When ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith spoke at the Illini Union in front of a crowded ballroom Tuesday night, he came with a message for all college students, not just those present in the audience: “Everything has a price. Are you willing to pay it?”

This message is something he has used as motivation throughout his life. Smith said he never allowed anything, or anyone, to get in his way of his goals.

Growing up in New York City, he was forced to take summer school before he could enter the fourth grade because he read at a first-grade level. Children mocked him, but that only motivated him. To this day, he can list every child’s name who dared to make fun of him.

“No one will ever laugh at me again unless I want them to,” Smith said.

As students prepare to enter corporate America, Smith encouraged them to fight for a position in a competitive world. A diploma only shows a student is trainable; it’s up to the student to see what he can do with it.

Smith’s road was not easy. A kid from Queens, he was surrounded by drug dealers and crime. He could have used that as an excuse, but two factors played a role in Smith being the man that he is: his mother and drug dealers.

His mother could have been expected. But the ballroom was filled with “huhs?” when he mentioned the second.

Drug dealers controlled Smith’s neighborhood. But they noticed Smith had basketball talent. Drug dealers saw he had the potential.

So they allowed him to shoot on the basketball courts. They would stop others from dealing drugs on the courts when Smith was practicing. This helped him receive a scholarship to play basketball at Winston-Salem University in North Carolina. An injury would sideline his basketball career, but his journey to that point was due to his roots; he was “a product of the streets.”

“What I knew didn’t defend me,” Smith said. “It showed me how to survive.”

According to Smith, a person needs both a mentor and a cheerleader in his life. A mentor is someone who is a professional in a field, someone who helps others aspire to excel. A cheerleader is someone who will guide others during the journey to success. They will be there when a person hits a bump in the road or has success. A person must have both, or they will never succeed.

After giving his advice for college students, he answered questions. One dealt with Smith’s recent week suspension from ESPN for comments made about domestic violence. Smith told the audience how he had to defend his four sisters from such violence. He wasn’t upset with ESPN. He was upset at being associated with domestic violence. The night ended with a question from a 50-year-old man with two daughters. He asked what message Smith would relay to students preparing to enter today’s world. Smith explained that today’s generation believes the world has to adapt to it, when it’s the other way around. Today’s generation must be willing to put in the work and never feel as if it could’ve done more.

“Understand what is waiting for you,” Smith said. “Everybody in here has potential to be better than me.”

Michal can be reached at [email protected] and @mdwojak94.