Jordan's great motivator was ... himself?
Posted: Thursday, September 10, 2009 8:31 PM
Filed Under:
Greatest ever
The best part about Michael Jordan’s induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is everyone wants to reflect on Jordan’s career. And as a guy who can’t get enough hoops history and topics to argue about, it’s a dream.
He’s inarguably one of the 5 best NBA players ever (the best, in my book), but his college career is far more interesting because he wasn’t Air Jordan yet. Just really, really good. Really good.
OK, he was friggin’ great. He’s just out of the all-time college Top 10, OK? And that’s not just me.
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ANYWAY, back to the genuflecting. The Raleigh News & Observer has been doing blowout coverage of Jordan’s North Carolina days (as they should).
A slideshow, his Top 10 college moments and a glowing tribute from Dean Smith are to be expected.
There’s also the requisite “shot that started it all” story, which covers his game-winning shot against Georgetown in the 1982 title game. Current UNC coach Roy Williams maintains that even if Jordan wouldn’t have sunk it against the Hoyas, it would’ve happened another time.
"He was just destined to do something special, and it was going to come, and when it came, he was going to use it to take him to another level,” he said.
More interesting is this tidbit from “Jordan’s will to win came early.” Everyone knows about the legend MJ being cut from his high school team. Great motivation, right?
Never happened. At least, not that way.
"Back then, [most] 10th-graders played JV; that's just the way it was. Nobody ever 'cut' Michael Jordan," Sutton, who still teaches physical education, said earlier this month, shaking her head as she retold the story for at least the 100th time.
"Him not making the varsity that year was not his motivator -- he was motivated well before that. He just always wanted to be the best."
Whoa. Does that mean Leroy Smith’s motivational game is just a farce? It’s like my entire world view just shifted…
