In this episode of GOLF’s Off Course with Claude Harmon III, 2x NBA Champion J.R. Smith drops in as he shifts from the court to the course. Straight from high school to the NBA, J.R. became one of the most entertaining players in the League spanning 5 teams in 16 seasons. Most recently he enrolled at North Carolina A&T University to earn his degree and tee it up for the Aggies golf team as a student. Hear the lessons he learned from playing alongside greats like Lebron James, how Moses Malone got him hooked on golf and his philosophy on practicing with a purpose in golf, just like basketball.
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
It's episode twenty of Off Course with Claude Harmon comes
to you every Wednesday. Thanks for everyone that listened to
the solo episode of the pod last week. UM back
to normal this week and j R. Smith is the guest.
I think this is one of the most unique, um,
fascinating and exciting stories in golf and if I'm honest,
(00:31):
in sports in general. I think what Jarr is doing
going back to school being a two time NBA champion, Um,
he had college eligibility left and he wanted to challenge
himself and do something. UM. I mean, let's be honest,
it's about as different as you can get to go
from the NBA to being a college golfer. Um the
pot place. UM, I wasn't in his dorm room, but UM,
(00:55):
you know it's. UM, it's pretty interesting, and I think
he unpacks a lot, talks a lot about his career,
talks about what it's like playing with Lebron. He talks
about what it's like being, um, you know, a celebrity
and being famous and all the stuff that goes with that.
But I think, as with everyone on on the Off
Course with Claude Harmon podcast, he talks about his passion
(01:16):
for golf, and uh, he reached out to me. It
was funny. I was actually thinking about having him as
a guest and out of nowhere, it's it's funny you
put a thought out into the universe. And um, he
actually sent me a message, UM, just randomly because I've
met him before, and he said, yeah, I'm back in school.
I need some help with my golf. So that's how
this came about. I think it's a really cool story.
(01:38):
And UM, I think it's it's it's a pretty special
story as well. So sit back and listen to j R. Smith.
All right, So j R. Smith freehold New Jersey's finest.
You're back at school. I just it is such a
(01:58):
unique thing that you're trying to do. Um, tell us
about the experience. Tell us why you've decided me your
two time NBA champion. You know, you just played for
the the l A Lakers won a championship, You played
with Lebron. I mean you played in the league for
you know, forever, and now in your mid thirties, you
decided to go back to college. What was the why? Um?
(02:21):
For me, the main thing was continuously to push myself
to educate myself to try to be better as a person. Um,
you know I've tried. I've done you know, one championships
and played at the highest level on so many you know,
in sports. And for me, the biggest challenge, um was
always my academics. Even growing up, I never really liked school.
(02:43):
I never um gravitated towards school. I was just always
wanted to do sports and things like that. Um. After
talking to Ray Allen, you know, after after the he
was telling me, after you know, we were being we're
on a roller coaster for so long on ups and
downs with these you know drains and emotions and challenges
and stuff like that. Once the game is over, Um,
(03:06):
you lose that edge. Well you don't lose that edge,
but it's harder to repeat, and it's harder to to
um channel that energy where you so used to doing
everything physical to trying to you know, turn on your
mind a little more. And uh, he really challenged me
with trying to go back to school and finished or
not go back to school, to go to school because
(03:26):
I never went, and just challenge myself as as far
as my mental aspect can goes, as far as my
endurance of how I can uh use my brain and
work and try to do so much, so many more
things than just played basketball or sport. And I think
the interesting thing Jr. Is you came out of high
(03:47):
school and went straight to the NBA, I mean, which
is something that not a lot of people have done,
and so you didn't. It wasn't like you had a
year of of college and then decided to turn pro
and you were gonna go back. I think the unique
thing is that, like you said, school wasn't a big
part of your life, and and in your thirties to
go back to it, and and it must have been
a tough decision to make, But um, did you see
(04:11):
it as also a way to kind of show other
people and empower other people to try and take school
seriously that maybe maybe don't when they're younger. Yeah. I
think that's the thing I've been really um honest and
on the most is trying to get people to really
focused on the academic side earlier on because there's so
(04:31):
many things Like for me, unfortunately I didn't have to
go to you know, college and stuff like that, so
I never really learned how to write emails and certain
mL A formats and stuff like that. So it really.
It was like, it's a whole culture shot to me.
So and I actually, you know, I met tons and
tons of tons of million billionaires and stuff like that.
(04:51):
So it's like to actually have that the tutelage of
two reach out to those guys in a in a
in a more professional manner. I was just sent him
in a text or a call, and then they see
that email and it's like it's a different It gives
you a different um status when you you know, people
are under taking more serious And for me, that's my
(05:11):
biggest thing um through my career and um, you know,
through throughout the last couple sixteen years, I've never I
feel like I haven't really been taken serious as a person,
not even just as a player. So this is uh
something for me, the challenge myself to take to be
more hands on. I just took my my daughter back
(05:33):
to she's starting her second year of college. Her dorm
room doesn't look like the backdrop of what you're in
are you Are you in a dorm? Are you in
an apartment? Are you in a house? I'm in a
house right now. I'm in the air van. I was
in a hotel for two months and uh, trying to
look for a place, and it was just like being
in the dorm. So it's it's it was kind of
it was kind of cool because I wanted that experience
(05:53):
a little bit. Obviously the hotels is a little different
than the dorm room, but it still gives you that
quiet room in that tight spaces where you can uh
really try to think outside the box. And on top
of just being around campus, your Twitter feed, the Real
j R. Smith has been amazing. You're talking about going
to class, going to tutoring. What has been the hardest
(06:15):
part here? I mean basically you're starting would be like
me trying to play basketball. I have no basketball background.
You're trying to go to school, and you said you
didn't have it. What's been the hardest part for you?
And what is what have you liked about it? Um?
I think for me, the hardest part is like not
getting discouraged and saying, the hell would this have plenty
(06:36):
of money you can just you know, Um, I think
that's the hardest part because it's like, you know, after
you hit a bump of the road, taking tests and
quizzes and homework, and sometimes you can get behind the
eight ball if you don't stack your schedule the right way.
And for me, it's like, you know, one day I
actually got behind the eight ball, like a week or
(06:57):
two ago, and it was just like, I don't help
I put myself through this, like I have to like
now I have to submit stuff, I gotta do this,
and I gotta do that. And it's just like, you know,
I needed that extra gear in my head to be like,
you know what, No, this is what you signed up for.
This is what you're gonna stick it through. You're gonna
do the best you can. So for me to see
the younger generation, to hear the guys on my team
(07:17):
um talk about you know, I inspire them to do
to try harder in the in the classroom as well
on the golf course, and take things more a little
more serious, it's it's uh inspirational for me because I
never heard it before. I never heard anybody talk to
me or talk about me in that manner. It was
always in a party or some NBA play or a
(07:39):
dunk or something like that. So when people tell me
I inspired them to go back to school and try
to help them help themselves, it's uh. It's one of
the best films you can feel. Are you wearing the rings? Brings?
Do you wear them to class? And I'll lead those
in the vault? Man, I leave them in. I wear them.
I wear them here and there for actually just to
(08:00):
remind myself and what I've what I've accomplished where I'm from.
But honestly, I don't really wear it too much. Is
just just to think about it is enough to make
you tear up and stuff like that on those journeys.
So uh, seeing the rings is probably a little too much.
Now that you're trying to play, you know, competitive golf.
What do you see the parallels between basketball and golf?
(08:22):
Because one of the things I think that's really interesting
is is about golf is it's not so much reactionary
where basketball is. Once the game is starting, you're reacting
a lot to it. And I'm guessing for you playing
golf is it's basically like shooting a free throw. Every
single time you hit a shot, you know, everything kind
of quiet, you go through a routine. How have you
(08:42):
been able to take some of the things that you
learned on on the court and take it towards and
applying it towards trying to play competitive golf? For me
is uh more than anything that's practicing with a purpose. Um.
When I when I, when I get the range, it's
not just hitting bootballs anymore and just going to try
and play play the course. It's more trajective shots, flighting shots,
(09:06):
trying to make the ball work the ball left, right,
right and left. There's so much deep, so much more
detail into it. And it's like I related to again
because I'm being a shooter. Um, it's like shooting corner
corner threes or whatever your favorite spot is. You know,
it's different ways to get to your spots as different
ways to like a reaction to how the defensive guarden
(09:28):
you and stuff like that. But at the end of
the day, all of this stays the same. Your your release,
in your your confidence and your mechanics, all of those
things that you've I've learned over a kid. I just
put the time of hours in to do it over
and over and over against our second nature. So that's
pretty much the same thing with golf. If you can
(09:49):
put the time of hours in and consistently stay uh,
stay with a purpose in your practice. And I feel
like disguise the limit. Why golf and when did you
start playing golf. Who introduced you to golf? Mos of
Malone was just Malone. Yeah. I was in Houston working
(10:09):
out with John Lucas at the time, and he, uh
he had Chard Lewis had his first funded foundation event
was a golf outing event. And for me, I never
I never played golf. I told him I didn't. I
don't play golf. I don't you know, it's not my thing.
He's like, no, man, just come on, you just ride
(10:30):
around with the card girls, take some shots or whatever.
I'm like, all right, cool time. So I was doing
that and uh, I pulled up on mos of Malone's
group and he sure enough, young fellow, come hit this ball.
And for me, the respect I have for the Hall
of Famers and people who came before me is very tremendous.
So it's like when they when they tell me somebody
(10:51):
asked me to do something, that's like I can't tell
him no. So I was like, yeah, sure, Like I
hit the ball and now I was shard and all
these other dudes like, man, come on, come on, come on,
my hell not doing that. So he asked him, like sure,
she gets up. There's like I'm like, man, how you
do this? Like show me. I don't never played before,
so they showed me how to hold the clubs, how
to technically swing. I watched a few guys in front
of them. I was talking ship and it was just
(11:12):
like it was. It was very funny and now. So
then I hit my first shot down the fairway about
three hundred yards. Everybody shot. I'm like, it's easy, Like
it's it ain't that hard. So I get in a
cart drive off and uh, that was my first experience.
So then I go back like, of course, looking around.
(11:32):
Of course because we're out there five hours with this
abue and uh, pull up on this group again. He's
telling everybody all day, man, you gotta seeing this ball. Uh,
I bet you can't do it again, I bet you
can't do it. So I'm like, all right, whatever, get
out there. I couldn't hit the ball. It was so frustrating,
it was so frush. So you crushed the first one
and I couldn't make contact. So j are basically in
(11:55):
that moment, you became a golfer just like the rest
of us, because it's that one good shot. I think
in golf that everybody says, you know, you're hitting it terrible.
