MJ only made JV -- and that made him Air Jordan!

RoadSpoke mourns the loss of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna and the others on the helicopter.


EXIT of the Day: EXIT 81 I-95s To: I-4 &  State Road 451 to Wilmington, NC


Except for the possible exception of Babe Ruth no other athlete is more famous than Michael Jordan. Upcoming is NOT Michael's birthplace. Michael Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York. But upcoming is State Road 451 to Wilmington, North Carolina.  Wilmington was where Michael grew up. No doubt Mike has crossed and criss crossed this very interchange numerous times-- for you a crossroad with greatness no doubt!. And given that he IS so famous, we will take any opportunity to trumpet his North Carolina roots even so slim as to notify you about upcoming intersection that leads you back to his adolescence. ​

We all know that during his pro career, Michael Jordan surpassed greatness. He scored 32,292 points, earned six NBA championships and five NBA MVP titles, and made 14 All-Star Game appearances.  He is, by acclamation, the greatest basketball player to ever live.


But back in 1978, Michael Jordan was just another kid in the gym, along with 50 or so of his classmates, trying out for the Emsley A. Laney High School varsity basketball team.  According to Newsweek Magazine, there were 15 roster spots. Jordan—then a 15-year-old sophomore — was only 5’ 10”.  The Future Air Jordan could not yet dunk. So he did NOT get a spot on Varsity. He was cut.

“It was embarrassing not making the team,” Jordan later said. He went home, locked himself in his room and cried. Then he picked himself up and turned the cut into motivation. “Whenever I was working out and got tired and figured I ought to stop, I’d close my eyes and see that list in the locker room without my name on it,” Jordan would explain. “That usually got me going again.”


Michael played that year on the Junior Varsity. He perfected his skills. So he was ready when a growth spurt grew him to his final 6’6”.  After that, he went to his beloved University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he led them to the National College Championships… with a final second jumper over fellow Future Hall of Famer,  Patrick Ewing and his Georgetown team! ​

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But let that be a lesson to all of us who think of quitting. From adversity we can find greatness. ​

For Michael Jordan, the Hall of Fame Career  would never have happened if he was not cut from Varsity at high school in Wilmington North Carolina.


#KobeBryant #GianaBryant #MichaelJordan #EmsleyALaneyHighSchool #Newsweek #HallofFame #NBA #WilmingtonNC ​