UNC vs. Georgetown, Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing, a legendary game that resulted in the shot that made Jordan a household name.
Since his appearance on 'The Last Dance' Roy Williams has been making his rounds discussing all things Michael Jordan. From discussing Jordan's recruitment to UNC to the day he decided to go pro, Williams seems to have a story for every occasion but this one is about the moment Jordan said he officially became "Michael Jordan"; the night Jordan got the green light to shoot the last shot of regulation for the Heels that resulted in a championship.
For ten years, Roy Williams was an assistant coach for Dean Smith; those ten years are more than a reflection of who Williams is today. During an interview with Dan Patrick, Williams discussed knowing they were going to win, but there was a moment he thought otherwise when he saw the player's faces. Williams' also revealed that it was initially James Worthy who was the hot hand and was going to take the shot but due to great rebound position and the game plan changed, and it favored Jordan.
Well, it was the most amazing change of my feelings I've ever had in my life. I thought the entire year we were going to win the national championship, I thought we were the best team. I never had any doubts and all of a sudden, with I think it's 31 seconds to go, coach called a time out. We had the ball out of bounds on the sideline. And the look on our guys' faces as they came to the bench just shocked me. I said, oh my god, we could actually lose this game. And that had never been a thought of mine, never.
And so players sit down and we as the coaches kneel down in front of them and Coach Smith was the most magical I've ever known anybody in my life. He said, 'Guys, we're in great shape. This is exactly where we want to be. We're going to determine who wins this game.' And I'll admit, I sort of faked a cough so I could look to the scoreboard to make sure, because of course, I was one up. And I didn't want Coach Smith to think I was looking at the score.
And he kept going, he said, guys, we'll run lineup to get it in, I don't think they'll be pressing, I think they'll get in the zone. If they are, he said, let's run two, and James, you'll over for the lob, and Sam's going to set the screen, or Matt's going to set the screen. But if we don't get the lob, which I don't think we will, we'll go weak side, and if we get the shot, we'll take the shot. We'll have the board covered. Sam, you get middle position inside, and James, you'll have weak side board position, so you get the rebound. And if they happen to get the rebound, we'll foul them and there's no way in the world they're going to try a foul shot in this situation, so we'll get another chance.
And all of a sudden everybody, their whole expression, the look on everybody's face, including mine, changed dramatically. And as they're going out, I'm standing two feet away from Coach Smith and he patted Michael on the backside and said, if you get the shot, knock it in, Michael. And that was it. So, originally, yes, we wanted to give the ball to James Worthy. I mean, he had dominated the game. But then we did go to the weak side and Michael had the shot. And if you look at the tape, we had great rebound position and all of a sudden somebody told Freddie Brown to throw the ball to Jake.
Original post:
Roy Williams on the Huddle that Led to Michael Jordan's Iconic '82 Shot - Sports Illustrated