As if enough people around the sports stratosphere haven’t given Stephen A. Smith plenty of grief for hiring a shooting coach and posting a video of him draining jumpers Klay Thompson style (If the video is unedited), Mad Dog Russo took his Wednesday co-host to task in one of his closing, classic rants on his “What Are You Mad About?” segment on “First Take”.
Russo referred to a scene in the classic movie “Hoosiers,” starring Gene Hackman.
Mad Dog Clowns Stephen A. For Hiring A Shooting Coach
Co-host Molly Qerim, who had to have seen the video circulating last week of Smith draining jumpers under the guidance of a coach, asked “You hired a shooting coach?”
Smith, looking like the cat who ate the canary, claims the guy was there for some segment he was doing on “his show.” Not sure which show Smith is referring to, but the entire cast got a kick out of the footage.
Of course, the comedy of the situation, aside from the possibility that Smith really would have a shooting coach, is that SAS has always bragged about his prowess as a college basketball player at Winston-Salem State under legendary coach Clarence “Big House” Gaines back in the ’80s.
Smith played collegiately at Division II Winston-Salem State University, a historically Black university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, whose alumni include Basketball Hall of Famer Earl Monroe and San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul, who graduated from his hometown’s HBCU after playing collegiately just 10 minutes away at Wake Forest University.
Smith reportedly transferred to play at Winston-Salem State after spending a year playing on the junior college level at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology.
Stephen A. Smith Says He Hit 17 Straight Three-Pointers To Earn Scholarship From Winston-Salem State
During a 2023 podcast, Smith alleged that his scholarship offer to Winston-Salem State came after he sank 17 consecutive 3-pointers in front of Gaines during a campus visit. The story has been the center of much controversy and has not been substantiated to this day.
Smith’s basketball career was cut short due to injury, a circumstance he explained on Paul George’s “Podcast P with Paul George” show.
“I was on a basketball scholarship at Winston-Salem State University. My first year there, I cracked my kneecap in half. I was never able to play again. I actually had to leave school for a semester to go home under my mother’s insurance to rehab because they wouldn’t pay for the insurance in North Carolina. I would come back, make the team, trying to practice and once every 36 to 48 hours, my knee would just give out. I couldn’t run without the limp and that’s what happened.”
Stephen A. Smith Has Flexed His Basketball Skills Before
While his injury kept him from becoming a basketball force, Smith has remained involved with his alma mater and HBCU athletics as a whole, hosting shows from there each season. In 2017, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Winston-Salem State’s athletic conference, the CIAA.
There have been a few moments, where Smith had an opportunity to flash some of his basketball skills for the camera. Let’s just say the reviews were mixed, but he does appear to have some idea of what he’s doing on his jump shot.
In this YouTube video, posted five years ago, a young SAS looks like he can stroke it a bit, before getting beside himself and bricking the last few, including a layup off a spin move. He did do all of this in a suit, so you have to give him some flavor points there as well.
Then, there was the time NBA legend James Harden clowned him for airballing a three-pointer during an interview.
Jason Whitlock Says Stephen A. Smith Shooting Video Was To Prove Him Wrong
Of course, social media got a kick out of seeing Smith shooting jumpers and the comments didn’t end. Smith archnemesis Jason Whitlock, who got into a heated social media war with Smith that hit a boiling point with Smith going on an expletive-filled and offensive rant against Whitlock on Smith’s podcast, didn’t waste any time calling Smith out
“It’s clear that I’m living rent free in Stephen A. Smith’s head,” Whitlock posted via X. “He hired a shooting coach, camera man, and editor and posted a video just to attempt to prove that he made 17-straight threes in high school. The man is 57. What is he doing?
Some folks will never let SAS live down what many feel is hyperbole on his part as it pertains to his high school and college basketball career back in the late 80s in Hollis, Queens, New York. The story surrounding how he actually ended up on the end of Winston-Salem’s bench is still one that has certain folks calling BS.
RELATED: Stephen A. Smith Versus Jason Whitlock | The Verbal Fisticuffs We Didn’t Know We Needed
Stephen A. says he’s doing it for content, fans think he’s doing it to prove a point he already lost, and Whitlock thinks he’s doing it to disprove Whitlock’s attacks on his alleged fabricated basketball career. Either way, it’s Stephen A against the world once again.