It's the end of the day on the range and
you take out the driver and you hit that one
good one and you think, I'm gonna come back and
I'm gonna do it more. So immediately you were hooked
by the one good one, not the fifty bad ones, right, Unfortunately,
you know people, that's what everybody was saying. It's like, well,
(12:17):
at least the first one was a good one, and
I'm like, you know, what about the thousand other ones
that I've been tearing up? So after that, you you
got hooked on golf, and even when you were playing basketball,
you started to kind of in your off time think
about golf and get into it. Yeah, I was playing.
I mean I bought three sets of club that first
day I ended up playing. I had old Nike sasquashes
(12:39):
I hated because they're like a frying pan, and I
don't think I have like some R seven Taylor Maids
and the titlist a p s And I was just
like I was so locked in. And then after like
so in Denver, because people have this misconception of Dinners freezing,
it's always snow and it's one of the most beautiful
cities ever and it gets so much sunlight, so even
(12:59):
in the wintertime he can go out and play. So
I would play like I would play before practice, I'll
play after practice, I'll play before games. And you know,
now coaches and gms get piste off at you playing.
I'm like, fucking Jordan played thirty six holes a day
and then to play golf. It's like, oh, yeah, but
that's Michael Jordan. I was like, do you think he's
by yourself like he was playing with people. He's played
(13:20):
with his teammates, and uh, it's It's it's funny now
because it's like so much, so much into you know,
a little management and stuff like that and staying off
at feet. It's like, bro, if I go play eighteen
holes of golf, you're gonna want me to come back
here and play, uh forty eight minutes of basketball. If
I don't play golf, then you're not gonna want me
to play. It gives me such a calm and soothing feeling. Man.
(13:43):
It's like every shot as you obviously trying to hit perfection,
so you have to lock in and focus and concentrate,
and to be able to do that on the court
is pretty much unheard of. Nobody's going like you know,
fifteen or fifteen, hitting every fair way, you're hitting every
three and unless you're step but it just you know,
it's it's a it's a nerve wracking game, but it's
probably you know, the most peaceful feelings to have once
(14:05):
you get that bought un affair with Why do you
think athletes in general gravitate towards golf the way they
do and become so obsessed with golf? Because I mean,
I'm around a bunch of golfers and the majority of
them aren't obsessed with another sport. You've got Sergio Sergio
is a good tennis player, Adam Scott plays tennis, Adam
Scott likes to surf. But you don't really find a
(14:27):
lot of golfers that are obsessed with playing other sports.
And it's it's just, I mean, I've met people like yourself,
you know, Michael was, MJ was at at the at
the Ryder Cup. Steph Curry was at the Ryder Cup.
But athletes from every sport they love golf. What do
you think it is about golf that makes athletes just
(14:49):
get hooked? I think for for for us as athletes,
the biggest thing is that competitive nation so you can
be competitive for much much, much longer than your active sport. Um.
It's I think that that that just takes the take,
especially for like guys who are especially guys are like
baseball players. Those dudes are I mean Schmoltz and Gavin
(15:12):
and those dudes are sick they can play. And it's
like that once you get those competitive juices, and especially
if you are really really good in your other sport,
you know the uh you have, you already have the
work ethic, you have the dedication to it. It's just
a matter of putting it into golf opposed to any
other sport. But overall, I think just the competitive nature
(15:33):
you we're able to play golf into your nineties and
basketball and football and those get obviously these games are
like you know, eight to ten years max nowadays, and
it's it's it's it's tough, you know, it's tough to
be to go out for me, like I'm so competitive
and for me to literally I can't watch basketball anymore,
(15:53):
like I can't I can't sit here and watch the
Western Conference finals and watch uh Chris Paul and then
play a the Clippers or Janice and then playing Miami
and East. I can't watch it just because the competitive
nature in me. I know I should be out there,
and I know I want to be out there, and
I know nobody on that floor can touch me. That's
how competitive I am now. And I know so many
(16:15):
of my counterparts in different sports as well as basketball,
feel the exact same way. So to have that feeling
on a golf course, it's very It's hard to have,
but it's it's not there's nothing that you can't obtain,
and it's just the dedication that you put to it
to become a great athlete. But to make it to
professional sports, I don't think most people realize the sacrifices
(16:38):
and all of the things that you have to do
to get there. At a young age, you grew up
playing basketball. What was your start in basketball? Was it
you know, people in your family? Was it people in
your neighborhood or around the school that you went to.
What what made you choose basketball at a young age? Um,
it was for me with my dad. My my dad
put the basketball in my cribinomes three. It was just like, um,
(17:01):
this is this is what we do. You know, we
were athletes and all my uncle's played, my cousins played.
Uh when we were We played everything basketball, football, baseball
growing up. And it wasn't until my junior year I
stopped playing football that I realized it was, you know,
basketball was gonna be my my, my ideal. Um. My
brothers played. We all we had this sivil sibling rivalry
(17:24):
growing up, and then we would take it to my
brother's versus your brothers and within the family because we
had so many cousins and it was just it was
it was. It was a great experience. It's a great
childhood growing up with all of them, because that's where
I really, you know, gained my competitive spirit. Obviously, not
want to lose in general, but I want to lose
(17:45):
to your cousin or your brother. Was so much worse.
It was so much worse. When did you realize that
you were good and realized that you were good enough
to maybe have a life and career and be a
profession in old basketball? Part was there an aha moment
where you were like, and I think I can do that.
(18:05):
And when I was when I was a freshman, I
was five six, no, I was like five eight five
eight five, And then that summer I couldn't really play
a basketball. I couldn't really play um baseball in the
spring because my my my knees were killing me. And
then out of know where, I grew like six inches
(18:27):
seven inches in the summer, like three four and I
was going from this kid who's I was the point guard,
the shooter, handling the ball, all of this, and then
out of nowhere, I just turned into this guy who's
just jumping out the gym, dunking on people and stuff
like that. And in the Ministeranta I was at, I
was at once I was. I went to two schools
my freshman year. The first school I went to I
(18:49):
didn't live in the school district, so they kicked me
out because my dad didn't want me to go to
the school I was that we were living in the area.
So I went to this another another school. Then I
left there. So this by the time of my sophomore year,
everybody that I grew up with pretty much they hadn't
seen me for a whole year, so they see when
they when they see me come back like we're like.
(19:13):
And then I just came through Duncan and I still
had to touch and shooting because I was always small,
smaller than everybody too. So um at that point, I
think my sophomore year, I realized that I could be
a pro in basketball or football. You had an opportunity,
I think were you committed to go to the University
of North Carolina, I mean amazing golf school, I mean
amazing basketball school. I mean Michael Jordan went there, Dean Smith,
(19:36):
the history. Why turned that down and make the choice
to go and just straight into the draft. My family
needed money. We were we were struggling at the time.
My dad's been doing construction in his whole life. Um,
he's been he's owned his own business for some time.
And he got sick for a while with the soccer dosis,
and you know, it was just it was tough times
(19:59):
and it's too much for him to continuously go to
do doing a construction. And my mom raised all four
of us at home, so she didn't she wasn't really
working like that. And my dad when my dad felt
really felt sick. And I've seen the way people, people
he helped his whole life, as well as his siblings
and everybody else turned pretty much turned their back on
(20:21):
them when they needed them. They're just like, you know what,
I gotta do this for my pops, and I gotta
do this for my family. I gotta help them and
be able to financially. We don't have to worry about it.
And if he wants to work, like how he now,
he's he's almost seventy, he's still out their construction, running
the dumb trucks in the back hods and stuff like that.
But it's different, Like I was telling them, it's like,
it's different if you want to do it opposed to
(20:41):
you have to do it. For me, I was. I
was in a position to where I wanted to play
pro ball and they were gonna pay me enough to
where I could take care of my whole family. So
for me, it was pretty much like a no brainer.
That's gerald That's an enormous amount of responsibility to to
throw at someone at at that young age. I mean,
did you feel at anytimes like that was a burden
(21:02):
or did you just feel like that was your kind
of responsibility in the path that you had to do
to provide for the for the family. No, No, that's why.
That's just what I felt like I had to do,
you know. That's why I was That's what we were
bred to do at a very young age. It was
always take care of the person next to you is
(21:22):
always take care of your brothers, take care of your sisters,
take care of your family, you know. And for for us,
no matter what, that what, no matter what context I
was in, whether it was fighting, standing up for him
or giving them something or forgiving them, it was always,
uh that mindset. So for me once it once the
opportunity came and was just like, oh no, my mom,
(21:42):
mom went this house. Yeah I can get that and
get that next year. Okay, cool, Like that was the mindset.
Who were your basketball heroes growing up? Who were the
people that you looked up to that you man? Kobe
uh and Jay was obviously got for me. Uh, but
Code was amazing for me growing up. Penny Hardaway, MJ
(22:04):
and Penny Hardaway was like my first and second favorite
players ever. It was just like when I seen Penny
at that six six card looking smooth with uh the
phone positives and he had such a unorthodox game for
a six six point guard and it was just it was,
it was so so sick. I saw I had dinner
(22:26):
with Penny Hardaway at the w g C in Memphis.
A friend of mine knows and he came to dinner man.
He had like he walked in and I said to
the kids that were sitting tip, I'm like, he's got
like fifteen grands worth of clothing on. I'm like that shirt,
that shirts like five grand, the shoes. I mean he
looked fresh. I mean Penny's Penny's game. His his clothing
game is is pretty tight percent. Him and Eddie Jones,
(22:49):
I was talk I was Eddie Jones that man, if
you couldn't do nothing, you should dand struck his dress. Bro.
So now, um, what do you think it takes to
become a great athlete? What does it take Jr? To
be a champion? Because obviously you've played basketball at the
highest level, You've been around you, you're on two team
(23:11):
to championship teams with Lebron. When you're talking to the
kids in your your golf team, now they must ask
you how do you do it? What does it take?
And what do you think not only from a basketball
but to be a great champion? What are what are
the attributes you think you have to have? Um, For one,
you have to have that mindset. If you don't have
the mindset of uh, I'm gonna get after day in
(23:35):
and day out. No matter if yesterday was amazing or
yesterday was terrible, Tomorrow I'm gonna go even harder, regardless
of the fact. You know, I don't care who's saying
what about me, or saying I can't do it or
anything like that. You don't have that mindset to literally
go out there and dedicate yourself to the thing you
say you love the most, then it's just not gonna happen. Um.
(23:59):
If you don't have that passion and drive for it's
not gonna happen. Um. I tell I tell those guys
all the time. I was like, what's your uh the
first time, the first time I met it, I was like,
what's your goals? Like what do you want to do?
When guys like yeah, I want to be an engineer,
and other guys like yeah, I want to be an accountant.
I'll be a lawyer. Like okay, it was like, well,
when you came out, what were you gonna do? I
(24:19):
was gonna play pro ball? Yeah there wasn't. No, it's
the same thing. Yeah, that's my that was my drive,
that was my goal. That was accomplished. But at the
end of the day, that's what when people ask me,
what do you want to do. What are you gonna do?
This is what That was my response all the time,
And it wasn't It wasn't like, Okay, I want to
say this just in case you, you know, I might
(24:42):
not think it's obtainable for me, or you know, putting
your fears on me. It was just like, no, this
is what I want to do, regardless of who says what,
and that's how I feel. And I try to tell
those guys that saying pretty much the same thing, like, granted,
there's nothing wrong with having a fallback option, that's why
you're in school. But at the end of the day,
you're your goal is to play on a on the
(25:02):
year CEMETRY Tour, European Tour, u PGA Tour. That's your
That's gotta be your goal all the time. You gotta
think about that all the time when you wake up.
That's what you should be thinking about. When you go
to sleep, that should be thinking about. Like, granted, you
have so many other things that you can compartmentalized, but
that if this is what you want to do, that
comes first. A couple of times a year, I'll have
(25:26):
a kid come in and the dad will say, listen,
you're never gonna meet a kid that's gonna work harder
than my son, and I always want to say that's
if he's gonna be good, that's a given. Do you
think the guys how I mean, you've been around some
of the but I don't think, and I'm around it
a lot as a coach, I don't think the average
person who's a fan of golf or basketball has any
(25:47):
real concept as to how hard you guys have to
work to get to where you are, the work ethic,
the devotion, the sacrifices that a professional athlete make. Yes,
obviously in one there are people that that think it's
obscene the amount of money athletes make. But having been
around professional athletes, the pressure that they're under, and the
(26:10):
enormity of that situation, I'm like, in a lot of ways,
they're underpaid for what the public and the fans expect
them to do, right on top of just a scrutiny alone.
Like that's like I was listening to, um, you know
Kyrie speech yesterday because he couldn't do the he couldn't
(26:32):
the team day, right, yeah, participate in in the media day,
And I was just sending it listening, like you know,
it's all because of COVID reasons or whatever. Hey has
this personal reason. Just like at the end of the day,
because we get paid so much money in our lives
are quote unquote so much better than the next people
that that people think or see. It's just like you
don't realize the scrutiny that you have to live under
(26:56):
from the from the mom from the moment you signed
whatever contract, that people start realizing how much you make
or who you are, whatever, your life is under so
much scrutiny. It's like, I don't think you would want
to make that trade off. It's like it's almost like
I don't want to say shaking hands with the devil,
but it's almost like, Bro, you're like you are not
you anymore. Take that out for for the rest of
(27:18):
your life. You'll never people will never look at you
the same as just a normal person. Like Bro, I
go to Target, I go to Walmart, I go to
Dunk of Doughnuts, I get coffee, I go to the
same restaurants and then the average person goes to It's
just that I and worship because I'm really good at
one particular thing, not a hundred things, not a million things,
(27:43):
just one and you're gonna and the way you react
to me is gonna be based off of how I
do this one thing. But I have no clue who
you are. I don't know you. I don't I have
never met you a day of my life. But people
don't look at it like that because oh, you have
some you have this same and money and all of
that comes with a price. Yeah. I always think it's
(28:05):
interesting that you see young athletes that signed these big contracts,
and you know, they spend money, they get in trouble,
and you know when things don't go well, and everybody says, well,
I just I can't believe they do that. I'm like,
you give anybody at twenty one years old million dollars
a year, I mean, we'd all be broke. We don't,
we'd all be in trouble. I mean there and also, Jared,
(28:27):
I think it's interesting nobody and I say this all
the time because you know, my dad worked coach Tiger
Woods for ten years. Nobody explains to you how to
be famous, how to live in the line. There's no
classes you go to that they just throw you into
the situation and say, one perform, here's a ton of
money and figure it out while you're just trying to
(28:48):
be a normal human being. And it's like, that's one
thing I credit Lebrons so well because he's done it
better than anybody who I've seen how he carries itself
from start to this, from the first day he walked
into the league to the until now he's been keeps
carried it so professionally and being able to keep what
he wants private but also being able to accept and
(29:12):
be a pioneer for for so many groups of individuals.
It's it's amazing Um and their Jeter as well. He's
I think he's one of those UH athletes who really
polarized that and they don't really get the credit that
they deserve. Yes as a as a player, for sure,
but as when it comes to literally handling your business
on off the court from start to finish, those guys
(29:34):
are really like been UH pioneers and that, and it's
it's it's it's hard. It's it's really hard. I mean,
you seventeen eighteen years old and you walk into twenty
million dollars over and pretty much overnight, it's like, not
only did I don't have twenty million dollars, I have
a hundred billion. You know, in our minds, it's like
this money will never run out. How could it run out? Oh? Oh,
(29:57):
I gotta pay agencies, I gotta pay taxes. I gotta
do this. Also, I really have this. Uh. And like
you said, no one's trying to show what you touched
on Lebron. You you got to play with him. You know,
two different um organizations, the Lakers and the Calvs. You
one champions. What have you learned over your time in
your career and in being around someone like Lebron, who's
(30:19):
an icon not only in basketball, but he's become an
icon in in kind of you know, modern day life. Um.
The dedication um, the dedication he puts forth to being
the best he can be every single day consistently is
so admirable. I mean, every morning it's something five am,
(30:41):
he's working out, five thirties, stretch, six o'clock, he's eating
seven thirties, doing this, eight o'clockly doing that. And now
granted some people can't do some people are just regimented people.
But that's just the sign of greatness of how he is.
Like he just had we were in the finals. He
(31:02):
had forty four forty something. Hey, mccarrie back to back.
He goes to the gym after the game. People not
doing that. People are riding the high of I had
forty four in the finals in the dog fight. Yeah,
but this was a good game. He goes to the
gym the next one, let's go. Yeah. You know the
other night at the Ryder Cup, you know Bryson d Shambou.
(31:24):
I think it was the Friday night he he won
his match late and I was standing on the bridge,
you know, to where the cars were, and Bryson kind
of walked over and talked to him for a few
seconds and I'm like, he's going to the range. And
I posted it on my Instagram. You know, it's it's dark,
they've got a light on, the sun's going down, everybody's
leaving the golf tournament and the Ryder Cup and he's
(31:45):
there practicing. He was had his boy Connor on the
phone with Chris Como. They were looking at his golf
swing and stuff like that. And there, you know, it's
that old and I put it out there. It's that
old Nike adage there is no finish line, that the
great ones always just are seeing the the next and
they're trying to work on it. Um. One of the
cliches in sports is that you learn more from your
(32:07):
defeats than your victories. Obviously, you've won two championships, but
you get to the finals in fifteen against Golden State
and then you win the following year. What did you
learn from getting to the finals in two thousand and fifteen,
not getting the ring, not getting the championship? That helped
you all as a team and you as as a
player Jr. In two thousand and sixteen, Oh, look for one,
(32:31):
keep make sure everybody stays healthy. We lost Kevi in
the first round. We lost Kyrie in the Eastern Covererge finals,
so that was too. She really huge blows for us.
But more than anything, as a as a player, my confidence. Um,
when I first got to the finals, I was in
such shock of the trophy, the atmosphere and so many
(32:53):
other things that it was just not it was almost
not about the game anymore. You know. It was because
you had interviews here, over here and over there, and
then everybody's like, you got police escorts here, just like
this is a circus, Like what until we just play?
And the second I really got them, I really got
the grasp of because it was obviously we had so
(33:14):
much um animosity against them, just because they beat us
the year before and that we weren't healthy and they
just had a seventh three game win uh season and
everybody was calling him the great team ever. It was
just like, no, we gotta like it was so it was.
It was so much of a difference. If you could
see us. I think the first time we got the
(33:36):
bus in fifteen opposed to sixteen, UM, you can see
it in everybody's faces. And when in fifteen we got off,
it was we thought we were at Disneyland. It was
just like wow, like oh my god. And then in
sixteen when we got off the bus, it was just like,
nah that let's go like we gotta work and we don't.
If we don't, if we have our heads up in
(33:59):
the sky and and not focused on what we need
to do, we're gonna have the exact same feeling we
had last year. And that's something we don't wanna h reiterate.
Let's talk about your golf game. Talk to me about
where you are. The first time I ever saw you
UM in person, you played in the pro am in
d C. It's got to be four or five years ago,
(34:20):
and obviously I knew who you were as a player.
DJ had talked about, you know, he he had played
some practice rounds with you and some pro ams and stuff.
So obviously you rolled out. I think you had on
like yellow pants and like a pink shirt and the
collar was buttoned up. And in basketball, you know, you've
got the tats, You've got the scream tats. Your style
on the golf course. Um, it's funny. It's like you're
(34:43):
like so buttoned up when you play golf. It's like
the top buttons. You look really really fresh. Do you
have you have you made a conscious effort to go
for that kind of super golf look. Yeah, for sure,
that's you know. Ever since I was a kid, I
took that into my took that on my thought process
of that. Dion Sanders like, you look good, you played good,
(35:04):
you feel good and all that. Or you look good,
you feel good, you played good, you get paid good.
So it was like for me, I've always tried to
look my best, um when I'm in competitive like when
when I'm being in a game or in practice, like
you guys my teammates always to change my shirts and
just just to have a different look of it and
(35:25):
make it feel good about myself to when I play.
I was just like, Okay, if I'm gonna if I'm
gonna play bad, I'm gonna look good as hell playing.
So who are your golfing heroes right now? I mean
who are the guys? I mean, you know a lot
of the guys on the PGA Tour that you've you've
met through through golf and through pro ams and stuff
like that. But when you look at players right now
(35:46):
you're trying to play college golf, you're just like, you're
just like the kids on your team, your eighteen nineteen
they've got their heroes. When you look at players right now,
who do you look at and you go, man, I
really really like his game. I like him as a player. Uh.
If I can think about it, for me, it was
Tiger obviously, just show what he means to the game.
(36:07):
Um for me right now, I would say, uh j T.
I love Brooks's attitude towards the game. I love I
love the charisma DJ has when he doesn't when he
(36:27):
hits a bad shot, just like you know, like I
don't worry about I'm making up for the next all.
It's just like it's seven different things that I'll take
from each player. For me, um DJ kind of has
that shooter mentality that you must have. If you're gonna
miss one, you're not gonna try and stay away from it, right,
You're gonna go give me the ball. I'm gonna shoot again. Right.
(36:48):
And I think his attitude. DJ's attitude has always been, Listen,
I can't control anything I've done in the past, and
I can't control anything that's gonna be in the future.
I can only kind of focus in on what I'm
doing right now. So in a lot of ways, it
is like you were saying earlier about being a shooter
of the stroke, the mechanics, the the ability to kind
of focus on one shot a time. But if you
(37:08):
miss shots in a game, you're not gonna try and
not get the ball. You want to get the ball again, right.
Not only that, but you're not when you do get
the ball, you're not gonna try and and guide the
ball in. You're gonna shoot it. You know. When people,
I think that's a lot of a lot of when
people missed a fairway laugh a right, they get some
tense stuff and try to uh compartmentalize their their their
(37:30):
issues on their swing instead of just swinging the club.
