The NCAA Tournament kicks off today, and to celebrate, let’s throw it back to 1982 and Michael Jordan’s first year as a Tarheel.
After an outstanding season and an ACC Tournament championship, The University of North Carolina ended up in the finals of the 1982 NCAA Tournament. They played the West region’s No. 1-ranked Georgetown University in a game that produced a moment many believe to be among the top in NCAA Tournament history.
The game was a brutal battle between teams, but it all came down to the final 17 seconds, when Jordan made the jump shot heard ’round the world, putting his team up by just one point. Instead of calling a timeout, Georgetown opted to drive the ball down the court for a final attempt at victory. Then, Hoyas point guard, Fred Brown, mistakenly passed the ball to Carolina’s James Worthy, cementing the championship for the Tarheels.
I don’t need to go on about Jordan’s fame after that; it’s safe to say he did quite well for himself in the years following. However, this moment will be in the books as one of MJ’s first and greatest at North Carolina.
