Michael Jordan’s first taste of buzzer-beating heroics needs a deep rewind | ‘82 NCAA Final

It’s March 29th 1982. We’re in the Louisiana Superdome for the NCAA final between the Georgetown Hoyas, and the North Carolina Tar Heels. Georgetown’s protecting a delicate one point lead, UNC has the ball and 20 seconds to do something with it.
To fully understand the stakes involved, and why the ball is currently sailing toward some freshman named, lemme check my notes, Michael… Jor-dan? Hope I’m saying that right, anyway- to appreciate it all, let’s rewind.
Written and produced by Clara Morris
Directed by Jiazhen Zhang
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[@kaijudirector5336]

And thus began the long saga of Michael Jordan breaking Patrick Ewing's heart and killing his dreams.

[@LuckyBird551]

Yes. Michael Jordan is basically "He is always better than everyone else, all the time, no matter what, and he always wins and there is nothing we can ever do about it."

[@joeyhoy1995]

​@@LuckyBird551the only way to win against peak Jordan is hoping he's trying his hand at the MLB or your not playing basketball at all and instead a game of poker.

[@wobblertv8083]

Look how relaxed he is before he gets the ball ...and so the legend begins 😊

[@AxeMan808]

I was just thinking "And that swish was also the sound of the dagger going in."

[@AxeMan808]

@@LuckyBird551Jordan was very much Goku. Oh, you upped your game in the off season? Well he can just up his game to match you RIGHT HERE AND NOW.

[@jakestanley52]

Two great quotes from this game. After the game ended, Roy Williams, Dean Smith's assistant coach, came up to him and said, "Coach, now they can get off your back about not winning one." Smith replied, "I'm no better coach now than I was 15 minutes ago." At the press conference, reporters repeatedly asked Hoya guard Fred Brown, who mistakenly passed the ball to James Worthy at the end, how he could make such a terrible pass. Finally, he got fed up and said, "It was a GREAT pass, it was just to the wrong guy."

[@archsys307]

Moral of the story: focus on the process not the outcome (Real moral of the story: expected value)

[@CoryFiscus]

"The nice thing about being inconsistent is you're good sometimes." Freaking poignant

[@SSEF15]

mid-80s must've been a great time to be a Chicago sports fan. You draft MJ in '84 and in '85 you win the Super Bowl

[@aceassn716]

Except look up how things went for Blackhawks Cubs White Sox

[@C.Pendejo]

Can confirm. As the son of a high school basketball coach, I grew up a Bulls fan through some dark years. Highlight of the one game we saw in person: Jerry Sloan getting a technical, followed quickly by a second & ejection for his obscenity-laced rant at the ref. Earliest memories watching the Bears are of preseason games with a rookie RB named Walter. His arduous journey to the top was culminating just as Jordan's got under way.

[@joeyhoy1995]

​@@aceassn716well lucky for most fans they don't often their cross city rivals like the Sox and Cubs

[@ammarnapata2193]

The white sox still had talent in the 90s.They were at least enjoyable to watch

[@AxeMan808]

And now you have made The Superbowl Shuffle reappear. Gee. Thanks.

[@jomei63]

The First Ever Michael Jordan Moment!!!!

[@jimmy13morrison]

Four corner then the triangle jordan really had a geometric career

[@drphot6050]

Underrated comment

[@positivelangbai...4482]

😅😂😂👍👍

[@jakestanley52]

That shot of young James Worthy and Clyde Drexler is so damn cool.

[@bennisford1712]

Yup... cool pic

[@miguelladinodevera614]

​@@bennisford1712James Worthy said Mike Jordan was just the new kid when they first met. Couple months before this Georgetown game, Worthy said Mike was now better than him. Clyde is infamous for being the opposite of Mike: no defense. Clyde & Mike faced each other in the NBA Finals with Drexler losing. The consolation was Drexler, Mike AND Pat Ewing winning Olympic gold together. Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde's U of Houston teammate and Phi Slamma Jamma brother, won 2 Finals MVPs and Olympic gold later on. Hakeem's Rockets defeated Ewing's Knicks for the Larry O'B too. Worthy has a couple of chips himself ofc. Sheesh man what a roster of guys from the 80s NCAA circuit.