Like for me, a lot of times my dad was
like my dad would always tell the man, it's not
posing and just shoot the ball, like you know, it's
always it's almost like trying to make it look too
pretty opposed to actually making a shot. It doesn't matter
how it looks. As long as it goes in, it
doesn't matter. Yeah, And that's what we always say to
two players. There's no points on the scorecard. There's no
(37:51):
place on the scorecard for style. The only thing that
you write down when you play golf is the number.
So what do you feel like you need to do
better as a competitive golf for and where would you
say you are right now in your golf game? Um,
as a competitor. For me more than anything right now
is uh well, obviously just swinging my swing could definitely
(38:12):
get better. But right now, of course, management no one
when to hit what club is not trying to go
for every dream sometimes just you know, if I'm for me,
and that's nowadays, just like if I'm too two or
five on a on a part far par five, I
don't have to have to put my five iron out
every time when there's water to the right and I
could just hit a safer shot down the left side,
(38:35):
and just you know, playing for part opposed to trying
to make ego or birdie every single time. For me,
trying to take trying to understand what holes I can
score on and what holds I'm just trying to get
out of there with par or you know, I'm in
the woods and I just gotta make bogie. Playing for
those circumstances, it's totally different than just playing with your
(38:55):
boys dropping out the ball all ahead and then you
know count that as part. Are you putting everything out now?
I mean you get there's no gimmes. Now you gotta
put everything out. That's the other thing. Yeah, you know
I was when I first played with the coach, I
was putting everything out. He's like, okay, even paying attentions,
you're gonna used to it. And then as I started
(39:16):
playing with the guys, that guy's got more relaxed and
just like, okay, now you can take that. You can
take that. But literally, like focusing on every single put
every single finishing every hole is um it feels good
in a sense because it's like accomplishment and I'm doing
something completely different, and I know I was onto the
next hole opposed just picking a ball up, being frustrated
(39:36):
and walking off the hole. I saw you liked on
on your Twitter feed the other you like to quote
from Lebron and he said, why do so many players
in basketball practice so much stuff that they're never going
to use on the court. So part of golf, I think,
and practicing golf, I think there's a big difference between
playing golf and practicing golf. And I'm sure you went
(39:57):
through that in basketball as well. There's big it's between
what you're doing and the shoot around versus what you're
doing in the game. And I asked Michael Jordan once,
you know, he was warming up, he was warm up
for one of the big money games at Floridian at
my club and stuff, and he wasn't hitting it good,
and he's like, man, it's gonna be interesting out there today.
And I said, did you ever have bad warmups in basketball?
(40:17):
And he was like, man, I've had bad warm ups
in Game seven, but he said, I kind of always
liked it because it meant that I knew I was
gonna have to really hone and focus in on the
court because the warm up wasn't great. Are you a
player as a golfer that is really focused in on
what you're doing from the warm up and the practice
or are you trying to get into that mental space
(40:39):
of playing and executing and and doing that. Yeah, I
try to get into playing and executing it. I'm trying
to get more into paying attention to everything I do
on the range, where my ball position is, how I'm standing,
how my uh, where my weight is, uh I'm coming
across it, or to um what what with? The team
(41:02):
had really been helping me with it. It's just hard to,
you know, try to correct things. I think golf is
probably the hardest sport to try to correct on your own. Um,
you know. I feel like for me, I was pretty
much self taught. I got myself too as good as
I can get, which is like a five or six
without literally no lessons. But now it's like, okay, to
break that barrier, you're gonna need to dial and get
(41:23):
a coach lock and do this that player to get
to the results. You want to be coaches. I've obviously
you've worked in you know, you've been on a number
of different NBA teams and stuff like that are. Do
you like being coached, You like someone to be hands on?
Do you like someone telling you what to do? Or
do you just like someone kind of letting you be you? No,
(41:44):
I love it. I love to be coached, especially in
the things I'm not aware of. Like it for me
and unfortunately I have I don't have a problem telling
people like listening, like when it comes to basketball, and
I've had coaches in the past and telling me about
screens and stuff like that, like, listen, I know what
I'm doing now here. I know how to get over
the screen. I know I know how to get under
(42:06):
the screen, Like I can understand that we can watch
film and see where how we can miscalculate steps and
stuff like that. But I'm pretty much good on that.
But it's something I have literally, like I'm pretty much
like a seven year old growing up in the game
of golf. I don't have I don't have enough swings
that don't have enough self confidence in myself to know
(42:27):
that I'm doing the right thing every single time to
not have a coach. How's your short game? Short game? Putting?
You spending a lot of time on short game and putting? Oh,
I have it in a while. Actually need to get
your you need you need to get your ass to
the short game area and the putting green if you
want to get better. Yeah, for sure, I see. It's
it's it's funny because and this is again, of course management.
(42:49):
I'm I'm so used to going out there beating driver,
beating long eyes, and it's like, Bro, you only hit
driver four times today. You know you don't. Why are
you hitting a hundred huntred drives and you hit four
drives and you hit fifty wedges. You know, it's like
it doesn't make sense. So how did you play in
(43:10):
the first qualifier? What did you shoot? I played terrible.
I shot eighty two. Yeah, how many doubles? How many triples? Um?
A lot of triples because it's out of bounds. You
just gotta getting rid of the get rid of the
big numbers. Yeah, that's what that's what they've been telling me.
I'm gonna sure, I'm gonna get a glimpse real quick.
(43:32):
Let's check it out. This is ah. We just up
the team up Grayson with the golf golf swag. So
this is my golf team. There we go. So you guys,
my girl's shot, it's my dog, but we got some
of the golf swag out so Grayson hooked us up,
so uh they can't go to pick some of us up.
But they've been helping me with my swing. They've been
(43:52):
trying to get me dialed into where I need to be.
But it's hard because I didn't realize that golf you
gotta qualify and stuff like that, so I didn't realize
the like you're playing against your teammates and stuff like that,
so it's kind of it was kind of weird because obviously,
just you know basketball, you pass somebody you can get
you know, you get some uh points from your teammates
(44:13):
and stuff like that. But it's like, you know, I
was talking I had dinner with Brooks one day and
the Bahamas, and he was telling me, you know, golf
is so different because for him, it's like, Okay, it's
not it's not as much as a team game. So
I'm not really trying to give you my game plan.
But at the same time, if I give you my
game plan, it's still up to you to go execute.
I can tell you what shot to hit, but you
(44:33):
still gotta go hit the shot. Absolutely. What do you
love most um day are about golf. What what what
about the game that you just go maun. I love
this part of it. Um walking outside, walking in the fairway,
walk into my ball. Um like a lot of guys
who love the ride and stuff like that and gring
(44:54):
Now college, you gotta push or carry, So I'm pushing
it for sure. What I playing mainly like especially country
club and stuff. I like to walk. I get a caddy, walk,
walk the course. Give me four and four and a
half hours to put my phone in my bag. And
really was just honus in on the elements of the
game in life. Who's the player on your team right
(45:14):
now that that's the best player that you kind of
look up to him, and that's the guy I've got
to get to. He's the guy that I've got to
try and play and he's my competition. Diego Gonzalez, Right,
Diego Gonzalez. He's a he's a stick man. He hits it.
He's and again he's Diego. I'll tell you five seven.
(45:35):
He hits the ball probably thirty thirty yards passing every
time you're and you're six six six six. It's just
like I gotta I gotta get to that. I gotta
do that. Last question, j are if you start playing
good and win a college golf tournament, are we going
to see on the eighteenth hole you take your shirt off.
(45:57):
If there's a lake, it's gonna is going crazy for sure.
I can't tell you how proud I am that you're
doing something like this, and I think it's an inspiration
to everybody. And we're gonna try and get together. I'm
gonna trying to come up and see you in the
team and we're gonna get you dialed in. But thanks
for taking the time. And hey, um, short game putting
and and go to class. What's what? What class do
(46:19):
you have tomorrow? Tomorrow's African studies and the studies right?
And how's the g p A right now? What were
we saying? What do we what's what's the target? What's
the target for the g p A? Target is three? Seven? Five?
Are higher right now? For four point? So I'm trying
to make the chances list. I gotta if I'm gonna
continuously to inspire these kids, I gotta show the effort
(46:41):
and and proof that I'm doing it. Well. You're doing
a great job. I appreciate talk to you. We're gonna
get together soon. I'm I'm gonna help you get to that. Yeah,
eight two, you're too good. I mean, you look too
good on the golf course. Shoot eight two. Appreciate it.
(47:01):
So that was j R. Smith And UM, you know,
I know I've said this before, but UM, that's got
to be one of my favorite episodes so far. Um,
I mean, it's just an amazing story. I mean, who
does that? I mean, who is a two time NBA champion.
You know he talks about having money, I mean, fame,
all of that and the stages of his life. He
could pivot and go in a lot of different directions,
(47:22):
but he's chosen not only to go back to school,
but to try and be a UM Division one college golfer.
So I can't wait to see what he does. We've
talked um offline about me going up and spending some
time with him and spending some time with the team,
and I'm really looking forward to doing that. We're just
trying to get some dates for that, but UM, it's
definitely something that's gonna happen and I'm really excited about
(47:42):
doing it. So Um j R. Smith, I mean, he's
doing something that not many people are willing to do,
and I don't know if anybody is willing to do
what he's doing, so pretty cool. I thought about, um,
you know, one of the questions that I get asked
all the time is what it takes to be an
elite golfer, and and that's one of the things I've
been talking with are about, is about, you know, how
he can go about from the NBA to trying to
(48:04):
be a competitive college golfer. And I think one of
the things that we've talked about, and one of the
things that I think everybody's trying to do, is how
do you get better? And I've talked to JR a
lot about the difference between his technique and his execution.
And obviously his technique can always improve. Everyone's technique can improve,
you know, John Rom, Dustin Johnson, uh, justin Thomas Roy, McElroy.
(48:25):
They're constantly trying to improve their technique and that will
never really change UM. But what he's trying to do
is figure out how to play and be a competitor.
So that's that balance between technique and execution. And I think, yes,
the execution part is where you should be focusing a
lot of your time. Obviously, it helps to have good technique,
but your technique is going to be what it is,
(48:47):
and yes, that can improve. But if you can improve
the way you execute, the way you think, the way
you work on the golf course, I think it's a huge,
huge way to get better. And a lot of times
you can just try and have better focus at our
club selection, better course management, and I think if you
can work on those things and be constantly thinking about
yes there's a way to practice, but if you're going
(49:09):
to play golf at a competitive level, there is an
art to playing golf and learning how to play golf.
