J.R. Smith is Going to School and Looking to Play Golf


Two-time NBA Champion and former Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith has enrolled in classes at North Carolina A&T for the upcoming school year, and is looking at joining the golf team. Depending on eligibility, Smith may bring his five handicap to the Aggies as a Liberal Arts major. 
Ray Allen kind of convinced me. 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.
Check out the video below for a more in-depth response from Smith, in which he discusses his golf game, going to school for the first time, education, balancing fatherhood with school and attending a HBCU. 
With regards to eligibility, the NCAA is working out whether Smith can participate on the golf team. According to the rules, an individual is not eligible to play at the NCAA level if they were a professional in that particular sport. However, Smith skipped university to go directly to the NBA, and thus hasn't used any of his eligibility for golf. Richard Watkins, A&T's golf coach, said
It's a big deal for A&T. It's a big deal for him. 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.
There will be more to come on this story... 

Photo Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports