NBA Draft prospect Dennis Smith Jr. has had celebs at his basketball games since he was a sophomore in high school. Since Smith hails from Trinity Christian School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, it’s no surprise that one of those stars is The Ville’s most renowned figure: Jermaine Lamarr Cole.
Cole, whose own fleeting hoop career has been detailed and venerated, has been a fan and friend of the former North Carolina State guard for years. Back in 2014—before he went platinum with no…, well you know—he even challenged the youngster to a game of 1-on-1.
We don’t know if Cole still has skills, but he obviously thought he was nice enough to shoot hoops recently with Smith and fellow NBA Draft hopeful Harry Giles, the Duke forward who’s also from North Carolina.
In his lone season at NC State, Smith averaged 18.1 points, 6.2 assists, and 4.6 rebounds en route to garnering ACC Rookie of the Year. Although Cole has proclaimed his University of North Carolina fandom, he set aside the Tobacco Road rivalry and made the trip up to Raleigh to support Smith often.
In fact, the eighth game of Smith’s brief college career is one that united Cole and Wale days after the two traded barbs on the tracks “False Prophets” and “Groundhog Day.” Together, they watched the 6-foot-3, 19-year-old point guard drop 15 points, shooting 60 percent from the floor in a 77-73 win over Boston University.
Wherever Smith lands, you can expect Cole to be courtside for a few of his games.