So I think that's the most important thing, especially if
you're trying to play the technique. Yes that's important, you
want to try and get better at that. Everyone's technique
needs to improve. But I think what Jr. Has got
to learn how to do, and what most golfers need
to learn how to do, is to learn how to
(49:30):
play golf, to execute, and to hit shots on the
golf course, just not hit shots on the range. So
I'm really excited to see what he can do, and uh,
it's gonna be a cool journey and hopefully I can
help him um get better and help him learn how
to become a better player, because that's kind of what
my job is. So tune in next week. Great review, subscribe,
(49:52):
download wherever you get your podcasts, and we will see
you all next week. A Sky
It's episode twenty of Off Course with Claude Harmon comes
to you every Wednesday. Thanks for everyone that listened to
the solo episode of the pod last week. UM back
to normal this week and j R. Smith is the guest.
I think this is one of the most unique, um,
fascinating and exciting stories in golf and if I'm honest,
(00:31):
in sports in general. I think what Jarr is doing
going back to school being a two time NBA champion, Um,
he had college eligibility left and he wanted to challenge
himself and do something. UM. I mean, let's be honest,
it's about as different as you can get to go
from the NBA to being a college golfer. Um the
pot place. UM, I wasn't in his dorm room, but UM,
(00:55):
you know it's. UM, it's pretty interesting, and I think
he unpacks a lot, talks a lot about his career,
talks about what it's like playing with Lebron. He talks
about what it's like being, um, you know, a celebrity
and being famous and all the stuff that goes with that.
But I think, as with everyone on on the Off
Course with Claude Harmon podcast, he talks about his passion
(01:16):
for golf, and uh, he reached out to me. It
was funny. I was actually thinking about having him as
a guest and out of nowhere, it's it's funny you
put a thought out into the universe. And um, he
actually sent me a message, UM, just randomly because I've
met him before, and he said, yeah, I'm back in school.
I need some help with my golf. So that's how
this came about. I think it's a really cool story.
(01:38):
And UM, I think it's it's it's a pretty special
story as well. So sit back and listen to j R. Smith.
All right, So j R. Smith freehold New Jersey's finest.
You're back at school. I just it is such a
(01:58):
unique thing that you're trying to do. Um, tell us
about the experience. Tell us why you've decided me your
two time NBA champion. You know, you just played for
the the l A Lakers won a championship, You played
with Lebron. I mean you played in the league for
you know, forever, and now in your mid thirties, you
decided to go back to college. What was the why? Um?
(02:21):
For me, the main thing was continuously to push myself
to educate myself to try to be better as a person. Um,
you know I've tried. I've done you know, one championships
and played at the highest level on so many you know,
in sports. And for me, the biggest challenge, um was
always my academics. Even growing up, I never really liked school.
(02:43):
I never um gravitated towards school. I was just always
wanted to do sports and things like that. Um. After
talking to Ray Allen, you know, after after the he
was telling me, after you know, we were being we're
on a roller coaster for so long on ups and
downs with these you know drains and emotions and challenges
and stuff like that. Once the game is over, Um,
(03:06):
you lose that edge. Well you don't lose that edge,
but it's harder to repeat, and it's harder to to
um channel that energy where you so used to doing
everything physical to trying to you know, turn on your
mind a little more. And uh, he really challenged me
with trying to go back to school and finished or
not go back to school, to go to school because
(03:26):
I never went, and just challenge myself as as far
as my mental aspect can goes, as far as my
endurance of how I can uh use my brain and
work and try to do so much, so many more
things than just played basketball or sport. And I think
the interesting thing Jr. Is you came out of high
(03:47):
school and went straight to the NBA, I mean, which
is something that not a lot of people have done,
and so you didn't. It wasn't like you had a
year of of college and then decided to turn pro
and you were gonna go back. I think the unique
thing is that, like you said, school wasn't a big
part of your life, and and in your thirties to
go back to it, and and it must have been
a tough decision to make, But um, did you see
(04:11):
it as also a way to kind of show other
people and empower other people to try and take school
seriously that maybe maybe don't when they're younger. Yeah. I
think that's the thing I've been really um honest and
on the most is trying to get people to really
focused on the academic side earlier on because there's so
(04:31):
many things Like for me, unfortunately I didn't have to
go to you know, college and stuff like that, so
I never really learned how to write emails and certain
mL A formats and stuff like that. So it really.
It was like, it's a whole culture shot to me.
So and I actually, you know, I met tons and
tons of tons of million billionaires and stuff like that.
(04:51):
So it's like to actually have that the tutelage of
two reach out to those guys in a in a
in a more professional manner. I was just sent him
in a text or a call, and then they see
that email and it's like it's a different It gives
you a different um status when you you know, people
are under taking more serious And for me, that's my
(05:11):
biggest thing um through my career and um, you know,
through throughout the last couple sixteen years, I've never I
feel like I haven't really been taken serious as a person,
not even just as a player. So this is uh
something for me, the challenge myself to take to be
more hands on. I just took my my daughter back
(05:33):
to she's starting her second year of college. Her dorm
room doesn't look like the backdrop of what you're in
are you Are you in a dorm? Are you in
an apartment? Are you in a house? I'm in a
house right now. I'm in the air van. I was
in a hotel for two months and uh, trying to
look for a place, and it was just like being
in the dorm. So it's it's it was kind of
it was kind of cool because I wanted that experience
(05:53):
a little bit. Obviously the hotels is a little different
than the dorm room, but it still gives you that
quiet room in that tight spaces where you can uh
really try to think outside the box. And on top
of just being around campus, your Twitter feed, the Real
j R. Smith has been amazing. You're talking about going
to class, going to tutoring. What has been the hardest
(06:15):
part here? I mean basically you're starting would be like
me trying to play basketball. I have no basketball background.
You're trying to go to school, and you said you
didn't have it. What's been the hardest part for you?
And what is what have you liked about it? Um?
I think for me, the hardest part is like not
getting discouraged and saying, the hell would this have plenty
(06:36):
of money you can just you know, Um, I think
that's the hardest part because it's like, you know, after
you hit a bump of the road, taking tests and
quizzes and homework, and sometimes you can get behind the
eight ball if you don't stack your schedule the right way.
And for me, it's like, you know, one day I
actually got behind the eight ball, like a week or
(06:57):
two ago, and it was just like, I don't help
I put myself through this, like I have to like
now I have to submit stuff, I gotta do this,
and I gotta do that. And it's just like, you know,
I needed that extra gear in my head to be like,
you know what, No, this is what you signed up for.
This is what you're gonna stick it through. You're gonna
do the best you can. So for me to see
the younger generation, to hear the guys on my team
(07:17):
um talk about you know, I inspire them to do
to try harder in the in the classroom as well
on the golf course, and take things more a little
more serious, it's it's uh inspirational for me because I
never heard it before. I never heard anybody talk to
me or talk about me in that manner. It was
always in a party or some NBA play or a
(07:39):
dunk or something like that. So when people tell me
I inspired them to go back to school and try
to help them help themselves, it's uh. It's one of
the best films you can feel. Are you wearing the rings? Brings?
Do you wear them to class? And I'll lead those
in the vault? Man, I leave them in. I wear them.
I wear them here and there for actually just to
(08:00):
remind myself and what I've what I've accomplished where I'm from.
But honestly, I don't really wear it too much. Is
just just to think about it is enough to make
you tear up and stuff like that on those journeys.
So uh, seeing the rings is probably a little too much.
Now that you're trying to play, you know, competitive golf.
What do you see the parallels between basketball and golf?
(08:22):
Because one of the things I think that's really interesting
is is about golf is it's not so much reactionary
where basketball is. Once the game is starting, you're reacting
a lot to it. And I'm guessing for you playing
golf is it's basically like shooting a free throw. Every
single time you hit a shot, you know, everything kind
of quiet, you go through a routine. How have you
(08:42):
been able to take some of the things that you
learned on on the court and take it towards and
applying it towards trying to play competitive golf? For me
is uh more than anything that's practicing with a purpose. Um.
When I when I, when I get the range, it's
not just hitting bootballs anymore and just going to try
and play play the course. It's more trajective shots, flighting shots,
(09:06):
trying to make the ball work the ball left, right,
right and left. There's so much deep, so much more
detail into it. And it's like I related to again
because I'm being a shooter. Um, it's like shooting corner
corner threes or whatever your favorite spot is. You know,
it's different ways to get to your spots as different
ways to like a reaction to how the defensive guarden
(09:28):
you and stuff like that. But at the end of
the day, all of this stays the same. Your your release,
in your your confidence and your mechanics, all of those
things that you've I've learned over a kid. I just
put the time of hours in to do it over
and over and over against our second nature. So that's
pretty much the same thing with golf. If you can
(09:49):
put the time of hours in and consistently stay uh,
stay with a purpose in your practice. And I feel
like disguise the limit. Why golf and when did you
start playing golf. Who introduced you to golf? Mos of
Malone was just Malone. Yeah. I was in Houston working
(10:09):
out with John Lucas at the time, and he, uh
he had Chard Lewis had his first funded foundation event
was a golf outing event. And for me, I never
I never played golf. I told him I didn't. I
don't play golf. I don't you know, it's not my thing.
He's like, no, man, just come on, you just ride
(10:30):
around with the card girls, take some shots or whatever.
I'm like, all right, cool time. So I was doing
that and uh, I pulled up on mos of Malone's
group and he sure enough, young fellow, come hit this ball.
And for me, the respect I have for the Hall
of Famers and people who came before me is very tremendous.
So it's like when they when they tell me somebody
(10:51):
asked me to do something, that's like I can't tell
him no. So I was like, yeah, sure, Like I
hit the ball and now I was shard and all
these other dudes like, man, come on, come on, come on,
my hell not doing that. So he asked him, like sure,
she gets up. There's like I'm like, man, how you
do this? Like show me. I don't never played before,
so they showed me how to hold the clubs, how
to technically swing. I watched a few guys in front
of them. I was talking ship and it was just
(11:12):
like it was. It was very funny and now. So
then I hit my first shot down the fairway about
three hundred yards. Everybody shot. I'm like, it's easy, Like
it's it ain't that hard. So I get in a
cart drive off and uh, that was my first experience.
So then I go back like, of course, looking around.
(11:32):
Of course because we're out there five hours with this
abue and uh, pull up on this group again. He's
telling everybody all day, man, you gotta seeing this ball. Uh,
I bet you can't do it again, I bet you
can't do it. So I'm like, all right, whatever, get
out there. I couldn't hit the ball. It was so frustrating,
it was so frush. So you crushed the first one
and I couldn't make contact. So j are basically in
(11:55):
that moment, you became a golfer just like the rest
of us, because it's that one good shot. I think
in golf that everybody says, you know, you're hitting it terrible.
It's the end of the day on the range and
you take out the driver and you hit that one
good one and you think, I'm gonna come back and
I'm gonna do it more. So immediately you were hooked
by the one good one, not the fifty bad ones, right, Unfortunately,
you know people, that's what everybody was saying. It's like, well,
(12:17):
at least the first one was a good one, and
I'm like, you know, what about the thousand other ones
that I've been tearing up? So after that, you you
got hooked on golf, and even when you were playing basketball,
you started to kind of in your off time think
about golf and get into it. Yeah, I was playing.
