In an alternate universe, JR Smith, already out of the NBA, is finally getting a college degree and seriously participating in class. Oh wait, it's actually happening already.
Yes, Smith is giving it the old college try as he's now a student-athlete for North Carolina A&T after being named to the school's golf team. The two-time NBA champion with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers skipped college to enter the NBA, so it's pretty cool to see him get a chance to earn a degree at 35 years old.
In fact, he sounds excited to submit his first assignment: A PowerPoint presentation for his English subject. The topic? Where he sees himself in the next five or 10 years (via ESPN).
“For me, because I have a wild imagination, it's going to be very interesting. I don't know if the professor is prepared for that, and I'm obviously not the average freshman. So I don't know how I'm going to do.”
Smith, who was drafted 18th overall in 2004 out of St. Benedict's Prep, was supposed to play for North Carolina in college under the legendary Roy Williams, but he chose to try his luck in the NBA right away.
Finally, he'll get the experience of being a college player. But instead of hitting three-pointers, Smith is going to be hitting double bogeys.
“It's going to be fun. Obviously different environments from playing in front of 20,000 people to playing in a college golf gallery. But it's still as nerve-wracking as shooting a free throw in front of 5,000 instead of making a 5-foot putt in front of three. So it all correlates the same for me.”
Now, if we can only get a shirtless JR Smith during his assignment presentation.
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