The last time we saw J.R. Smith in a competitive setting was with the NBA title-winning Los Angeles Lakers in 2019-20. The next time we see him in a competitive setting, however, might be out on the links.
The two-time NBA champion is returning to school and enrolling at North Carolina A&T to pursue a degree in liberal studies, according to the PGA Tour. And at 35 years old, he’s hoping he can also find a spot on the Aggies’ golf team if the NCAA — which is apparently trying to sort out his eligibility — will clear him. Smith committed to the North Carolina Tar Heels as a star high school basketball prospect but opted instead to jump straight to the NBA.
“Trying to figure out if I still have eligibility,” Smith told reporters Wednesday at the Wyndham Pro-Am about his move. “More importantly, I’m trying to educate myself and do something after basketball. They always told me I could go back whenever, when I was coming out of high school. So this is whenever for me.”
Whether the NCAA will clear Smith to play college golf remains to be seen. That he never played competitively at the college level may help his case. It’d certainly be an unusual development, seeing a former NBA sharpshooter throwing darts on the course. But in the NIL era perhaps his 16-year career in the NBA is not as big a hindrance as it would’ve been had he done this years ago.
Athletes in other sports — notably Florida State Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Chris Weinke — have played professionally, begore returning to college to play a different sport. Weinke spent six years in the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system before heading to Tallahassee and leading FSU to the 1999 national championship on the gridiron.
“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,” said Richard Watkins, A&T’s men’s and women’s golf coach who was watching Smith this week at the Wyndham Pro-Am. “He’s a former professional athlete, but (it’s) a unique set of circumstances. He didn’t go to college, never matriculated, the clock never started.”
Watkins is likely selfishly hoping Smith can be cleared. Having a big name like Smith could help with visibility and recognition, but he’s also a reported 5 handicap.
KVSP