I mean I bought three sets of club that first
day I ended up playing. I had old Nike sasquashes
(12:39):
I hated because they're like a frying pan, and I
don't think I have like some R seven Taylor Maids
and the titlist a p s And I was just
like I was so locked in. And then after like
so in Denver, because people have this misconception of Dinners freezing,
it's always snow and it's one of the most beautiful
cities ever and it gets so much sunlight, so even
(12:59):
in the wintertime he can go out and play. So
I would play like I would play before practice, I'll
play after practice, I'll play before games. And you know,
now coaches and gms get piste off at you playing.
I'm like, fucking Jordan played thirty six holes a day
and then to play golf. It's like, oh, yeah, but
that's Michael Jordan. I was like, do you think he's
by yourself like he was playing with people. He's played
(13:20):
with his teammates, and uh, it's It's it's funny now
because it's like so much, so much into you know,
a little management and stuff like that and staying off
at feet. It's like, bro, if I go play eighteen
holes of golf, you're gonna want me to come back
here and play, uh forty eight minutes of basketball. If
I don't play golf, then you're not gonna want me
to play. It gives me such a calm and soothing feeling. Man.
(13:43):
It's like every shot as you obviously trying to hit perfection,
so you have to lock in and focus and concentrate,
and to be able to do that on the court
is pretty much unheard of. Nobody's going like you know,
fifteen or fifteen, hitting every fair way, you're hitting every
three and unless you're step but it just you know,
it's it's a it's a nerve wracking game, but it's
probably you know, the most peaceful feelings to have once
(14:05):
you get that bought un affair with Why do you
think athletes in general gravitate towards golf the way they
do and become so obsessed with golf? Because I mean,
I'm around a bunch of golfers and the majority of
them aren't obsessed with another sport. You've got Sergio Sergio
is a good tennis player, Adam Scott plays tennis, Adam
Scott likes to surf. But you don't really find a
(14:27):
lot of golfers that are obsessed with playing other sports.
And it's it's just, I mean, I've met people like yourself,
you know, Michael was, MJ was at at the at
the Ryder Cup. Steph Curry was at the Ryder Cup.
But athletes from every sport they love golf. What do
you think it is about golf that makes athletes just
(14:49):
get hooked? I think for for for us as athletes,
the biggest thing is that competitive nation so you can
be competitive for much much, much longer than your active sport. Um.
It's I think that that that just takes the take,
especially for like guys who are especially guys are like
baseball players. Those dudes are I mean Schmoltz and Gavin
(15:12):
and those dudes are sick they can play. And it's
like that once you get those competitive juices, and especially
if you are really really good in your other sport,
you know the uh you have, you already have the
work ethic, you have the dedication to it. It's just
a matter of putting it into golf opposed to any
other sport. But overall, I think just the competitive nature
(15:33):
you we're able to play golf into your nineties and
basketball and football and those get obviously these games are
like you know, eight to ten years max nowadays, and
it's it's it's it's tough, you know, it's tough to
be to go out for me, like I'm so competitive
and for me to literally I can't watch basketball anymore,
(15:53):
like I can't I can't sit here and watch the
Western Conference finals and watch uh Chris Paul and then
play a the Clippers or Janice and then playing Miami
and East. I can't watch it just because the competitive
nature in me. I know I should be out there,
and I know I want to be out there, and
I know nobody on that floor can touch me. That's
how competitive I am now. And I know so many
(16:15):
of my counterparts in different sports as well as basketball,
feel the exact same way. So to have that feeling
on a golf course, it's very It's hard to have,
but it's it's not there's nothing that you can't obtain,
and it's just the dedication that you put to it
to become a great athlete. But to make it to
professional sports, I don't think most people realize the sacrifices
(16:38):
and all of the things that you have to do
to get there. At a young age, you grew up
playing basketball. What was your start in basketball? Was it
you know, people in your family? Was it people in
your neighborhood or around the school that you went to.
What what made you choose basketball at a young age? Um,
it was for me with my dad. My my dad
put the basketball in my cribinomes three. It was just like, um,
(17:01):
this is this is what we do. You know, we
were athletes and all my uncle's played, my cousins played.
Uh when we were We played everything basketball, football, baseball
growing up. And it wasn't until my junior year I
stopped playing football that I realized it was, you know,
basketball was gonna be my my, my ideal. Um. My
brothers played. We all we had this sivil sibling rivalry
(17:24):
growing up, and then we would take it to my
brother's versus your brothers and within the family because we
had so many cousins and it was just it was
it was. It was a great experience. It's a great
childhood growing up with all of them, because that's where
I really, you know, gained my competitive spirit. Obviously, not
want to lose in general, but I want to lose
(17:45):
to your cousin or your brother. Was so much worse.
It was so much worse. When did you realize that
you were good and realized that you were good enough
to maybe have a life and career and be a
profession in old basketball? Part was there an aha moment
where you were like, and I think I can do that.
(18:05):
And when I was when I was a freshman, I
was five six, no, I was like five eight five
eight five, And then that summer I couldn't really play
a basketball. I couldn't really play um baseball in the
spring because my my my knees were killing me. And
then out of know where, I grew like six inches
(18:27):
seven inches in the summer, like three four and I
was going from this kid who's I was the point guard,
the shooter, handling the ball, all of this, and then
out of nowhere, I just turned into this guy who's
just jumping out the gym, dunking on people and stuff
like that. And in the Ministeranta I was at, I
was at once I was. I went to two schools
my freshman year. The first school I went to I
(18:49):
didn't live in the school district, so they kicked me
out because my dad didn't want me to go to
the school I was that we were living in the area.
So I went to this another another school. Then I
left there. So this by the time of my sophomore year,
everybody that I grew up with pretty much they hadn't
seen me for a whole year, so they see when
they when they see me come back like we're like.
(19:13):
And then I just came through Duncan and I still
had to touch and shooting because I was always small,
smaller than everybody too. So um at that point, I
think my sophomore year, I realized that I could be
a pro in basketball or football. You had an opportunity,
I think were you committed to go to the University
of North Carolina, I mean amazing golf school, I mean
amazing basketball school. I mean Michael Jordan went there, Dean Smith,
(19:36):
the history. Why turned that down and make the choice
to go and just straight into the draft. My family
needed money. We were we were struggling at the time.
My dad's been doing construction in his whole life. Um,
he's been he's owned his own business for some time.
And he got sick for a while with the soccer dosis,
and you know, it was just it was tough times
(19:59):
and it's too much for him to continuously go to
do doing a construction. And my mom raised all four
of us at home, so she didn't she wasn't really
working like that. And my dad when my dad felt
really felt sick. And I've seen the way people, people
he helped his whole life, as well as his siblings
and everybody else turned pretty much turned their back on
(20:21):
them when they needed them. They're just like, you know what,
I gotta do this for my pops, and I gotta
do this for my family. I gotta help them and
be able to financially. We don't have to worry about it.
And if he wants to work, like how he now,
he's he's almost seventy, he's still out their construction, running
the dumb trucks in the back hods and stuff like that.
But it's different, Like I was telling them, it's like,
it's different if you want to do it opposed to
(20:41):
you have to do it. For me, I was. I
was in a position to where I wanted to play
pro ball and they were gonna pay me enough to
where I could take care of my whole family. So
for me, it was pretty much like a no brainer.
That's gerald That's an enormous amount of responsibility to to
throw at someone at at that young age. I mean,
did you feel at anytimes like that was a burden
(21:02):
or did you just feel like that was your kind
of responsibility in the path that you had to do
to provide for the for the family. No, No, that's why.
That's just what I felt like I had to do,
you know. That's why I was That's what we were
bred to do at a very young age. It was
always take care of the person next to you is
(21:22):
always take care of your brothers, take care of your sisters,
take care of your family, you know. And for for us,
no matter what, that what, no matter what context I
was in, whether it was fighting, standing up for him
or giving them something or forgiving them, it was always,
uh that mindset. So for me once it once the
opportunity came and was just like, oh no, my mom,
(21:42):
mom went this house. Yeah I can get that and
get that next year. Okay, cool, Like that was the mindset.
Who were your basketball heroes growing up? Who were the
people that you looked up to that you man? Kobe
uh and Jay was obviously got for me. Uh, but
Code was amazing for me growing up. Penny Hardaway, MJ
(22:04):
and Penny Hardaway was like my first and second favorite
players ever. It was just like when I seen Penny
at that six six card looking smooth with uh the
phone positives and he had such a unorthodox game for
a six six point guard and it was just it was,
it was so so sick. I saw I had dinner
(22:26):
with Penny Hardaway at the w g C in Memphis.
A friend of mine knows and he came to dinner man.
He had like he walked in and I said to
the kids that were sitting tip, I'm like, he's got
like fifteen grands worth of clothing on. I'm like that shirt,
that shirts like five grand, the shoes. I mean he
looked fresh. I mean Penny's Penny's game. His his clothing
game is is pretty tight percent. Him and Eddie Jones,
(22:49):
I was talk I was Eddie Jones that man, if
you couldn't do nothing, you should dand struck his dress. Bro.
So now, um, what do you think it takes to
become a great athlete? What does it take Jr? To
be a champion? Because obviously you've played basketball at the
highest level, You've been around you, you're on two team
(23:11):
to championship teams with Lebron. When you're talking to the
kids in your your golf team, now they must ask
you how do you do it? What does it take?
And what do you think not only from a basketball
but to be a great champion? What are what are
the attributes you think you have to have? Um, For one,
you have to have that mindset. If you don't have
the mindset of uh, I'm gonna get after day in
(23:35):
and day out. No matter if yesterday was amazing or
yesterday was terrible, Tomorrow I'm gonna go even harder, regardless
of the fact. You know, I don't care who's saying
what about me, or saying I can't do it or
anything like that. You don't have that mindset to literally
go out there and dedicate yourself to the thing you
say you love the most, then it's just not gonna happen. Um.
(23:59):
If you don't have that passion and drive for it's
not gonna happen. Um. I tell I tell those guys
all the time. I was like, what's your uh the
first time, the first time I met it, I was like,
what's your goals? Like what do you want to do?
When guys like yeah, I want to be an engineer,
and other guys like yeah, I want to be an accountant.
I'll be a lawyer. Like okay, it was like, well,
when you came out, what were you gonna do? I
(24:19):
was gonna play pro ball? Yeah there wasn't. No, it's
the same thing. Yeah, that's my that was my drive,
that was my goal. That was accomplished. But at the
end of the day, that's what when people ask me,
what do you want to do. What are you gonna do?
This is what That was my response all the time,
And it wasn't It wasn't like, Okay, I want to
say this just in case you, you know, I might
(24:42):
not think it's obtainable for me, or you know, putting
your fears on me. It was just like, no, this
is what I want to do, regardless of who says what,
and that's how I feel. And I try to tell
those guys that saying pretty much the same thing, like, granted,
there's nothing wrong with having a fallback option, that's why
you're in school. But at the end of the day,
you're your goal is to play on a on the
(25:02):
year CEMETRY Tour, European Tour, u PGA Tour. That's your
That's gotta be your goal all the time. You gotta
think about that all the time when you wake up.