[@bennisford1712]

@@miguelladinodevera614 yeah...I'm glad I LIVED it... bball today not the same

[@ericrobinson7861]

@@bennisford1712true it’s not the same, we have a shot clock

[@bennisford1712]

@ericrobinson7861 lol 😆... game was better with the handchecking ijs final score was 90-85, not 129-127

[@jakemurphy3352]

Dean smith: the only man to ever hold mj under 20 points

[@RobertSchuster68]

And still was beloved ❤😂

[@RobertSchuster68]

And still was beloved ❤😂

[@user-ej9ub6wl5l]

Dean Smith was truly a great coach because his players has such great fundamentals stemming from education that emphasizes team basketball above everything else. Even though MJ's usage rate in the NBA was crazy high, he knew how to move within the team's offense. Except for the few seasons where he played with basically nobody at the point, MJ wasn't the guy who hogged the ball for 20 out of 24 seconds. He was among the best at moving without the ball, backdoor cuts, catch and shoot. He wasn't the guy who isolated all the time. When the triangle was moving well, he knew to move within the system and take a (relatively few) shots for high 20~ low 30 game. That kind of intelligence comes from years of training. Smith knew MJ or James Worthy in their junior year could probably average 30 a game(on second thought, maybe not 30, since the college games had such low scores back then, but still higher than what they did) or at least close, but they instead averaged 19 and 16. End result? GOAT and HOF member. MJ went from averaging 19 in college straight to averaging 28 in his rookie season. And they are two of the most fundamentally sound players in their positions, like ever.

[@emmanuelenyinwa1443]

Lol. ZONE defense held Jordan under 20.

[@toddunthank3142]

There was no shot clock or 3. This fits better for John Calipari and any number of players.

[@kermstar5611]

MJ sponsoring Ewing nightmares for preventing (almost) championships since college. Just the most poetic, unfortunate break that Ewing ever had to deal with.

[@NkJunior100]

Consistency is everything

[@joeyhoy1995]

​@@NkJunior100well, Jordan was consistently inconsistency that year. But got it when it mattered

[@NkJunior100]

@@joeyhoy1995 was referring to whooping Ewing but yeah that too😎

[@GABEMOORE533]

🗣️BUT , PATRICK EWING DID WIN A COLLEGE CHAMPI🏆NSHIP IN 1984 .>🎤 🏀🗑️🤾

[@kermstar5611]

@@GABEMOORE533 that’s why I said almost

[@stonecoldku4161]

The 2008 National Championship. Kansas vs Memphis. Mario's Miracle deserves a Deep Rewind

[@EssAhrBee]

Cool. You do it.

[@dreamchaser1419]

Chris webber timeout vs unc 93

[@stonecoldku4161]

@@dreamchaser1419 They did kind of cover that in Beef History between Chris Webber and Jalen Rose.

[@dreamchaser1419]

@@stonecoldku4161 Yeah but you know that was kinda like more about their lives. They need to deep dive into the fab five on court wise and what made them so good. Plus the context of what happened in those 2 yrs specifically

[@mcj88]

Wild to me how even as late as 1982, the NCAA still didn't have a shot clock.

[@mongoslade277]

Don't think the NCAA had a shot clock until 1986 or 87. In 1983 some conferences had a shot clock but it was conference games only

[@Rodanguirus]

It's kind of crazy how "ancient" college hoops felt even in the mid-80s. No shot clock, no 3s, tourney was 48 teams, the NCAA didn't even track assists... It went through some drastic overhauls between the time of this game and '86.

[@KIDTV-qe2dm]

Wow. I requested this one about 2-3 years ago.

[@ramirezer2302]

Thanks for the patience 🎉

[@conduitofthegospeldarrellb9154]

This is the beginning of a legend, an epic that would create a spectacle on/off the court like none before. - Freshmen of the the Year. - Title winning shot. - Sophomore year becomes a phenom. Air Jordan has arrived. - Player of the Year. - Junior Year same Jordan but better - Olympics? Gold. By the time he left UNC and was playing for 84’ Olympics, Jordan was already among the top 5 players on the planet, if not better.

[@aceassn716]

He became that No way was he ahead of Kareem Magic Bird McHale Dr J in 84

[@conduitofthegospeldarrellb9154]

@@aceassn716 he was on the same level or better already. Top 5 if not better. He was already being called “the greatest” by renowned basketball minds before the draft. Jordan led an Olympic team (Ewing, Alvin Robertson, Leon Wood, Perkins) of collegiate athletes against HOF Allstars (Bird, Thomas, Magic, Nance, Aguirre etc) Jordan’s team won almost every game the faced off. Some of them were televised.

[@Captain_Wavy_Jones]

Delusional

[@Captain_Wavy_Jones]

@@poorchris saying he was top 5 in the nba before he played a game and wasn’t even top 2 in his draft class is delusional. I don’t care how you spin it.

