When J.R. Smith retired from the NBA after 16 years, it seemed as if his athletic career had come to its natural conclusion.
However, the two-time NBA champion who entered the league straight out of high school is starting fresh at 35 years old. He is enrolling at North Carolina A&T, a historically Black university, and is considering competing for the school's Division I golf team.
In high school, Smith committed to the University of North Carolina, but he decided to become a professional before enrolling. Since he never attended college, Smith still has four years of NCAA athletic eligibility should he choose to use them.
“It's a big deal for A&T. It's a big deal for him,” Richard Watkins, the golf coach at A&T, told reporters at the Wyndham Championship pro-am. “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."
Smith said he was inspired to go back to college to pursue his degree after talking with Hall of Famer Ray Allen and current Phoenix Suns star Chris Paul about their experiences returning to school. However, neither Allen nor Paul have attempted to play college sports other than basketball.
NCAA rules state that "an individual shall not be eligible for intercollegiate athletics in a sport if the individual ever competed on a professional team in that sport," but since Smith never played professional golf, he retains his eligibility for a college team. He is currently petitioning the NCAA to get around the organization's rule that athletes must complete their four years of eligibility within five years.
Smith began playing golf 12 years ago after attending a charity event for the late Basketball Hall of Famer Moses Malone.
“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. “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.”
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