Michael Jordan once let it be known that he felt more pleasure from being at UNC than he felt while in the NBA as a Bull.
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After Michael Jordan finally made the varsity basketball team, there was no stopping him. Eventually, when it came time to choose what university he wanted to play at, he was torn. MJ wanted to go to Duke but at the same time, loved being close to home. Hence, Dean Smith and Roy Willaims’ recruitment worked.
Jordan became a Tar Heel at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and played there from his freshman to junior year (1981-1984). It was in his first year on campus that MJ had already solidified his place amongst players in the pantheon of college legends with his shot in the NCAA Championship game against Patrick Ewing and Georgetown.
That shot, according to the eventual 3rd overall pick in the ’84 NBA Draft, was the shot that turned him from ‘Mike’ to ‘Michael Jordan’. His next two seasons with the Tar Heels resulted in solid offensive outputs from him, with his ’83 season being a 20 and 5.5 one and his junior year having him average 19.6 and 5.3.
Michael wanted to finish out his 4 year stay at UNC but was advised not to by his head coach, Dean Smith, who urged him to declare for the Draft.
Michael Jordan on UNC vs Bulls.
In an interview with Cigar Aficionado in 2005, two years after he had officially retired from the NBA, Michael Jordan was asked if he got more pleasure playing for the Tar Heels or for the Bulls. MJ’s response was:
“I would say it was for the Tar Heels. No one knew me until then. That’s when the notoriety and everything began with Michael Jordan. By the time I got to Chicago, I was drafted three, so everybody knew I was at least decent. But at North Carolina, when they recruited me and asked me to attend the university, it was an opportunity to prove myself.”
Mind you, Jordan has said on several occasions, including his most recent ‘Last Dance’ docuseries that he didn’t like having the world’s attention on him. MJ was stripped of what could’ve been a private and secluded life when he became as good as he did with the Chicago Bulls.
So while Dean Smith’s judgement on having him declare for the draft a year earlier was absolutely correct, perhaps another year on the peaceful campus at Chapel Hill would’ve been great for him as well.
Also read: Michael Jordan blessed Travis Scott to use his $14.8 million mansion for “FRANCHISE”
