On March 29, 1982 Dean Smith Scores
1982: The legend begins. In the NCAA final, before 61,612 fans in the Superdome, freshman Michael Jordan hits the first of many money shots. With his tongue hanging out and his legs going straight up, Jordan’s jump shot with 15 seconds left gives North Carolina a 63-62 lead over Georgetown for the national championship.
Trailing by a point and working against Georgetown’s zone defense, anchored by center Patrick Ewing, the Tar Heels’ first two options are to get the ball inside to either James Worthy or Sam Perkins. But with the two big men blanketed, point guard Jimmy Black spots Jordan free on the left side, about 16 feet from the basket.
“I wasn’t nervous,” the freshman says. “All I wanted to do was follow through right.”
The victory is clinched when Georgetown guard Freddie Brown inexplicably passes directly to Worthy with seven seconds left. The win gives coach Dean Smith his first NCAA championship in seven Final Four appearances.
Worthy, not Jordan, is named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player after scoring a game-high 28 points (13-of-17 from the field) in the final. Jordan, who scores 16 and grabs a team-high nine rebounds, will win a few other awards in the future.
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