[@migamaos3953]

@@aceassn716Dr J was fading by then

[@TheCj126]

Michael JorDAN!

[@waqas4318]

some rando freshman

[@elwin38]

...or Mike Jordan.🏀🏀

[@tobznoobs]

the Air JorDAN!

[@Tb0n33999]

This seems more "why we have a shot clock" then Jordan's first buzzer beater.

[@gmwdim]

"Guard passes to guard, passes back to guard, guard holds it, holds it...holds it......" lmao

[@Wolfeson28]

I'm sure there were more than a few fans shouting "Come on ya schnorers, DO SOMETHING" or something to that effect. :)

[@AirLancer]

Classic Simpsons reference.

[@vicfirth]

The shot clock was added in response to the Four Corners offense. By the ACC in 1983 and by the NCAA in 1985. Then the Carolina Break and speed became the norm under Dean Smith and his proteges.

[@larrystewart2129]

Clara is great with these and all other videos 💎💎

[@spicy_xinger]

shes improved with her delivery so much the last few years

[@theratcometh9866]

Exactly. Legend. Oddly, i rarely here her narrate as much. But then maybe i havnt been looking more. But her and that other fellow are really good, but Clara is my fav. Great voice for narrating videos and always hilarious the things she says.

[@muhammadfarhan581]

No

[@Shawn-Leider]

Yep she’s the goat. At first I didn’t like the female voice. Now I’m hooked

[@colinmaass4260]

Still no one has ever been able to explain to me what the hell a "Hoya" is.

[@KB-313]

"Georgetown University admits that the precise origin of the term “Hoya” is unknown." "The name “Hoyas” derives from Georgetown’s college yell, Hoya Saxa."

[@ianstratton]

Apparently "hoya" is greek for "what" and "saxa" is latin for "rocks". So the Georgetown cheer "hoya saxa" is literally "what rocks!" 😐

[@waqas4318]

so Hoya literally means "what."

[@grantus_pax]

@@waqas4318"What is a Hoya?" "Exactly!"

[@ahogg5960]

That bit in the middle referencing the Simpsons soccer is absolutely fantastic!

[@eskewroberts7663]

Considering the NCAA implemented a shot clock a few seasons later, I like to think Dean Smith's shenanigans throughout this playoffs were the straw that broke the camel's back

[@usedturtleshell3364]

Another March Madness moment I’d love to see a rewind on is George Mason’s win over UConn in the Elite 8.

[@Nick77ab2]

lmao acting like he was his teammate and getting that pass at the end was criminal.

[@RobertMichael]

The greatest there ever was, the greatest there will ever be!!

[@RobertSchuster68]

MJ is the Michael Jordan of all Michael Jordans

[@Trancymind]

Magic Johnson, Michael Jackson and Messiah Jesus.

[@matthewforbes2969]

The first “The Shot”!

[@billmcg1676]

Hey Clara, Love Secret Base - always compelling stories but your writing and narration seal the deal (especially the cheeky wit you throw in here and there.) Continued success!

[@aceassn716]

Who was the only person to keep MJ under 20points a game?!? Coach Dean Smith

[@benjaminjaskoski1334]

Clara Morris is by far the best narrator at Secret Base.

[@theratcometh9866]

Wow, im not the only one to think it!

[@jasper7439]

Jon Bois will always be #1 for me but she's certainly one of their best regardless

[@juanmanuelbonzano]

I was just reading about this game on Wikipedia this morning and i was like "SecretBase should do a video on this game". Low and behold, my thoughts were answered.

[@owenschnitzler9340]

I loved the way they talked about this shot in “Air”.

[@spicy_xinger]

Shoutout to SB for not caving to reading an in-video ad like everyone else

[@pizzaface4628]

They’re part of Vox Media so they don’t need to

[@ianbrudnakvoss3126]

They did a while ago for Blue Moon

[@David-iv6je]

Jordan, Worthy and Perkins on the same team. Patrick Ewing. Ralph Sampson in college. Damn, I remember that year.

[@richardfilanderer]

Michael Jordan doesn’t do what Michael Jordan does because of Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan does what Michael Jordan does because Michael Jordan is Michael Jordan.

[@hugh_janus_g]

throwing the ball to the other team down 1 with 8 seconds left IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME is craaazzyyyy

[@THEjoelivingstone]

Stellar content as always.

[@meharinationsportspodcast2582]

I'm still waiting for the Rewinder of the 1992 East Regional Final between Kentucky vs Duke. But, this game was an epic classic and started the careers of many great NBA legends.

[@EssAhrBee]

You do it.

[@dreamchaser1419]

Need the rewinder for 93 championship. UMichigan vs UNC.

