Legendary HBCU coach Cy Alexander was a part of Nike’s summer trip to Hawaii in 1992. He has represented the brand for over two decades, but he remembers ’92 fondly because of the interactions he had with Michael Jordan and the Dream Team.
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“They all came to Hawaii to be on the Nike trip. And during the day, they would have different types of competitions. And one competition was a volleyball game,” shared the 71-year-old during his appearance on the Jenkins & Jonez podcast.
If you know stories about Jordan, then you probably know where this one is headed. “These guys were betting big money. It was Moses Malone, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and I think David Robinson. So, I got picked on Mike’s team,” Alexander recalled.
There has never been a game in his life that MJ didn’t want to win; whether it’s basketball, golf, or even volleyball. His attitude was no secret either, so the coach might have been sweating bullets. Unfortunately, he would go on to attract the ire of the Chicago Bulls’ #23.
“The ball is hit to me on the backline, and I hit it and I knock it way out of bounds. Michael was on the front, turned around and that glare that Michael Jordan would give you when you didn’t do something right, he gave me that glare,” Alcorn State’s assistant head coach stated.
Alexander continued, “I didn’t make another mistake the rest of the volleyball tournament.” Not only that, Cy and Mike’s team would go on to win the Nike volleyball tournament in Hawaii.
“You would’ve thought that MJ had just won the world championship. That’s how into winning championships he was,” Cy Alexander concluded. That’s when MJ’s brashness began to make sense for the storied coach.
For MJ winning was always worth the cost
During The Last Dance, MJ addressed how some of the stories from his teammates could make him sound like a “tyrant”. But Jordan didn’t mind. He believed that pushing his teammates ultimately helped him and the Bulls win six NBA championships.
“My mentality was to go out and win, at any cost,” the six-time Finals MVP explained. His teammates understood this too, with Bill Wennington and Will Perdue both ultimately viewing Jordan’s taunting as a force of motivation.
Steve Kerr also shared his perspective on how Black Jesus viewed his tactics. According to Kerr, Mike believed, “If you can’t handle pressure from me, you’re not going to be able to handle the pressure of the NBA playoffs.”
The 6-0 Finals record is incontestable. And clearly, they were not the only championships Michael Jordan was winning by scaring his teammates.
