When Michael Jordan arrived at the University of North Carolina (UNC) in 1981, he was just a determined freshman with boundless potential. Little did anyone know he would revolutionize the game of basketball and inspire generations of athletes. His leadership, and relentless work ethic at UNC became the bedrock of his legendary six rings career. Now, surprisingly, another NBA player stirred the pot on a podcast, confessing his initial unawareness of the MJ tradition during his college days.

In the recent episode of the Johnny Manziel podcast, the guest of the segment Tyler Hansbrough was asked to reflect on the time when he joined UNC. The former power forward didn’t spare a moment in answering that.

“ I was oblivious to it. I was a small-town kid. You know I was more caught up with, you know I was from Poplar Bluf Missouri, I get a chance for North Carolina, yeah. I was also grinding like I didn’t sit back and look at like, this is where MJ went. MJ didn’t really, he came around every once in a while but it’s not like MJs gonna walk through and you’re gonna walk like I mean, It’s kind of hard to you know approach him.” he said reflecting on his initial perception of MJ.

“Someone of his status. But I really probably didn’t appreciate or understand the tradition until I left and sometimes I look up at the rafters and I see my jersey up there with Jordan, worthy,” said Hansbrough during the podcast.

 Jordan’s career in college was quite the portent of his accomplishments in the NBA. When Jordan arrived at UNC, joining the program under Coach Dean Smith, it didn’t take long for the world to realize just how incredible a basketball player it had here. But his signature jump shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown, clinching the Tar Heels victory, served as his national debut.

Over his three seasons at UNC, Jordan averaged 17.7 points and five rebounds per game. He was also named the NCAA Player of the Year in 1984 and earned first-team All-American honors twice.

Hansbrough was a dominant forward for UNC from 2005 to 2009. He left Chapel Hill as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,872 points and a national champion in 2009. Moreover during the podcast, the former power forward also touched on how standouts like Phil Guard set the program for the future players to excel.

“Phil Ford’s probably my all-time favorite Tar Heel. He was an Olympic gold medalist, old school guy. One of the nicest dudes and always checks in on me and so guys like him have helped build that program too. Like North Carolina from a player perspective, in my opinion like, Phil Ford kind of set the foundation for the MJs, the Vince Carters and he is still around in the community today,” added Hansbrough during the podcast.

While Tyler Hansbrough’s confession may seem like a slight to Jordan’s legacy, it’s a testament to how expansive and layered that legacy truly is. However, even though Hansbrough couldn’t replicate Jordan’s excellence in the big league, he was brought into the GOAT debate by an NBA analyst.

When Tyler Hansbrough brought into the GOAT debate

Hansbrough, nicknamed “Psycho T”, was drafted 13th overall by the Indiana Pacers in the 2009 NBA Draft. Unfortunately, his professional career never matched his collegiate dominance. Over seven NBA seasons, he averaged 6.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.

Yet sports commentator Dan Patrick argued that Jordan is not the greatest college basketball player of all time by highlighting Tyler Hansbrough’s dominant college career. During an episode of Dan Patrick Show, the commentator made clear that Jordan is not the GOAT.

“Tyler Hansbrough had a better college career than Michael Jordan. Christian Laettner was a better college player than Michael Jordan. If I just said this career versus this career, and I did not attach names, you would go with the guy who’s the All-Time leading scorer in the ACC,” said Patrick during the show.

As mentioned earlier, Tyler Hansbrough has 2,872 points in the ACC whereas Jordan only has  1,787 points. But if we look at Jordan’s NBA career, he has a far better stat line with 30.1 points, and 6.2 rebounds, per game. Ultimately, Jordan’s NBA career cements his status as basketball’s GOAT, even if Patrick feels his college resume falls short.