Over the course of the next few weeks, millions of American children will be going back to school. Some will be starting their schooling in Kindergarten while others will be moving away from home for the first time to go to college. Every situation is unique but one, in particular, might stand above the rest. 2X NBA champion J.R. Smith is going to college for the first time to play golf at NC A&T. After going straight from high school to the NBA, he will be experiencing college life for the first time ever. Here is some advice he will need to follow if he wants to survive his freshman year.
1) Show Up to Class Everyday
When you’re a player in the NBA, every minute of your life is scheduled. If you miss a practice, the fine could be more than most Americans make in a year. When it comes to college, no one cares whether you miss class or not. This means that it is going to be on JR to stay disciplined and wake up and get to campus for class every day. While this might seem like an easy task, every freshman learns the hard way after a night of drinking that it is not as easy as it seems. While college might seem like a daunting task, just showing up can make the whole process easier. If we’ve learned anything from JR’s career, he is not always one to show up in the biggest moments, so this could be his first big challenge.
2) Make Sure to Study for the Tests
Another great tutoring session! For sure asking for more hours, a little extra help ain’t never hurt nobody!
— JR Smith (@TheRealJRSmith) August 27, 2021
The jump from high school work to college work is not one to be taken lightly. College exams are meant to be hard and if someone doesn’t study, they could very easily fail. This is why study groups are so popular in college. To JR’s credit, he has already had multiple tutoring sessions and seems to really be enjoying them. The issue here is that when his friends start to ask him to go to the bar when he has a session, will he still go. Every college student has been tempted with an offer to go to happy hour when they are supposed to be studying. If JR can just be stronger than almost every other college kid ever, he will have the best chance to succeed.
3) Make Sure to Keep a Low Profile
Joined a study group for my African American Studies class on #groupie an my classmates don’t think it’s me ????
— JR Smith (@TheRealJRSmith) August 25, 2021
This tip is easily the one that JR will have the hardest time with. When you are a 2x NBA champion, there are not many places to go where people don’t immediately recognize you. Luckily for him, he is off to a good start. After joining a study group for one of his classes, people didn’t actually believe it was him. He should play into this and pretend to be someone else. When going out to a bar in college, you can have any life story and most people will not be in the state to realize it. Also, no one wants to be the kid that gets a bad reputation the first week of school. That follows you around for all four years and makes life way harder than it already is.
4) Get Involved on Campus
We already know that JR is a member of the Golf team at NC A&T. While that is great, there are so many more opportunities to get involved on campus. For example, he could become a tour guide. Who says no to a school if they visit the campus and JR Smith gives them the tour. That would be the best marketing NC A&T could do. Also, he should go get himself on a rec basketball team. Imagine walking into the on-campus gym after your 3:30 class and you’re matched up against JR Smith. That is the stuff of nightmares, especially if the hangover is sticking around.
5) Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Friends for Help
College is not something that anyone can do alone. JR should never be embarrassed if he feels like he needs to reach out to his friends for help. While a member of the Lakers, JR played with Jared Dudley, who is regarded as one of the smartest players in the NBA. He could help write a paper or study for a test. He also played with LeBron. If he ever loses a game of rec ball, his first call should be to LeBron for help on his team. The two of them showing up would be legendary. There is no shame in asking for help and when you have some of the most famous friends in the world, there is never a bad time to reach out.
In the end, college is what you make of it. Thousands of kids drop out every year because they can’t handle living on their own. From what we have seen so far, it seems like JR is taking initiative and trying his hardest to survive. With a continued effort, he will survive but if he listens to my tips, he will thrive. Trust me, I just barely graduated.
Follow me on Twitter and check out the Belly Up Basketball page for all the latest from the NBA hardwood.
