There are not a lot of people who could scare Michael Jordan whenever he plays basketball. As the alpha dog wherever he went, it was normal for opposing players and some of his teammates to be afraid of him. However, two people managed to flip the script.
While most will assume that anyone from the bad boy Detroit Pistons era, Larry Bird, or Magic Johnson could put fear in Jordan, the two people that he was afraid of whenever he played basketball weren’t even NBA players. Instead, they were people he met during his tenure at the University of North Carolina (UNC).
In a time when people still called him “Mike Jordan,” he clearly wasn’t the untouchable icon we know today. As a young athlete, you could understand why he was genuinely scared of his coach Dean smith whenever he played.
It all started during one of Jordan’s early practices for the Tar Heels. When Jordan tried to force his way by the baseline for a shot, Smith didn’t hesitate to express his disappointment. This interaction, though seemingly harsh, was a pivotal moment for Jordan.