That's what you should be thinking about. When you go
to sleep, that should be thinking about. Like, granted, you
have so many other things that you can compartmentalized, but
that if this is what you want to do, that
comes first. A couple of times a year, I'll have
(25:26):
a kid come in and the dad will say, listen,
you're never gonna meet a kid that's gonna work harder
than my son, and I always want to say that's
if he's gonna be good, that's a given. Do you
think the guys how I mean, you've been around some
of the but I don't think, and I'm around it
a lot as a coach, I don't think the average
person who's a fan of golf or basketball has any
(25:47):
real concept as to how hard you guys have to
work to get to where you are, the work ethic,
the devotion, the sacrifices that a professional athlete make. Yes,
obviously in one there are people that that think it's
obscene the amount of money athletes make. But having been
around professional athletes, the pressure that they're under, and the
(26:10):
enormity of that situation, I'm like, in a lot of ways,
they're underpaid for what the public and the fans expect
them to do, right on top of just a scrutiny alone.
Like that's like I was listening to, um, you know
Kyrie speech yesterday because he couldn't do the he couldn't
(26:32):
the team day, right, yeah, participate in in the media day,
And I was just sending it listening, like you know,
it's all because of COVID reasons or whatever. Hey has
this personal reason. Just like at the end of the day,
because we get paid so much money in our lives
are quote unquote so much better than the next people
that that people think or see. It's just like you
don't realize the scrutiny that you have to live under
(26:56):
from the from the mom from the moment you signed
whatever contract, that people start realizing how much you make
or who you are, whatever, your life is under so
much scrutiny. It's like, I don't think you would want
to make that trade off. It's like it's almost like
I don't want to say shaking hands with the devil,
but it's almost like, Bro, you're like you are not
you anymore. Take that out for for the rest of
(27:18):
your life. You'll never people will never look at you
the same as just a normal person. Like Bro, I
go to Target, I go to Walmart, I go to
Dunk of Doughnuts, I get coffee, I go to the
same restaurants and then the average person goes to It's
just that I and worship because I'm really good at
one particular thing, not a hundred things, not a million things,
(27:43):
just one and you're gonna and the way you react
to me is gonna be based off of how I
do this one thing. But I have no clue who
you are. I don't know you. I don't I have
never met you a day of my life. But people
don't look at it like that because oh, you have
some you have this same and money and all of
that comes with a price. Yeah. I always think it's
(28:05):
interesting that you see young athletes that signed these big contracts,
and you know, they spend money, they get in trouble,
and you know when things don't go well, and everybody says, well,
I just I can't believe they do that. I'm like,
you give anybody at twenty one years old million dollars
a year, I mean, we'd all be broke. We don't,
we'd all be in trouble. I mean there and also, Jared,
(28:27):
I think it's interesting nobody and I say this all
the time because you know, my dad worked coach Tiger
Woods for ten years. Nobody explains to you how to
be famous, how to live in the line. There's no
classes you go to that they just throw you into
the situation and say, one perform, here's a ton of
money and figure it out while you're just trying to
(28:48):
be a normal human being. And it's like, that's one
thing I credit Lebrons so well because he's done it
better than anybody who I've seen how he carries itself
from start to this, from the first day he walked
into the league to the until now he's been keeps
carried it so professionally and being able to keep what
he wants private but also being able to accept and
(29:12):
be a pioneer for for so many groups of individuals.
It's it's amazing Um and their Jeter as well. He's
I think he's one of those UH athletes who really
polarized that and they don't really get the credit that
they deserve. Yes as a as a player, for sure,
but as when it comes to literally handling your business
on off the court from start to finish, those guys
(29:34):
are really like been UH pioneers and that, and it's
it's it's it's hard. It's it's really hard. I mean,
you seventeen eighteen years old and you walk into twenty
million dollars over and pretty much overnight, it's like, not
only did I don't have twenty million dollars, I have
a hundred billion. You know, in our minds, it's like
this money will never run out. How could it run out? Oh? Oh,
(29:57):
I gotta pay agencies, I gotta pay taxes. I gotta
do this. Also, I really have this. Uh. And like
you said, no one's trying to show what you touched
on Lebron. You you got to play with him. You know,
two different um organizations, the Lakers and the Calvs. You
one champions. What have you learned over your time in
your career and in being around someone like Lebron, who's
(30:19):
an icon not only in basketball, but he's become an
icon in in kind of you know, modern day life. Um.
The dedication um, the dedication he puts forth to being
the best he can be every single day consistently is
so admirable. I mean, every morning it's something five am,
(30:41):
he's working out, five thirties, stretch, six o'clock, he's eating
seven thirties, doing this, eight o'clockly doing that. And now
granted some people can't do some people are just regimented people.
But that's just the sign of greatness of how he is.
Like he just had we were in the finals. He
(31:02):
had forty four forty something. Hey, mccarrie back to back.
He goes to the gym after the game. People not
doing that. People are riding the high of I had
forty four in the finals in the dog fight. Yeah,
but this was a good game. He goes to the
gym the next one, let's go. Yeah. You know the
other night at the Ryder Cup, you know Bryson d Shambou.
(31:24):
I think it was the Friday night he he won
his match late and I was standing on the bridge,
you know, to where the cars were, and Bryson kind
of walked over and talked to him for a few
seconds and I'm like, he's going to the range. And
I posted it on my Instagram. You know, it's it's dark,
they've got a light on, the sun's going down, everybody's
leaving the golf tournament and the Ryder Cup and he's
(31:45):
there practicing. He was had his boy Connor on the
phone with Chris Como. They were looking at his golf
swing and stuff like that. And there, you know, it's
that old and I put it out there. It's that
old Nike adage there is no finish line, that the
great ones always just are seeing the the next and
they're trying to work on it. Um. One of the
cliches in sports is that you learn more from your
(32:07):
defeats than your victories. Obviously, you've won two championships, but
you get to the finals in fifteen against Golden State
and then you win the following year. What did you
learn from getting to the finals in two thousand and fifteen,
not getting the ring, not getting the championship? That helped
you all as a team and you as as a
player Jr. In two thousand and sixteen, Oh, look for one,
(32:31):
keep make sure everybody stays healthy. We lost Kevi in
the first round. We lost Kyrie in the Eastern Covererge finals,
so that was too. She really huge blows for us.
But more than anything, as a as a player, my confidence. Um,
when I first got to the finals, I was in
such shock of the trophy, the atmosphere and so many
(32:53):
other things that it was just not it was almost
not about the game anymore. You know. It was because
you had interviews here, over here and over there, and
then everybody's like, you got police escorts here, just like
this is a circus, Like what until we just play?
And the second I really got them, I really got
the grasp of because it was obviously we had so
(33:14):
much um animosity against them, just because they beat us
the year before and that we weren't healthy and they
just had a seventh three game win uh season and
everybody was calling him the great team ever. It was
just like, no, we gotta like it was so it was.
It was so much of a difference. If you could
see us. I think the first time we got the
(33:36):
bus in fifteen opposed to sixteen, UM, you can see
it in everybody's faces. And when in fifteen we got off,
it was we thought we were at Disneyland. It was
just like wow, like oh my god. And then in
sixteen when we got off the bus, it was just like,
nah that let's go like we gotta work and we don't.
If we don't, if we have our heads up in
(33:59):
the sky and and not focused on what we need
to do, we're gonna have the exact same feeling we
had last year. And that's something we don't wanna h reiterate.
Let's talk about your golf game. Talk to me about
where you are. The first time I ever saw you
UM in person, you played in the pro am in
d C. It's got to be four or five years ago,
(34:20):
and obviously I knew who you were as a player.
DJ had talked about, you know, he he had played
some practice rounds with you and some pro ams and stuff.
So obviously you rolled out. I think you had on
like yellow pants and like a pink shirt and the
collar was buttoned up. And in basketball, you know, you've
got the tats, You've got the scream tats. Your style
on the golf course. Um, it's funny. It's like you're
(34:43):
like so buttoned up when you play golf. It's like
the top buttons. You look really really fresh. Do you
have you have you made a conscious effort to go
for that kind of super golf look. Yeah, for sure,
that's you know. Ever since I was a kid, I
took that into my took that on my thought process
of that. Dion Sanders like, you look good, you played good,
(35:04):
you feel good and all that. Or you look good,
you feel good, you played good, you get paid good.
So it was like for me, I've always tried to
look my best, um when I'm in competitive like when
when I'm being in a game or in practice, like
you guys my teammates always to change my shirts and
just just to have a different look of it and
(35:25):
make it feel good about myself to when I play.
I was just like, Okay, if I'm gonna if I'm
gonna play bad, I'm gonna look good as hell playing.
So who are your golfing heroes right now? I mean
who are the guys? I mean, you know a lot
of the guys on the PGA Tour that you've you've
met through through golf and through pro ams and stuff
like that. But when you look at players right now
(35:46):
you're trying to play college golf, you're just like, you're
just like the kids on your team, your eighteen nineteen
they've got their heroes. When you look at players right now,
who do you look at and you go, man, I
really really like his game. I like him as a player. Uh.
If I can think about it, for me, it was
Tiger obviously, just show what he means to the game.
(36:07):
Um for me right now, I would say, uh j T.
I love Brooks's attitude towards the game. I love I
love the charisma DJ has when he doesn't when he
(36:27):
hits a bad shot, just like you know, like I
don't worry about I'm making up for the next all.
It's just like it's seven different things that I'll take
from each player. For me, um DJ kind of has
that shooter mentality that you must have. If you're gonna
miss one, you're not gonna try and stay away from it, right,
You're gonna go give me the ball. I'm gonna shoot again. Right.
(36:48):
And I think his attitude. DJ's attitude has always been, Listen,
I can't control anything I've done in the past, and
I can't control anything that's gonna be in the future.
I can only kind of focus in on what I'm
doing right now. So in a lot of ways, it
is like you were saying earlier about being a shooter
of the stroke, the mechanics, the the ability to kind
of focus on one shot a time. But if you
(37:08):
miss shots in a game, you're not gonna try and
not get the ball. You want to get the ball again, right.
Not only that, but you're not when you do get
the ball, you're not gonna try and and guide the
ball in. You're gonna shoot it. You know. When people,
I think that's a lot of a lot of when
people missed a fairway laugh a right, they get some
tense stuff and try to uh compartmentalize their their their
(37:30):
issues on their swing instead of just swinging the club.
Like for me, a lot of times my dad was
like my dad would always tell the man, it's not
posing and just shoot the ball, like you know, it's
always it's almost like trying to make it look too
pretty opposed to actually making a shot. It doesn't matter
how it looks. As long as it goes in, it
doesn't matter. Yeah, And that's what we always say to
two players. There's no points on the scorecard. There's no
(37:51):
place on the scorecard for style. The only thing that
you write down when you play golf is the number.
