Getty Images Former Lakers teammates LeBron James and JR Smith.
Former NBA champion JR Smith is going back to school and he’s ready to hit the clubs.
Smith has enrolled at North Carolina A&T and intends to join the golf team, a decision the former first-round pick confirmed while participating in the pro-am at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina
“Ray Allen kind of convinced me,” Smith said. “We had a little golf trip in [the Dominican Republic] and he was talking about some of the things he was doing, about going back to school and challenging yourself for us athletes. I really took heed to it and decided to go back — and one of the best liberal studies programs is at A&T.”
The move from Smith drew quite the reaction, including from his former teammate, LeBron James.
“My brother,” James wrote in an Instagram repost about Smith’s new path. Smith and James are tight, having won titles together in Cleveland and Los Angeles.
LeBron James
Smith’s NBA Day’s Behind Him
The eternally shirtless Smith won a title in the bubble with the Lakers, but averaged just 7.5 minutes per game and 2 points off the bench. Prior to signing with the Lakers, Smith had not played a game since Nov. 19, 2018 with the Cavaliers. He said his time away from basketball sent him into a depression.
“I went through a very depressed state for a long time,” Smith told reporters on shortly after signing with the Lakers. “And it lasted for a few months, where I just didn’t — I’m a big video gamer, I didn’t even play 2K anymore. I don’t want to hoop, I don’t want to work out, I don’t want to play 2K, I don’t want do anything with basketball.”
While his basketball days are likely behind him, Smith now has a new endeavor to focus on, both in the classroom and on the links.
“Golf is one of those games that has you feeling really high and or can bring you down to your knees and humble you,” Smith said. “And to have that feeling and knowing that all of the game’s pretty much on my own hands and I don’t have to worry about teammates to pass the ball and receiving passes and playing defense so, I can play my game and just have fun.”
Smith’s Move ‘Big Deal’ For North Carolina A&T
It’s not every day that a former professional athlete decided to take up a college sport — mostly because it’s simply not possible most of the time. However, Smith’s unique circumstances of having been a draft pick out of his school means his eligibility clock never started.
“He’s a former professional athlete, but (it’s) a unique set of circumstances,” North Carolina A&T coach Richard Watkins told ESPN. “He didn’t go to college, never matriculated, the clock never started.
“It’s a big deal for A&T. It’s a big deal for him,” said Richard Watkins, who coaches both the men’s and women’s teams and was in Smith’s gallery on Wednesday. “It’s not very often that somebody in his position really has an opportunity to have a thought, a dream, an idea, and to be able to go ahead and move in that direction.”
Smith is a 5 handicap golfer, per the PGA.
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