The Last Dance: Jordan the ultimate competitor

The Last Dance: Jordan the ultimate competitor

By Robert Alfonso Jr.

As the country has been glued to “The Last Dance,” we all are getting a behind the scenes look of the last championship season Michael Jordan won with the Chicago Bulls.

Episodes 7 and 8 will air at 9 pm tonight on ESPN and ESPN2. This 10-part documentary has given us a look into Jordan as a person and competitor.

However, long before the championships, the iconic silhouette of the Jordan Brand, and his short stint as a baseball player, Randy Shepherd has known Jordan since they were high school players.

As the co-founder of Crossfire Ministries, Shepherd has watched the documentary welcomed the recollection of some memorable moments of Jordan.

Shepherd first met Jordan during the summer of 1980. He and best friend Buzz Peterson were attending the Dean Smith UNC Basketball camp. They ended up being suite mates with Jordan and high school teammate Lee Roy Smith. Shepherd and Peterson attended Asheville High, in Western North Carolina. Jordan and Smith were William Laney High products, which is in Eastern North Carolina.

The geographical location was not the only thing different about them.

Shepherd and Peterson were white. Jordan and Smith were black. Peterson and Jordan were seniors. Shepherd and Smith were juniors.

Author David Halberstam, who wrote “Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the world He made,” wrote about the pair, “Two white players from Asheville and two black players from Wilmington were paired in the same suite.”

The geographical locations and race were the only difference between teenagers then. They were all passionate about the game. When teams were selected for camp Peterson and Smith were teammates, Shepherd and Jordan were on the other side.

They played in opposite gyms every night.

Peterson, who was being heavily recruited by the Tarheels, asked Shepherd on a nightly basis, “How good was that Mike kid?”

“I think he can play at Carolina,” said Shepherd after the first night.

The next night, “I think he can be an All-American.”

The third night, “I think this guy can play in the NBA one day.”

By end of the week, Shepherd and Jordan won the camp championship. Ironically, Peterson was not the only one interested in Jordan’s ability. Legendary Tarheels head coach Dean Smith watched Shepherd and Jordan play.

“I enjoyed throwing alley-oop passes to Michael that week during camp because he could jump so high. Coach Smith came up to me and said, “Randy, you really like that alley-oop pass to Mike, don’t you?” Shepherd said.

Peterson and Jordan had solid senior seasons and were selected McDonald’s All-American in their senior year in 1981. Peterson, who averaged 27 points per game as a senior, was named the North Carolina Boys Basketball Player of the Year by a single vote over Jordan that year. They then became roommates at Carolina.

Two year later, Shepherd went on to play at UNC Asheville. Smith played collegiately at UNC Wilmington.

Shepherd made the trip to Chapel Hill every opportunity he could. This is when he and Jordan grew closer.

Peterson and Jordan roomed together at Granville Towers. The competitive Jordan would constantly give Peterson a hard time about beating him for the state player of the year award.         

This is when the teammates became best friends. 

As many have watched during the documentary, Jordan is a relentless competitor.

Shepherd recalls a story after the Tarheels won the National Championship, of the three of them in the basement of the dorm. Some fraternity guys came down and challenged Jordan to a game of pool.

Jordan bet them $5 a game. The games started at 8 pm but Peterson and Shepherd didn’t stay to watch long since the Tarheels had a game the next day.

Jordan returned to the room the next morning at 8 am with a football-size roll of $5 bills. He took a shower before attending a walkthrough with Peterson. Jordan proceeded to go 11-for-12 for the win. All without an ounce of sleep.

When Jordan decided to go pro, Peterson and Jordan played 36-holes of golf at a celebrity golf event in Wilmington. They all returned back to Jordan’s house, who then suggested them playing 5-on-5 tackle football. Then Jordan had the gyms key to his old high school to play 3-on-3 basketball. The next morning, Jordan flew to Chicago for Rookie camp.

“People are getting to see the drive that he had,” Shepherd said of the documentary. “How he wanted to win.”

This is what Shepherd saw since the early 80’s