01x02 - Three the Hard Way

[bunniefuu]

[music]

[man] North Carolina
A&T was created

in the spring of 1891.

It is the direct result

of what's known
as the Morrill Act.

The Morrill Act of 1891
stated that,

for every
land grant institution

that was created,
you had to have

an African-American
institution as well.

And so there you see
the legacy of segregation

that, of course,
became crystallized

during this particular era,
and so North Carolina A&T

comes into fruition
at that particular point.

It was about
carving out a space

where you could
empower Black youth.

Everyone is
proud to display

an A&T T-shirt.

Because it's not only
for the students,

it's the community
of the greater Greensboro.

So, beginning in 1891
and moving forward,

you're gonna see
several generations

of young Black people
moving through this institution

who are gonna
pave the way again

not simply for their own
individual interests

but for the interests
of the Black community at large.

It's a beacon of hope,
and so for J.R. Smith

to come here,
it elevates us.

[woman]
He's in his 30s,

and he's coming back
as a freshman,

and it puts a light on:

it's never too late,
you can always come back

and get your college degree.
And he's playing golf?

It matters when
that story leads on ESPN.

All right, that story leads
on SportsCenter because,

as J.R. Smith gets recognition,

North Carolina A&T
gets recognition.

And so we're happy
for J.R. Smith to be here

and for this campus
to now be a part

of his legacy moving forward.

[music]

[music]

[Richard Watkins]
All right, guys, welcome back.

Uh, some of you welcome back,

Most of you, welcome back.

To those of us that are new,

we're glad you're here with us.

I'm sure everybody's gotten

to know
everybody already,

and that's
a good thing.

I think this is
the very first team meeting

I'm the oldest person
in... on the team.

Hear me now,
everybody wants to be

where we are, okay?

And we've got some
great stories in this room,

and we got
some wonderful golfers.

Uh, and it's
a wonderful background.

And so this is our home.

Let's take advantage of it.

The humility
in everybody's voices

when we talk
about stuff like...

myself, with being
in the situation I'm in.

It's a great position
to be in, and I think

everybody on the team will
prosper from it.

I follow basketball,
and, you know, I kind of see...

J.R. is kind of known as the guy
who never has his shirt on.

When I finally did meet him,

I really didn't know
what exactly to expect.

He was just another guy,
to be honest.

I... that's
what he acted like.

He just...
He wanted to be one of us.

And I think that's
one of the most amazing things

that, you know, could happen,
especially somebody

of his stature,
to come in

and just try to vibe
with the team.

We live in a world
that's governed

by legalities, okay?

So, hazing...

nowadays, again,
that's against the law.

It's also against
university policy.

[Smith] If I have a problem,
who should I talk to?

- Which problems?
- I mean, anything.

You can talk to any of us.

If you haven't
noticed already,

it's a big
family atmosphere.

[Smith] They're gonna
be riding me,

I'm gonna warn them
about this hazing stuff.

I'm gonna talk to compliance.

I ain't gonna be no snitch,
but I'm telling.

[music]

[Watkins] Xavier's...
he's a very emotional player,

and he kind of wears
his heart on his sleeve.

When things are going good,
you know it, when things are

not going good,
you know it.

I'm gonna do a high fade
with it today.

How about... wait,
I want about an inch and a half.

- Skin tight?
- Yes, sir.

You know,
when he struggles, he...

he sucks it up and...
and tries harder.

He may or may not
be successful,

but it's not because
of lack of effort.

[barber] So you play
golf over there?

Yes, sir,
been playing golf here

about four years.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

[Williams] I was
thinking about colleges.

Biggest considerations were...

you know, don't be
too far away from home.

And I wanted to go somewhere

where I was gonna
be able to play

and, you know,
not have to register

or sit on the bench,
so, you know,

A&T was the perfect fit.

[barber] What made you
pick up golf of all sports?

Uh... my granddad put
a golf club in my hand

when I was
four years old.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

And he just really
stood out the way,

and, like, we just
bonded together.

- Mm-hm.
- Spending time together

on the golf course.

And...

I just started loving it.

- For real.
- Mm-hm.

And then golf opened up
a way for me to be able

to go to school for...

- Oh, you was that good?
- ...for free.

- You was that good?
- Yeah, I'm still that good.

What you mean
"was that good"?

[laughing]

My first memory
of playing golf is

Granddad taking me
to the first tee.

I was in Godwin Creek
in Columbus, Georgia.

I remember he said that
I had to be potty-trained

before I was able to go
out to the golf course with him

because he said he wasn't
changing any diapers.

Growing up,
most Black kids,

you know, wanna be
the next LeBron James

or the next,
you know, Cam Newton.

