Okay, so the other day, I got curious about Michael Jordan’s time before the NBA. We all know the legend he became with the Bulls, but I wanted to see what his numbers looked like back when he was just a college kid at UNC. It feels like everyone talks about his pro career, but his college days were pretty significant too, right?
My Little Search Mission
So, I sat down and decided to actually look it up. Fired up my computer, you know, the usual routine. Went straight to my favorite search engine. I typed in something simple like “Michael Jordan college stats” or maybe “MJ UNC basketball stats”. Pretty straightforward stuff, didn’t need anything fancy.
Got a bunch of results back, mostly sports stats sites and articles talking about his time at North Carolina. Had to click around a bit, sift through some of the noise. You know how it goes, some websites are easier to read than others. I was just looking for the plain numbers, the averages and stuff from his years there.
What I Dug Up
Found what I was looking for after a few clicks. It wasn’t too hard to find the basics. Here’s roughly what I gathered from his time playing for the Tar Heels, which was from 1981 to 1984 I believe:
- Points per game: Over his three seasons, he averaged around 17.7 points. Not the insane numbers he put up later in Chicago, but really strong for college, especially back in the early 80s. I saw his scoring average increased each year he was there.
- Rebounds: He was grabbing about 5 rebounds per game. So, he wasn’t just scoring, he was contributing on the boards too.
- Shooting Percentage: His field goal percentage was pretty impressive, over 54% if I remember correctly. Showed he was an efficient player even then.
- Other Stuff: He averaged a couple of assists and over a steal per game too. An all-around player, clearly.
And of course, you can’t look up his college stats without seeing mentions everywhere of that shot. The game-winner in the 1982 NCAA championship game against Georgetown when he was just a freshman. That was a huge moment that really announced his arrival on the big stage.
He also won the Naismith and Wooden awards as the College Player of the Year in his last season there, 1984. So yeah, he was definitely the top dog in college before heading to the NBA.
Final Thoughts
Looking back at those stats was pretty cool. They might not jump off the page like his 30 points per game average in the pros, but you can totally see the talent and the efficiency were already there. He was a winner, a key player on a championship team, and obviously had that clutch gene early on. It was a nice reminder that even legends have a starting point, and his time at UNC was clearly a crucial part of his journey. Just a little dive into the numbers I did, thought I’d share.
