North Carolina has been known as one of the elite college basketball programs in the country. The legendary Dean Smith was known for building complete teams that played relentlessly on the defensive end and turned opponents' mistakes into crushing baskets on the other end. While there have been many great players throughout the decades that have played for the Tar Heels, there's no debate or argument that the best ever to don Carolina blue was Michael Jordan.
The North Carolina football program does not have anything close to the legacy of the basketball program. While legendary head coach Bill Belichick is in his first year of leading the football team, it is difficult to predict the kind of impact he will have on the program. However, if he was to have a player who was the football equivalent of Jordan, there's little doubt that Belichick would have a fascinating team.
The greatest football player to compete for the Tar Heels was Lawrence Taylor. Like Jordan, he lived for competition and he destroyed opponents at the college and professional level. Taylor played his last college football game for North Carolina in 1979 and was drafted by the New York Giants in 1981. Jordan did not grace the Chapel Hill campus until the 1981-82 season.
Nevertheless, Taylor would often play basketball against Jordan in practice sessions with Smith's blessing. In a recent interview with former NBA player Stephen Jackson, Taylor explained what those battles were like.
North Carolina battle between Taylor and Jordan was physical
Taylor, of course, was a brilliant athlete. He had the ego to believe he could be successful against any opponent on the football field and he did not back down on the basketball court.
“Dean Smith allowed me to practice with him,” Taylor explained. “He allowed me to practice and Mike was always, every time I turned around, he would just, calling foul, foul, foul, foul, like I just hit you a little bit. Come on man. So every time Mike had the ball, I wanted to guard Mike.”
Jackson offered that Mike was going to get the best of Taylor on a regular basis, and Taylor did not try to argue that point. But he did say he could give Jordan something to think about on the basketball court.
“But listen he was going to drop me off but I’m going to drop him off a little something in his head. I’m going to throw a little something at him. I’m not saying I’m a fair player, I’m just saying I’m a player.”
Jordan would play against the most physical players in the NBA as a professional, but it's doubtful he ever went up against a player who had Taylor's strength or mean streak.
