthusiastically acknowledges that the showdowns with her brother played a paramount role in her path to playing major college basketball.

"We have one strip of pavement in our back yard with one little hoop, so there wasn't much room to play," she said. "But we use to get after it back there. We'd have to make five in a row, and my brother would always make it first. I would cry and get mad because I was taking forever to make five in a row. But I think that got me so much better."

John saw Kianna play for the first time in person at Cal last Sunday at Pacific. Jamal has been able to watch his sister on live streams, but will get to see her live Saturday evening.

"I'm really excited to see her play," Jamal said. "Obviously, I'm still focused on my game, but I'm really looking forward to watching her play and living her dream."

Saturday's men's game has been a frequent topic of discussion among the Smith family in recent weeks. Kianna is ready to take a diplomatic approach to the showdown between the Titans and Bears.

"I'm going to cheer for both sides," she said. "These guys are my friends, and my family. It's going to be a fun game to watch."