The Jordan Effect

December 21, 1891- The birth of basketball. It has been changed from simply shooting a soccer ball into a peach basket to dunking a seven pound, leather ball into an iron rim. In the early years of the game, basketball was not as popular as other sports. In the 1985 NBA draft all this would change with the emergence of a 6'6" basketball phenomenon from Wilmington, North Carolina. Although going third in the draft, he recreated the game and is known as the best player to ever touch a basketball; he is Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan was born on February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York. Jordan's family moved to moved to Wilmington, North Carolina while he was young along with his three siblings. He attended Ogden Elementary School, and later Trask Junior High School. Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School, where he anchored his athletic career by playing baseball, football, and basketball ("Michael Jordan" Wikipedia). When jordan was twelve, he played with his local baseball team called the Babe Ruth All-stars. Jordan helped his team win there championship (Mattern 79). As A freshman at Laney, Jordan was cut from the varsity team and was reduced to playin junior varsity. His sophmore year he was cut from the varsity team once again, but this time, his best friend Leroy Smith, made the team. When Michael found out he did not make the team, he said:

I went through the day numb. After school, I hurried home, closed the door to

my room and cried so hard. It was all I wanted--to play on that team...... It's

probably good that it happened. It made me know what disappointment felt

like. And I knew that I didn't want that feeling ever again

("Michael Jordan").

During the summer before his junior year, Jordan attended camps and constantly worked on improving his basketball skills; he also grew five inches during the summer. As a result or his hard work, "he finally earned his berth on the varsity squad and--with his burning ambitions in tow--he became one of the most widely-recruited high school athletes in the country ("Michael Jordan")." During the summer before Jordan's senior year, he attended the Five-Star Basketball Camp. There he met Dean Smith, the coach of the University of North Carolina's Tar Heels. Smith encouraged Jordan to come to the school. A few months later Jordan signed his letter of intent and received a full scholarship. The Tar Heels had an outstanding season and went on to play in the NCAA championship against Georgetown University. Jordan hit the game winning shot making his name know around the country. For the next two seasons, He averaged a reputable 17.7 points per game. In 1984, Jordan traveled to Los Angeles to compete with the U.S. Olympic basketball team. With Jordan's help, the team won a gold medal. Soon after Jordan entered the NBA draft and was picked third by the Chicago Bulls. The bulls were the laughing stock of the NBA, but that would soon be changed (Mattern 82-28).

During his first season with the bulls, Michael became a fan favorite averaging 28.2 points per game. He was nominated to play on the NBA All-Star team and won rookie of the year. Jordan's second season was cut short when he broke his foot. Despite his injury, the Bulls still made to the playoffs. Michael recovered just in