Marcus Smart already apologized for shoving a Texas Tech fan during a game and now he has said he learned his lesson from the ordeal, which he has officially finished a three-game suspension for.

Speaking with ESPN Wednesday, Smart discussed the incident in depth for the first time since it happened. He said shoving Jeff Orr was not pent up frustration from the whole season, but a momentary lapse in judgment caused by a rush of emotion. Smart would still not say what Orr said to set him off.

"You know some emotions and some words went flying around," said Smart. "I'm not going to repeat anything that was said. I'm trying to get past that whole situation. Just a really bad moment and experience for me and my teammates and my family to go through.

"Like I said, a bunch of emotions and some words that were said between two groups of parties, and it just went down and the result was in a way that me and Oklahoma State and the Cowboys would, if we could, take back."

Smart said he realized the seriousness of what he did after meeting with Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford. Shortly before the Big 12 suspended the Cowboys' standout guard for three games, Smart said he was being contacted from every which way.

"Right after the game my phone started blowing up with text messages and calls and all types of alerts from social media," said Smart, who served a three-game suspension. "That's when I realized it was bigger than what we expected it to be."

Oklahoma State is 4-9 in the Big 12 and are riding a seven game losing streak. Of their 26 games thus far, they won 12 of the first 13 and lost nine of their last 13, once they began playing conferences opponents.

Mark Brown has played well in Smart's three-game absence, but the team will need both to play to their utmost potential to earn an NCAA tournament bid. They have five games remaining and must host Kansas and visit Iowa State.

Smart's first game back will be against Texas Tech, this time in Oklahoma, but a chance to redeem himself nonetheless.

According to ESPN, the NCAA altered a rule in the wake of Smart's outburst. Now, when a player enters the stands, he will automatically be ejected.

"It's a good rule," Smart said. "You need to separate the fans and the players."

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