The difference is that these athletes do not go back to try and compete on the collegiate level.
Smith, 35, has enrolled for the fall semester at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro. Most famous for not wearing a shirt the entire summer of 2016 after winning the NBA Championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers. You remember that championship...the Cavaliers’ first in franchise history at the expense of the greatest choke in the history of professional sports, the 73-9 Golden State Warriors, who blew a 3-games-to-1 series lead and lost Game Seven on their home floor.
Smith also won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, despite only playing six games in the regular season and 10 in the playoffs.
The New Orleans Hornets drafted Smith eighteenth overall in the 2004 NBA draft, straight out of St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, New Jersey. The NBA then eliminated the practice of drafting players straight out of high school the following season, instead informing players they must spend at least one year in college before declaring as a professional.
Smith is currently petitioning the NBA to join the Aggie golf team, where he would be easily a dozen years older than any player on their roster. A 5-handicap, Smith would surely be a welcome addition to the roster.
Reports indicate that Smith’s decision was based on a conversation with Hall of Famer Ray Allen at the Wyndham Championship Pro-Am in Greensboro. Allen left Connecticut after his junior season, and became the first men’s player in program history to have his number retired back in 2018.
With the new NIL deal, combined with the millions made in the NBA, Smith you can tell is not doing this for publicity. North Carolina A&T is a prestigious Black College that competes in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Howard University and North Carolina Central University are the only other schools in the conference that host men’s golf as an intercollegiate sport.
The fly in the ointment here is that Smith is represented by Rich Paul. NCAA athletes automatically forgo their remaining eligibility once they sign with an agent. Players have returned back to college after not being drafted as high as they envisioned, as those players have not signed with a sports agent at the time of their decision.
Smith should only be commended for his decision to enroll at this stage in his life. His playing career is over, so kudos for wanting to enrich his life with knowledge as his next chapter begins.
This is one story I have nothing bad to say about the main party involved. We know full well however that the NCAA is going to try and put as many fingers in the dam as possible as their empire is slowly crumbling.
First there was the NIL passing this summer, followed by Oklahoma and Texas leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, creating the first “superconference.” Very soon you are going to see many of these superpowers break away from the NCAA entirely. Notre Dame has lived decades not tied to a conference in football, brokering their own television and distribution deals with NBC.
So why not let JR Smith have a little fun out on the links while getting the education he put on hold for 13 years in the process? Bringing eyes to the NC A&T program would only help the school, in addition to the everyday wisdoms Smith could share with all players at sanctioned competitions. Wisdoms that no textbook could teach you nonetheless.
-JC24