In 1998, I saw ESPN’s website had a profile of great performances in the NCAA
tournament. They had players like Bill Bradley (56 points in a Final Four game), Bill
Walton (21 of 22 shooting the NCAA Championship), Danny Manning (36 points, 19 rebounds in
the 1988 championship), and such. Listed in these great performances was Michael Jordan in
1982. What was Jordan’s amazing performance? Well, he had a whopping 16 points. Wow.
He hit the shot that put North Carolina ahead with 15 seconds left. Buzzer beater? Nope.
Who was the star of the 1982 tournament? James Worthy was. He was the first-team All-American. Jordan wasn’t even all-conference. Worthy led the team in scoring for the season, the tournament, and even the championship game (28 points). Worthy was also the tournament MVP, and the East Region's Most Outstanding Player. After Jordan’s shot, Worthy stole the ball from Georgetown to seal the victory. Where was Worthy on ESPN’s site? He was nowhere to be found. Instead Jordan makes it for one shot. Where was Keith Smart? Where was Scottie Thurman? They were also one-shot wonders.
This was yet ANOTHER example of how the media hypes Jordan to no end. Worthy led that team to the title, yet the history revisionists have tried to credit it to Jordan.
How did Jordan do for the remainder of his college career? Let’s look. In 1981, the year before Jordan supposedly led Carolina to the title, Sam Perkins, Al Wood and James Worthy led the Tar Heels to the National Championship game, where they lost to Isiah Thomas and the Indiana Hoosiers. Surely Jordan could carry on this streak of championship game appearances, right? Wrong.
In 1982, after winning the title, James Worthy left for the NBA. Jordan would go on to win The Sporting News’ College Player of the Year during the next two seasons. However, his teams never even made it back to the Final Four, let alone to the championship. Did he lack the teammates? No. He played with Sam Perkins (#4 pick in the 1984 draft…right behind Jordan), Brad Daugherty (#1 in the 1986 draft) and Kenny Smith (#6 in the 1987 draft). Yet, without Worthy, there’s Jordan leading his team to disappointing finishes, despite having a #2 seed and a #1 seed (loss in Sweet 16)…if it were anyone else, the media would call them "chokes." Yes, the counter-argument is that the NCAA tournament is upset-prone, but come on...what happened to Michael Jordan's overrated "will to win?" Don't tell me this was just another product of the media! Wilt Chamberlain was called a "loser" for losing to an undefeated team in the finals in triple-overtime, yet Jordan couldn't even lead a team to the Finals, let alone the Final Four -- and he's supposed to be the "best ever?" I think not. Funny how short Jordan comes up when you level the playing field and use the same standards to measure him that are used to measure everybody else.
A great college career? Yes. A winner? No. One of the all-time great college performances? No. One of the all-time great college players? No. Sports Illustrated wisely left Jordan off of their all-time college team. But then again, SI and Jordan haven’t been on speaking terms since 1995—so that makes them a little more truthful in their reporting.
