J.R. Smith is following through on a vision he had of himself way before the NBA came calling: going to college.
Before Smith, 35, was drafted in 2004, he’d committed to going to University of North Carolina. Seventeen years and two NBA championships later, Smith has enrolled at North Carolina A&T State University, a Historically Black College.
“They always told me I could go back [to school] whenever. So, this is whenever,” Smith, who played for five different NBA teams, including the Knicks, over his 16 seasons in the league, told PGATour.com on Tuesday.
“I can’t wait to be a part of the HBCU family,” Smith, whose family will also move to North Carolina, added. “I’ve really been embraced by everybody so far on campus. I’m looking forward to start going to football games and repping Aggie Pride.”
Smith’s classes in Greensboro will start on Aug. 18, but aside from starting a new educational venture, he also wants to join the Aggies’ golf team.
“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 while playing the the pro-am at the Wyndham Championship. “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 has played a lot of golf over the years. He was even on courses the week of some of his playoff games. So the sport is not new for him. He’s still waiting to hear back from the NCAA on his eligibility to play.
“It’s a big deal for A&T. It’s a big deal for him,” Aggies’ golf coach Richard Watkins said of Smith. “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.
“He’s a former professional athlete, but a unique set of circumstances. He didn’t go to college, never matriculated, the clock never started.”
