Michael Jordan was an exceptional player in high school and left a lasting impression on UNC Tar Heels’ assistant coach Roy Williams, who was keen on bringing the young star to the program. He knew the young star would turn out to be a terrific player for the university and would go on to become a stellar NBA player. However, despite watching him day in, and day out for three years at UNC, he never envisioned Jordan becoming the game’s greatest player.
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During an appearance on former Tar Heels guard Theo Pinson’s ‘Run Your Race’ podcast, Williams reminisced about watching the guard in action for the first time in a summer camp and explained why he was adamant about wanting to get him to UNC. He said,
“I was the first coach to really get excited about Michael… I said to this, ‘I think I just saw the best six-foot-four-inch high school player I’ve ever seen.’ I thought he was going to be great but, I mean, he went so many stratospheres past great.”
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The Tar Heels heeded Williams’ suggestion and extended an offer to Jordan, who gladly accepted. When he arrived on campus, he had the talent and self-belief to be great. However, he did not have the unrelenting drive that became a hallmark of his legacy. Williams cultivated that by pushing him. Recalling how the coach said,
“He told me he wanted to be the best player ever in North Carolina, and I said, ‘Well, you’ve got to work harder than you did in high school.’ And he said, ‘I worked as hard as everybody else.’ I said, ‘Excuse me, I thought you told me you want to be the best. You have no chance, no chance.’“
Jordan took Williams’ words to heart and told the coach two days later, “‘I’m going to show you nobody will ever outwork me,’ and nobody ever has to this day.” And he’d do just that.
The young guard became a key player for his alma mater in his freshman year. He etched his name into the history books and became a household name after hitting the game-winning shot in the 1982 National Championship game and helping UNC win its first NCAA title in 25 years, and second ever.
Jordan spent three years at UNC before declaring for the 1984 NBA draft, where the Bulls picked him third overall and the rest is history. The six-time NBA champion was in college only briefly, but he continues to cherish his relationship with Williams.
Roy Williams shared a bond with the Jordan family
Jordan isn’t the only one who was fond of Williams. His late father, James Jordan also took a shine to the assistant coach. The Tar Heels icon was among the people interviewed for Netflix’s The Last Dance and director Jason Hehir revealed an incredible story that spoke to the coach’s connection with the Jordans. On The Will Cain Show, he said,
“Roy told the story of how Mr. Jordan shows up with this wood stove on a truck…And this is in the process of Michael being recruited. It’s one thing for a coach to be giving you something, but for the recruit to be giving a coach something, that’s just how generous a guy James was, and how much he appreciated how kind Roy Williams was.“
Little did Williams know when he first saw Jordan at that summer camp that he wasn’t only scouting one of the greatest players ever but was about to strike a friendship that would last a lifetime.
