Michael Jordan: The Life

The early black college teams operated on shoestring budgets in the dangerous climate of segregation. They achieved success despite a culture that made travel nearly impossible, with no public restrooms, drinking fountains, restaurants, or hotels available to them. “A simple trip from one school to another was like plotting your way through a minef

It was not something Jordan articulated. As he often explained, he wasn’t much of a rah-rah type. More, he played all out, and insisted on the same from his teammates, as Pinckney had described on the Pan Am team. Often he could motivate them with a mere frown.

Portland’s mistake would go down as the greatest blunder in draft history.

Patrick Ewing had thought the same thing after meeting Jordan on that first visit to Chapel Hill. Years later, the center would reveal that he was seriously considering playing for Dean Smith until he returned to his hotel that weekend and saw a Klan demonstration nearby. That chilled any thought he had of going to UNC. If not for that Klan moment,

Years later he explained that he made the selection because 23 was close to half of 45, a number that his brother Larry had worn.