They wanna play
basketball and football,

and they think
that's their only option.

But I think that,
if they were exposed to golf

and realized
how many opportunities

were out there for them,

then they would have
a change of heart about it.

I'mma be honest with ya,
I ain't know A&T had

- a golf team.
- We just... It just started

not too long ago;
I wanna say they started

the men's program
five or six years ago now.

- Oh, yeah?
- Yeah, so it's still...

still fairly new
but making some noise.

When I go to a tournament,
I don't really see

that many people of color,
and I mean, you know,

that's just the way it is,
and I take pride in it.

Um, you know,
when I was younger...

- [camera snap]
- ...it would be

a little disheartening,
you know, to go

- to a tournament...
- [camera snap]

...and see
a whole bunch of people

- that don't look like you...
- [camera snap]

...and then, you know,
they're not so friendly,

but, I mean, you know,
it is what it is,

but I don't...

I don't...
I don't look at it,

you know,
like that anymore.

There you go.

[air hose hissing]

[Kim Burke]
Okay, scroll down.

Okay, so look
at your quantities.

Like, when you say "snacks,"

you know, snack chips,
like, be more specific.

What kind of chips
and how many did you have?

[Smith] It's difficult
for me because,

obviously, I've been
out of school for so long.

For some people who went
to school already, they go,

"Oh, that's easy,
I can do this, da-da-da-da."

But if you haven't
went to school,

and you haven't done
any of this

and just formatting stuff
and learning

how to actually
submit the homework

and this...
it's a little nerve-wracking.

Well, at first
it was a big transition,

um, in part
because he's an adult

and just navigating
computer systems.

We have
a lot of platforms.

[Burke]
And on the libs article,

did you read that?

I... I read
the first three pages.

I didn't...

I read
the first five.

- Okay.
- That's as far as I got.

Yeah, the... the...
the letters was

kind of small,
started getting

close together for me.

[Smith] I grew up
classified in special ed

as dyslexic and ADHD.

So, it's really hard for me
to sit here and read this sh*t

and, like, make it
all make sense to myself

without scrambling it all up.

So, that's one of the reasons
why I've got the...

the tutoring sessions,
uh, it really helps me, um...

comprehend it better.

[Saraid Ruiz] All right,
guys, welcome back,

First day of practice,

um, let's get it...

this semester we got
some good tournaments.

Welcome Q, Martin,

and J.R. to the team.

Before, like,
be able to go to a range,

we have to make
20 three-footers

in a row.
With our eyes closed.

Every single day.

Before being able
to go to a range.

[Smith] So, honestly
I'm expecting to...

I'm going to an HBC,
I'm expecting to meet

a whole bunch of Black kids
that play golf.

I had no clue
to how diverse the team was.

[Gonzalez] My name is
Diego Gonzalez,

and I'm a senior.
I'm... I'm from Venezuela.

- [camera snap]
- I started playing
when I was three.

My daddy has
always been my coach.

He started as a caddy,

and then he moved
to teaching pro.

I started winning
local championships

and all that, and...

when I was 16,
my dad told me,

"Hey, there's
this opportunity,

if you wanna take it,
take it."

So, the opportunity was
a scholarship

in a golf academy in Mexico.

I was like,
I wanna go to college golf

because my dad told me,
"Hey, I can't afford

having you in the States.

If you wanna go there,
you gotta earn it."

Then I graduated.

I had a bunch
of victory schools...

um, offers,
NIAA offers.

And this one was
the only one, considerably,

with a scholarship that my dad
could afford to pay the rest.

I took it.

I never visited, I...

they sent me the papers,
"Hey, sign here."

I was like,
"Okay, let's do it."

I've been here
four years almost,

but I miss my family.

They don't even know
the school.

They haven't come here.

There's some moments
that I want...

my mom to be here
or my dad to be here.

I'm trying to make him proud

because he comes
from nothing,

and having his kid
playing college golf

and succeeding at it,

that's the main goal for him.

After that,
it's just earning for him.

If I turn pro,
if I go to the PGA Tour,

he'll be more than happy.

His dream job is actually
carrying my bag in the PGA Tour.

And we're still working on it.

My name's Anthony Ford,
I'm a sophomore.

Business management.
I'm on the golf team,

and we're looking to do
some big things this year.

Growing up in Atlanta,

you see a lot of, you know,

football players,
baseball players,

you know,
the big name sports.

Golf, not so much.

A Black Crocodile Dundee.

[Ford] My dad,
he was watching Tiger one day.

I picked out his club,
and I started swinging it.

