Former NBA star J.R. Smith to make North Carolina A&T golf debut

Two-time NBA champion and former professional basketball star guard J.R. Smith officially traded in his gym shorts for golf clubs this summer when he enrolled at North Carolina A&T to play as a walk-on for the school's golf program. 

Smith's collegiate golfing debut will come next week. 

According to a school release, Smith will play in the Phoenix Invitational hosted by Elon University at the Alamance Country Club golf course in Burlington, NC this coming Monday and Tuesday. Because he didn't finish first or second in a previous tournament, he had to qualify for the event in practice, which he did by a single stroke. 

"I'm hoping it puts pressure on the two guys playing with him," North Carolina A&T golf coach Richard Watkins said of the others competing alongside such a famous athlete. "You would think a guy like J.R. is used to having eyes on him."

Smith became a beloved member of the Cleveland Cavaliers roster that won the 2016 NBA Finals, and he was also part of the Los Angeles Lakers side that hoisted the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy in 2020. 

"He has a good enough golf game to put up some good numbers," Watkins added about Smith. "But this is what I tell people. If you want to find out how good a golfer really is, put the word tournament or money in front of the round. Playing when there is nothing on the line is one thing. But, put meaning to it, and the heart rate changes. The grip on the club changes, and we get to see who you really are."