By R.L. Bynum
Michael Jordan struggled against N.C. State?
Former Wolfpack guard Terry Gannon made that allegation Saturday while on the call for NBC’s coverage of the Ryder Cup, while noting that Jordan was at the Bethpage Black course in Farmingdale, N.Y., for the competition.
“He struggled against N.C. State,” Gannon asserted, although he could have been joking.
Does a 15.5 scoring average in eight games (compared to 17.7 for his career) with a 6–2 record describe struggles? Gannon should know better because he played for the Wolfpack during all three seasons of Jordan’s Carolina career.
It’s true that after scoring 20 points in his first meeting, a 61–41 win at Reynolds Coliseum on Jan. 13, 1982, he only had two points in the Tar Heels’ 58–44 victory at Carmichael Auditorium on Jan. 30, 1082, and seven points in the 58–46 ACC tournament victory on March 6, 1982.
After that, though, Jordan consistently played well for the Tar Heels against the Wolfpack in a time when Coach Dean Smith had balanced scoring.
— 15 points in a 99–81 home win Jan. 19, 1983
— 17 points in a 70–63 road loss Feb. 19, 1983
— 13 points in a 91–83 overtime ACC tournament loss on March 12, 1983
— 18 points in an 81–60 road win Jan. 7, 1984
— 32 points in a 95–71 home win on Feb. 18, 1984.
It turns out that the “struggle” may have been Gannon trying to remember how all of those games went.
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
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