[@sabremarky15]

@7:50 that feels like a Simpsons reference! 😂

[@g412bb]

Ariaga was a legend to see

[@sabremarky15]

@@g412bb Ariaga II was better

[@uncreative5766]

Michael Jordan took that lack of recruitment from colleges personally.

[@C.Pendejo]

One of many snapshot of an avalanche which got rolling his sophomore year of high school, with the varsity team's snub.

[@mongoslade277]

😂. He was a McDonald's All American. Held the scoring record in the McDonald's game for like 18 years. He wasn't lightly recruited

[@nlyoswag7151]

Ncst Houston 1983 rewinder

[@scottya3615]

Yes please

[@eriklakeland3857]

Love the 30 for 30 on NC State’s 1983 title run.

[@nlyoswag7151]

@@eriklakeland3857 yeah it’s great

[@JudahTribe-lt3ur]

This was excellent! Thank you

[@bipolarkeyboard]

this channel is amazing

[@MorningThief_]

"Jordan's shot was off" ...i know, individually, those are words. but i just can't wrap my head around it...

[@asymptoticspatula]

Great breakdown, as always!

[@twoodbeats]

never clicked on a video so quickly in my life lol

[@terryaltherr2481]

Man, it's hard to believe how loaded with talent that Final was!

[@mp_click]

One year and a few months later, UNC travelled to Greece to play a friendly match with the greek national team. And there, to his complete surprise, Jordan was swarmed by greek journalists, who mostly ignored his other, more famous teammates. Why? Because Greece, a country that had started to fall in love with basketball, had also started to pay attention to foreign leagues as well. Especially their sport journalists, who however could not watch NCAA matches in their country, only NBA. They could only read statsheets of that '82 final, which paled in comparsion to the reports they heard about Jordan's last shot; only able to read about it, the shot took mythic dimensions in their minds, shadowing any other players or stats. And so, when they finally had the chance to interview a player that America had stopped paying full attention to for a while, they took it with fervor. To his own admission years later, this was the first time MJ felt like a star, recognised in a completely other country hundreds of miles away. So them his coach 'rewarded' him by having him run up and down the stairs a few dozen times, as to not let all that new 'fame' go to his head. Whoops 😅

[@SyxxPunk]

To be fair, it's good to keep their feet on the ground otherwise they might burn up in the atmosphere.

[@a6340]

imagine stalling when you have 2 future hall of famers on your team *i know they weren't fully developed yet and still really young but its crazy to hear knowing what we know now

[@CezrDaPleazr]

Man this was great, I only ever heard of this moment in the Jordan bio that Roland wrote so to see it like this in depth was an added bonus

[@JoeVideoed]

Lovely narration, Clara.

[@DizzyDaDon]

I love Clara sm bro 😭 her sense of humor is mad attractive I wanna marry her

[@PpP-dr1od]

Before Michael was Michael, he was Steve Kerr

[@emmanuelenyinwa1443]

He was NEVER Steve Kerr. Please.

[@markjackson6431]

Rewinder: 2006 Orange Bowl 3OTs Beef History: Lindros vs Flyers Organization Overlap: Greatest College Football Coach (Saban) and the Greatest NFL Coach (Belichick) coaching in the same division Beef History: Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas Beef History: Phil Jackson and Pat Riley Untitled: Reggie Miller Untitled: Tracy McGrady Untitled: Ken Griffey Junior Untitled: Carl Yastrzemski Untitled: Ted Williams Untitled: Jim Kelly Collapse: Early 90s Bills Prism: Steph Curry and all those mid major players Rewinder: The Catch By Willie Rewinder: Wide Right I, Wide Right II Rewinder: Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds breaking the respective HR record(s) Untitled: Don Nelson

[@showtimesportsmedia6906]

I could’ve sworn this was a re upload I can’t believe they haven’t did this already

[@carlpacquing2575]

The Four Corners Offense sounds like it would be so annoying! I am glad we have a shot clock!

[@mongoslade277]

They were always on TV so imagine watching that nonsense. This was before ESPN had college basketball

[@MrBird2007]

Hmm I wonder whatever became of this man called Michael Jordan

[@jaynunez9535]

Heard he did Ight during his time in the NBA

[@matthewlo7868]

Well.. Houston’s Akeem Olajuwon was drafted first before him.. I think that he might have a better career..

[@greencm7142]

Great work! People can say what they want about harda** coaches. But, they win championships. Yes, a few have gone overboard (ie-Bob Knight) and I don't support that. But, some of today's hard coaches get character assassinated just for raising their voice at players. Ridiculous. Also- The shot clock has to be one of the most important innovations to the game of basketball. Classic game that championship was. Right on time for final four and the championships this weekend and Monday.