Next thing you know,
I knocked out the window

of his Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The guy who came
to fix it, he was like,

"Ah, man, who did this?"

And he pointed
over there to me,

and I was crying,
and "I'm sorry" and all this.

He was like, "He did that?"
I was, like, eight years old,

seven years old,
he was like, "No way."

And he was telling my dad,
"He's gonna be

something special,
you need to go ahead

and get him into golf."

[Smith]
All right, my boy.

Right now, down
and drive it to the paint.

You moving out the way?

Well, I mean,
if you drive to the paint.

- Yeah, drive to the paint.
- Hell no. I'm gonna

foul his a*s. He's gonna
have to make them free throws.

[Watkins]
Xavier's talented.

He has some skill.

He has some innate talent

that most of us
just don't have.

[Williams] I never feel secure,
just because I know that

I'm not where I want to be at
in my golf game.

I'm not... I'm not
the best in the world yet.

So, I never get too...
too complacent.

I try to keep
a hungry mindset

and always going out there
to compete and do my best.

Remember what we talked
about earlier? Right there.

That's where you are,
all day every day.

Once you get
this thing going,

then coach is gonna
start yelling at you.

He's gonna give you
that evil look.

[Williams] I love
Coach Watkins for...

bringing me here to A&T.
I will forever, ever be

in debt to him for that.

Golf at an HBCU is not
very, very popular,

um, I would say
until this year,

when J.R. joined the team.

That was amazing.

He can play. Man, he can...
he can genuinely play.

Now, he has to learn how...

and I know this is
gonna sound stupid,

but he's got to learn
how to compete in golf.

What you wanna do is you just
wanna feel it with your feet...

and just, like, whatever,
you know, your body does

with the slope,
that's how much,

you know, of an angle
of a slope you have.

This is for a...
to... person...

a slow putt,

and this is, like,
how far is it...

how far is it
from the cup in meters.

- Yeah.
- And this is, like, the...

- the speed of the green.
- Yeah.

So, depending
on the speed, the distance,

and in this case,
it's 2%.

So, if it's 1%,
it's half of this.

- Right.
- Uh-huh.
- Four percent

- is double distance.
- Yeah.

And they do be,
like, 80,

81 centimeters
to the...

left or right side
of the hole.

- Right, but...
- Ahh.

I'mma teach you a way
to do it without worrying

- about the math.
- Without, yeah.
- Bet.

[all laughing]

- Bet.
- ...think about the math.

Say no more.

That sounds perfect.

All of 'em is,
like, just so helpful

with trying to help me
with my game

and trying to actually,
you know, help me be

a better player
and stuff like that.

But Diego,
he's been playing golf

since he was knee-high
to a duckling.

When you hear Tiger say,
"I've been aggressive always,"

he's been aggressive with this.

[Smith] He already knows
so much more about the game

than I even thought about.

Some of my other teammates
obviously know who I am.

They're basketball fans.
But Diego, he never,

you know, watched basketball,
so he didn't know who I was.

I played with him the second day
I got to Greensboro,

and I told him,
"I don't know who you are,

but all I know,
you're a freshie,

and I'm a senior...

uh, and you gotta
earn your spot."

[Watkins] Right now,
since he's new,

he's gotta get
out there and...

butt heads
against these other guys.

[Smith] For me, I'm... right now
I'm just trying to qualify

to be able to play
in the tournament.

I already know
the next couple days

I'll be a nervous wreck.

[hitting ball]

Whoa.

[door opening]

[Ford] Not much right now,
but this is..

this is what we got
at the... Aggie Land.

This is the Richmond Hall.

We, uh... we come here,

we chill,
we play spades some times.

We eat good food.

[Ford]
I'm from Atlanta, Georgia.

I got recruited by, you know,

the number one HBCU
in... in the nation,

and, um, it's... it's been
a... a difficult ride.

It's definitely been
ups and downs.

It's not high school anymore,
so you don't...

you don't go home
to your parents,

and they're telling you
you got homework due

and, you know,
make sure that bed's made

and stuff like that.

[woman]
Hi, all.

[weak connection]
If the... raining...

it's independent by... cause.

It's... starts raining.

[Ford] At a young age,
I just saw how golf

benefits you with life.

You have to persevere,
whether you start off great

or you start off terrible,
you have to finish.

You have to play that 18 holes,
so it just...

it humbles you so much.

It makes me happy.
It's my sanctuary, for real.

And I go there every day
with a purpose.

- [distant thud]
- Is that him?

Is that him?
Finally, Jesus.

Trying to show him the day...
the day, the grind, the beats.

The... The YouTube
we be watching.

The... The Golf Channel,
it's everything, like,

he wanna show it now, but...