So what do you feel like you need to do
better as a competitive golf for and where would you
say you are right now in your golf game? Um,
as a competitor. For me more than anything right now
is uh well, obviously just swinging my swing could definitely
(38:12):
get better. But right now, of course, management no one
when to hit what club is not trying to go
for every dream sometimes just you know, if I'm for me,
and that's nowadays, just like if I'm too two or
five on a on a part far par five, I
don't have to have to put my five iron out
every time when there's water to the right and I
could just hit a safer shot down the left side,
(38:35):
and just you know, playing for part opposed to trying
to make ego or birdie every single time. For me,
trying to take trying to understand what holes I can
score on and what holds I'm just trying to get
out of there with par or you know, I'm in
the woods and I just gotta make bogie. Playing for
those circumstances, it's totally different than just playing with your
(38:55):
boys dropping out the ball all ahead and then you
know count that as part. Are you putting everything out now?
I mean you get there's no gimmes. Now you gotta
put everything out. That's the other thing. Yeah, you know
I was when I first played with the coach, I
was putting everything out. He's like, okay, even paying attentions,
you're gonna used to it. And then as I started
(39:16):
playing with the guys, that guy's got more relaxed and
just like, okay, now you can take that. You can
take that. But literally, like focusing on every single put
every single finishing every hole is um it feels good
in a sense because it's like accomplishment and I'm doing
something completely different, and I know I was onto the
next hole opposed just picking a ball up, being frustrated
(39:36):
and walking off the hole. I saw you liked on
on your Twitter feed the other you like to quote
from Lebron and he said, why do so many players
in basketball practice so much stuff that they're never going
to use on the court. So part of golf, I think,
and practicing golf, I think there's a big difference between
playing golf and practicing golf. And I'm sure you went
(39:57):
through that in basketball as well. There's big it's between
what you're doing and the shoot around versus what you're
doing in the game. And I asked Michael Jordan once,
you know, he was warming up, he was warm up
for one of the big money games at Floridian at
my club and stuff, and he wasn't hitting it good,
and he's like, man, it's gonna be interesting out there today.
And I said, did you ever have bad warmups in basketball?
(40:17):
And he was like, man, I've had bad warm ups
in Game seven, but he said, I kind of always
liked it because it meant that I knew I was
gonna have to really hone and focus in on the
court because the warm up wasn't great. Are you a
player as a golfer that is really focused in on
what you're doing from the warm up and the practice
or are you trying to get into that mental space
(40:39):
of playing and executing and and doing that. Yeah, I
try to get into playing and executing it. I'm trying
to get more into paying attention to everything I do
on the range, where my ball position is, how I'm standing,
how my uh, where my weight is, uh I'm coming
across it, or to um what what with? The team
(41:02):
had really been helping me with it. It's just hard to,
you know, try to correct things. I think golf is
probably the hardest sport to try to correct on your own. Um,
you know. I feel like for me, I was pretty
much self taught. I got myself too as good as
I can get, which is like a five or six
without literally no lessons. But now it's like, okay, to
break that barrier, you're gonna need to dial and get
(41:23):
a coach lock and do this that player to get
to the results. You want to be coaches. I've obviously
you've worked in you know, you've been on a number
of different NBA teams and stuff like that are. Do
you like being coached, You like someone to be hands on?
Do you like someone telling you what to do? Or
do you just like someone kind of letting you be you? No,
(41:44):
I love it. I love to be coached, especially in
the things I'm not aware of. Like it for me
and unfortunately I have I don't have a problem telling
people like listening, like when it comes to basketball, and
I've had coaches in the past and telling me about
screens and stuff like that, like, listen, I know what
I'm doing now here. I know how to get over
the screen. I know I know how to get under
(42:06):
the screen, Like I can understand that we can watch
film and see where how we can miscalculate steps and
stuff like that. But I'm pretty much good on that.
But it's something I have literally, like I'm pretty much
like a seven year old growing up in the game
of golf. I don't have I don't have enough swings
that don't have enough self confidence in myself to know
(42:27):
that I'm doing the right thing every single time to
not have a coach. How's your short game? Short game? Putting?
You spending a lot of time on short game and putting? Oh,
I have it in a while. Actually need to get
your you need you need to get your ass to
the short game area and the putting green if you
want to get better. Yeah, for sure, I see. It's
it's it's funny because and this is again, of course management.
(42:49):
I'm I'm so used to going out there beating driver,
beating long eyes, and it's like, Bro, you only hit
driver four times today. You know you don't. Why are
you hitting a hundred huntred drives and you hit four
drives and you hit fifty wedges. You know, it's like
it doesn't make sense. So how did you play in
(43:10):
the first qualifier? What did you shoot? I played terrible.
I shot eighty two. Yeah, how many doubles? How many triples? Um?
A lot of triples because it's out of bounds. You
just gotta getting rid of the get rid of the
big numbers. Yeah, that's what that's what they've been telling me.
I'm gonna sure, I'm gonna get a glimpse real quick.
(43:32):
Let's check it out. This is ah. We just up
the team up Grayson with the golf golf swag. So
this is my golf team. There we go. So you guys,
my girl's shot, it's my dog, but we got some
of the golf swag out so Grayson hooked us up,
so uh they can't go to pick some of us up.
But they've been helping me with my swing. They've been
(43:52):
trying to get me dialed into where I need to be.
But it's hard because I didn't realize that golf you
gotta qualify and stuff like that, so I didn't realize
the like you're playing against your teammates and stuff like that,
so it's kind of it was kind of weird because obviously,
just you know basketball, you pass somebody you can get
you know, you get some uh points from your teammates
(44:13):
and stuff like that. But it's like, you know, I
was talking I had dinner with Brooks one day and
the Bahamas, and he was telling me, you know, golf
is so different because for him, it's like, Okay, it's
not it's not as much as a team game. So
I'm not really trying to give you my game plan.
But at the same time, if I give you my
game plan, it's still up to you to go execute.
I can tell you what shot to hit, but you
(44:33):
still gotta go hit the shot. Absolutely. What do you
love most um day are about golf. What what what
about the game that you just go maun. I love
this part of it. Um walking outside, walking in the fairway,
walk into my ball. Um like a lot of guys
who love the ride and stuff like that and gring
(44:54):
Now college, you gotta push or carry, So I'm pushing
it for sure. What I playing mainly like especially country
club and stuff. I like to walk. I get a caddy, walk,
walk the course. Give me four and four and a
half hours to put my phone in my bag. And
really was just honus in on the elements of the
game in life. Who's the player on your team right
(45:14):
now that that's the best player that you kind of
look up to him, and that's the guy I've got
to get to. He's the guy that I've got to
try and play and he's my competition. Diego Gonzalez, Right,
Diego Gonzalez. He's a he's a stick man. He hits it.
He's and again he's Diego. I'll tell you five seven.
(45:35):
He hits the ball probably thirty thirty yards passing every
time you're and you're six six six six. It's just
like I gotta I gotta get to that. I gotta
do that. Last question, j are if you start playing
good and win a college golf tournament, are we going
to see on the eighteenth hole you take your shirt off.
(45:57):
If there's a lake, it's gonna is going crazy for sure.
I can't tell you how proud I am that you're
doing something like this, and I think it's an inspiration
to everybody. And we're gonna try and get together. I'm
gonna trying to come up and see you in the
team and we're gonna get you dialed in. But thanks
for taking the time. And hey, um, short game putting
and and go to class. What's what? What class do
(46:19):
you have tomorrow? Tomorrow's African studies and the studies right?
And how's the g p A right now? What were
we saying? What do we what's what's the target? What's
the target for the g p A? Target is three? Seven? Five?
Are higher right now? For four point? So I'm trying
to make the chances list. I gotta if I'm gonna
continuously to inspire these kids, I gotta show the effort
(46:41):
and and proof that I'm doing it. Well. You're doing
a great job. I appreciate talk to you. We're gonna
get together soon. I'm I'm gonna help you get to that. Yeah,
eight two, you're too good. I mean, you look too
good on the golf course. Shoot eight two. Appreciate it.
(47:01):
So that was j R. Smith And UM, you know,
I know I've said this before, but UM, that's got
to be one of my favorite episodes so far. Um,
I mean, it's just an amazing story. I mean, who
does that? I mean, who is a two time NBA champion.
You know he talks about having money, I mean, fame,
all of that and the stages of his life. He
could pivot and go in a lot of different directions,
(47:22):
but he's chosen not only to go back to school,
but to try and be a UM Division one college golfer.
So I can't wait to see what he does. We've
talked um offline about me going up and spending some
time with him and spending some time with the team,
and I'm really looking forward to doing that. We're just
trying to get some dates for that, but UM, it's
definitely something that's gonna happen and I'm really excited about
(47:42):
doing it. So Um j R. Smith, I mean, he's
doing something that not many people are willing to do,
and I don't know if anybody is willing to do
what he's doing, so pretty cool. I thought about, um,
you know, one of the questions that I get asked
all the time is what it takes to be an
elite golfer, and and that's one of the things I've
been talking with are about, is about, you know, how
he can go about from the NBA to trying to
(48:04):
be a competitive college golfer. And I think one of
the things that we've talked about, and one of the
things that I think everybody's trying to do, is how
do you get better? And I've talked to JR a
lot about the difference between his technique and his execution.
And obviously his technique can always improve. Everyone's technique can improve,
you know, John Rom, Dustin Johnson, uh, justin Thomas Roy, McElroy.
(48:25):
They're constantly trying to improve their technique and that will
never really change UM. But what he's trying to do
is figure out how to play and be a competitor.
So that's that balance between technique and execution. And I think, yes,
the execution part is where you should be focusing a
lot of your time. Obviously, it helps to have good technique,
but your technique is going to be what it is,
(48:47):
and yes, that can improve. But if you can improve
the way you execute, the way you think, the way
you work on the golf course, I think it's a huge,
huge way to get better. And a lot of times
you can just try and have better focus at our
club selection, better course management, and I think if you
can work on those things and be constantly thinking about
yes there's a way to practice, but if you're going
(49:09):
to play golf at a competitive level, there is an
art to playing golf and learning how to play golf.
So I think that's the most important thing, especially if
you're trying to play the technique. Yes that's important, you
want to try and get better at that. Everyone's technique
needs to improve. But I think what Jr. Has got
to learn how to do, and what most golfers need
to learn how to do, is to learn how to
(49:30):
play golf, to execute, and to hit shots on the
golf course, just not hit shots on the range. So
I'm really excited to see what he can do, and uh,
it's gonna be a cool journey and hopefully I can
help him um get better and help him learn how
to become a better player, because that's kind of what
my job is. So tune in next week. Great review, subscribe,
(49:52):
download wherever you get your podcasts, and we will see
you all next week. A Sky
Host
Josh Martin
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