JR Smith just had a successful first semester of college!
The former NBA player has frequently kept fans up to speed with his life as a student at North Carolina A&T State University. Now, he’s shared the news that his first semester was a success revealing that he closed out with a 4.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).
Grades are in! 4.0 ✅ 🤲🏾😊🥳🎁⛳️ I’m going FU$&@ing NUTTTTTSSSSSS!!! pic.twitter.com/kGnknVEiIq
— JR Smith (@TheRealJRSmith) December 14, 2021
“I can’t even describe the feeling, I ain’t even gonna lie to you,” said Smith in a video reacting to the news about his grades. “A lot of hard work went into that s*** you know… Monday through Friday eight to eleven, sometimes longer, straight schoolwork. When you’re not used to going to school and doing all that s***, ahh man… freshman year you don’t think you can do it, you always hear about your disabilities.”
Not only did Smith manage to make straight A’s but he did it as a student-athlete. He joined the golf team as a walk-on for his first year at the historically Black university, where he is working toward a degree in liberal studies.
The Full College Experience
Smith has been documenting his college journey via Twitter sharing with fans the highs and the lows. From staying up late to write papers to study and meeting with professors after class to get extra help, the 36-year-old has been transparent about what life has been like since he traded basketball for the books.
The experience is full circle for Smith who originally committed to play basketball in North Carolina after five years of high school, according to CBS. He ultimately declared for the 2004 NBA Draft instead.
Shooting His Shot
As he continues his journey as a student-athlete, Smith has also let it be known that he wants in on the new name, image, and likeness (NIL) rules.
The deal that he’s looking for is with the sneaker brand of legendary NBA player, Michael Jordan. In a tweet, Smith suggests that his deal could be one for the books.
“Man, they should just sign me with this new ‘NIL’ [rule] first college golfer to sign with Jordan and coming from a HBCU don’t sound bad to me,” Smith wrote in response to an announcement of the Air Jordan 4 Golf Bred shoes.
Man, they should just sign me with this new “NIL” first college golfer to sign with Jordan and coming from a HBCU don’t sound bad to me 🤷🏾♂️ https://t.co/XlULRcb0xU
— JR Smith (@TheRealJRSmith) December 13, 2021
Now that he’s finished his first semester with a perfect GPA, we can’t wait to see what else lies ahead for him!