[Williams]
Well, play him something.

Come on now.

♪ This my... ♪

♪ Hesitated, I'm... you heard
passion in every lyric ♪

♪ Hold on, let me be specific,
I ain't had no pot to piss in ♪

♪ Now we're really
penny-pinching, hold on ♪

♪ We gonna turn it up,
and we gonna turn it
to the ceiling ♪

- [mouthing]
- ♪ Yeah, but I was ♪

♪ Tryin' to...
I know Mama want the crib ♪

♪ But I'mma go
and buy the building ♪

That's all, that's all,
that's all, that's all...

[mumbling] ...a little
somethin'-somethin'.

- Come on now, come on now.
- [laughing]

♪ I know Mama want... ♪
come on, now!

- Come on, now, that was...
- ...after you just did that?

[sighing] See, you tryin'...
you tryin' to play me.

- You tryin' to play me...
- Come on, let's go, let's go.

[Ford]
My favorite thing about A&T?

To be honest,
the golf team.

I love that the way
we treat each other here

and the way we push
each other here is different.

They try to help you
become something much more.

It's just all love here.
It's a family.

- [clock tower bell chiming]
- That's the, uh...

every... what time is it?

- [woman] 4:00.
- 4:00.

Every hour...
[humming melody]

[Williams] I am gonna miss
that clock tower.

That clock tower done
saved me from being late

- from a couple classes.
- You know what time it is
all the time.

From a couple classes, you know,
try to take a little nap

in between classes.
Hear that clock tower go off,

you're like...
"Let me check my phone,"

next thing you know...
you running...

I'm running to Crosby.
Running to Crosby.

Running to the academic
classroom building.

Appreciate you,
Deese Clock Tower.

- [Ford] Deese.
- And just, like, seeing how...

all of the buildings
on campus, you know,

they have a name
for a specific reason,

and, like, just the people
that have come before,

uh... and, you know,

came to Greensboro and decided
to embrace being an Aggie.

I want to leave here, you know,
obviously not anytime soon,

it's probably not
gonna happen, but, like,

within the next 30-40 years,
I would definitely...

- I wanna put
my name on a building.
- Yeah, my name

has to be on a building
just because

- I walk these walks.
- I wanna be able to say

that I left
an impact on A&T.

I wanna have the same impact
on A&T that A&T has had on me.

Yeah, yeah,
there we go, there we go.

I absolutely love A&T, you know,
it's so family-oriented.

Like, I was walking
around campus today,

and this random guy, I've never
seen him before in my life,

just walked up to me and said,
"What's good, brother?

Happy Homecoming."
And gave me a hug, like,

you don't necessarily
have to know somebody

in order to be able
to call them family.

There's nothing like it.

[music]

[both] GHOE!

It's the Greatest
Homecoming on Earth.

[Watkins]
You have to experience it.

That's... That's all I can say.

[man]
It draws everybody in.

In fact, there's many schools
who don't have their homecoming

because A&T's having theirs,

and you don't wanna have it
on the same week.

I can talk on and on,

you know, about the band.

[cheering]

[music]

[Watkins] If you talk about
the games that've been played,

tailgating,
the tailgating is ridiculous.

[hip hop playing]

[overlapping chatter]

- Aggie pride!
- Aggie pride!

It is "Aggie born,
Aggie bred, and when I die..."

[all] "I'll be Aggie dead."

[music]

[Smith] It was funny, man,
I have never been around

that many Black people.

It felt like home.

[all]
Aggie pride!

- You know what I'm saying?
- Yeah, yeah.

Homecoming, it's GHOE.

It's the Greatest
Homecoming on Earth.

Because we are GHOE.

- We are Aggie pride.
- Right.

Anywhere you go,
you say "Aggie pride!"

- [woman] Aggie pride!
- You... You see
what I'm saying?

You gonna be in the airport,
they gonna be going, they say,

oh, you're gonna be
like "Aggie pride!"

Someone gonna be like,
"Oh, Aggie Pride!"

It's real. You feel me?
So enjoy it.

It's a family affair.

You can walk
around this campus

and get fed
from almost anybody.

The atmosphere is just love.

Right, you... you feel it,
you get goosebumps.

It's a beautiful thing.

[Smith]
It's a remarkable atmosphere

to be around so much love
and genuine care.

People who look like you
and wanna support you

and the things
that you're doing with school

and I was seeing people
who were again 60, 70 years old

come back every year
to school, coming in,

sitting there,
playing spades, rummy,

all these old women, old men,
little women, little men,

kids, babies,
people who eventually

were gonna go to A&T, 'cause
their whole family went there.

