Embarrassment for Michael Jordan Remained a Moment of Pride for His High School Coach: ?That?s the Best Thing That Happened to Me?

NBA legend Michael Jordan is arguably the best basketball player ever. Over the course of his career, he has won 6 NBA titles, 6 Finals MVP awards, 5 NBA MVP awards, and much more. He dominated the league in a way no other player did and became the face of the game. In addition, Jordan also became a global icon real soon and helped popularize the game all around the world. And being one of the most popular athletes in the world, helped his cause. MJ now has millions of fans around the world.

However, he was not used to superstardom at a very young age. And His Airness wasn’t always the top player, especially early in his career. In fact, he did not make the varsity team during his sophomore year in school. Basketball fans need no introduction to that story. However, not everyone knows that the coach that cut Mike Jordan from the team took pride in it.

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The Chicago Bulls legend himself revealed it during an appearance on ‘The Tonight Show with Jay Leno’ in 1997. During the show, MJ remembered the embarrassing moment of him getting cut in school.

Michael Jordan about getting cut in his sophomore year

The host Jay Leno brought it up and asked Michael Jordan whether it was true. Jordan replied, “Yeah I got cut as a sophomore. I mean, that’s embarrassing. Why do you always wanna talk about that?” MJ added that everyone goes through disappointments and it is about how one reacts to the disappointments that matters. He also remarked, “The best thing to happen to me was to get cut.”

When talking about the coach, ‘Air Jordan’ said that the coach who cut him coached him through high school. Furthermore, the coach actually helped him improve. Jordan said, “His name is Clifton Herring, and he was my high school coach. And he is the one that cut me but then he was the one that picked me up and got me straight.” He then added that the coach takes pride in cutting him.

Young Jordan would go to his room and cry when did not make the varsity team and his friend did. However, he decided to work harder and get better. He then became a star for the junior varsity team and started catching the eyes of people. Soon, MJ became one of the top prospects in the nation.

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Brought up in Wilmington, North Carolina, Jordan chose to play for the University of North Carolina. He put up great numbers and helped the Tar Heels win the national championship in 1982.