We all have a...
a true connection in mind

with the Aggie pride,

and it's something
I've never felt before.

[emcee] Hold on, hold on,
so I just found out...

I just found out
that, tonight,

this is the highest-attended

step show
in over ten years.

[cheering and applause]

I want you
to look at your neighbor,

put your arm
around 'em and say,

"Hey, best friend,
let's party."

[cheering and applause]

Welcome to North Carolina A&T

State University!

- [beat drops]
- Hey! Hey! Hey...

Can I get an "Aggie pride"?

[audience]
Aggie Pride!

Let's go, A&T, come on!

[audience]
Aggie Pride!

Aggie Pride!

And what's that school
you represent?

NCA&T!

[Smith] To go to the step show,
you really see the...

they have brothers
and sisters get up there

and express themselves,
and everybody go crazy.

It was just like,
damn, like, this is so dope.

It was so much better
than going to any concert.

It was a really good energy.

[feet thudding]

[Smith] Needless to say,
Aggie pride and the way

people will stand up
and call from all across.

It's more than
just having pride,

it's, like, you believe
culture is the way you walk,

it's the way you talk,
it's the way you carry yourself.

It's the way you represent
yourself, it's, like,

all of that,
and that sh*t is fire.

[footsteps thumping]

Whoo!

The GHOE was probably
the highlight of the year.

You know,
I wanted to go to Carolina.

I wanted to go be a Tar Heel

and have that quote-unquote
brotherhood like...

the MJ's of the world

and the Vince Carters
and all of that.

But being an Aggie
at A&T is like...

it's way bigger than that.

Oh...

Damn.

[Smith] Today,
I'm playing

in my first qualifier
for the golf team.

It was dope and weird
because, again,

I'm 36, playing
in my first actual tryout

for a golf team.

[Smith muttering]

[Watkins]
Every tournament allows

five players
to play in those events.

There's only two players
that don't have to qualify,

and that's our number one
and number two player

from the previous tournament.

Three, four, and five,

and the guys that stayed home,

they gotta battle it out

every couple of weeks

for that next tournament spot.

Very simply, if you don't
finish in the top two,

you gotta go back and re-qualify
for the next event.

[Smith] All right, come up
at it straight and go right.

[Smith]You know,
after being a professional,

playing in front
of 25,000, 30,000 people,

standing up on the tee,
playing against my teammate

who's 15 years younger
than me is probably

one of the most
nerve-wracking feelings ever.

[distant chatter]

[Smith] I never really golfed
till I was, like, 22.

I was in Houston,
Rashard Lewis had an outing,

and they just
told me to come out

and, you know,
show support, whatever.

'Cause I didn't
play golf at the time.

So, I was just riding
around on the cart,

messin' with the cart girls,
drinking, taking shots,

roll up on groups,
talking sh*t,

and I pull up
on Moses Malone' group.

God rest his soul,

he's like, "Young fella,
come hit this ball,

you talkin' all this sh*t,
you talkin' all this sh*t,

come hit this ball."
And I go to his driver,

hit it 300 yards
down the fairway.

Throw the club.
That sh*t is easy.

And he's like, "Man,
you can't do that sh*t again.

You can't do it again.
I bet you can't do it again."

So, I get up there,

and I could barely
hit the ball, bro.

I was doing just as bad
as everybody else.

He was like,
"Yeah... talk that sh*t now,

talk that sh*t now."
I was like, "Ah, man."

And I played, like,
four or five holes with him.

And then, after that,
it was just... it was over.

I fell in love with the game,
and I never looked back.

Straight, dog.

Thanks, bro.

Yeah, you was right,
I'd rather be where I was at.

You got... I mean, always.

It's all right,
I hit some good shots.

Made some good swings, but...

it's not translating
into my score.

Just trying to be patient.

Trying to be patient
and wait my turn.

[soft music]

I've been...

a grade-A athlete
my whole life.

I've played football,
basketball, baseball,

anything with athletics,
there's nothing that I can't do.

I can throw a football,
baseball, I can hit a baseball,

I can catch anything.

And to be actually...
cut, essentially...

for the first time in my life,

where actually...

it hurt, it hurt.

No lie,
that sh*t was heartbreaking.

I was... I...
I almost cried.

I was sittin' there,
talking to my mom,

looking like a sick puppy.

I was so upset, man.

That sh*t broke me.

[Smith] It's still
a relatively new sport for me.

Learning how to compete
on a high level in golf

is different than just
playing casual golf, so...

I got a long way to go.

[music]

Yo, my back, though,
is k*lling me.

I feel 35 with this back.

[music]

[music continues]