[@hgm38]

The best college player i ever seen #33!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@rickyrichreacts9667]

I was born in 89, so I remember watching this game back in 82. Seems like just yesterday.

[@hhart2664]

Too good Clara, too good👌

[@bcope8501]

A mini documentary. A very good documentary.

[@jasperhayes-klein2929]

Holds it!!! Hoooooolds it!!!! STEEEL HOLDING IT!!!!!!!

[@dtpino]

Secret Base just dropped 😎

[@MrBmick79]

The Run and Jump Defense was created by fellow Jayhawk alum John McLendon, who coached down the road at North Carolina Central. Coach Smith said he borrowed the concepts from COach Mac and made it his own.

[@Se0420_]

THE GOAT!

[@jdm2339]

huge huge kudos to clara. she just continues to improve year after year, vid after vid. bravo.

[@russellst.martin4255]

7:56 Ariaga II couldn't have held it better himself

[@3411Chad]

Michael Jor-DAAAN 🤣

[@thebeebyboys1751]

I’ll never forget my grandpa was watching this game. Lifetime ago now

[@mrmacross]

I wonder if the Mike Jordan guy mentioned in the article at 8:08 is related to the Michael Jordan who played for the Wizards in 2001-2003.

[@brianmiller1077]

Strangely I think I saw him play baseball of all things for the ChiSox

[@MatthewSmith-ti7xc]

love seeing a tarheel video 🩵🤍

[@xkptwistblazex]

Lauren Chamberlains walkoff in the 2013 WCWS final deserves a Rewind

[@WPNMetro]

Begging for a Mich v Kansas rewind and how John Belien rebuilt Michigan

[@ncohenproductions1076]

editing is good. cringey jokes are not

[@BoxOfOranges84]

You guys need to Rewind the 1999 UCL Final already 👍

[@siriush100]

Michael Jorrr..Dan 😂😂😂 OMG, who writes this stuff!!?? Pure genius!!!

[@eriklakeland3857]

13:12 the credits of the video shows Clara Morris wrote the script. She’s good.

[@DavidBaruffi]

You should do a Rewinder on the 96 Olympics Womens Gymnastics Team Finals!

[@84Yeratel]

The timing of this... Last evening I decided to rewatch The Last Dance which obviously mentions this moment in history

[@beaudure01]

How different would Jordan’s career have played out if Georgetown had come back and won? Would he have the confidence that he eventually had?

[@ThePuttercross]

Who is the only person that can consistently hold Michael Jordan under 20 points...Dean Smith.

[@annelosch555]

I was always under the impression UNC was the favorite in the 1981 title game versus Indiana. Although Indiana was on an incredible roll, UNC was wearing their white jerseys in the title game, signifying they were the higher seed.

[@toddunthank3142]

I watched this game when I was 9 years old. My dad hated UNC. Great video!

[@Shellz386]

My GOAT

[@geekynerd7346]

In the second half, Freddie Brown of Georgetown had 3 touches and 3 turnovers. He also had the turnover that lost the game. I believe that he threw the game. And Freddie Brown’s turnover in the final seconds is the moment from this game that deserves a deep rewind.

[@EssAhrBee]

Lebron fan sighting 👆🏿

[@geekynerd7346]

⁠​⁠@@EssAhrBee My comment had nothing to do with Lebron. It has to do with the fact that it looks like Freddie Brown of Georgetown threw the game

[@EssAhrBee]

@@geekynerd7346 The only people spouting theories *that* outlandish are LeBron lap nuzzlers. Thanks for announcing yourself. **Mute**

[@mongoslade277]

Interesting. Fred Brown also played in the 1984 title game and won. Why not give it away

[@geekynerd7346]

@@mongoslade277 The complete 1983 championship game is on KZbin. I watched the game a few months ago, and every time Fred Brown touched the ball in the second half, he turned the ball over.

[@serisothikos]

This game was more than 40 years ago and that makes me want to shrivel up inside.

[@feddi7693]

🤔

[@neb185]

The comments on this video are a good way to discover who appreciates ball and the ones who need to step back from stan culture.

[@PompeyJonny44]

Just audibly went ‘yay’ on a packed commuter train in England when I heard Clara’s voice at the start

[@mattyice1226]

Jalen Strong’s catch and walk off TD. Arizona St vs USC needs a rewind

[@Bork19]

In defense of that last play what in world was Worthy doing up there?

[@msolec2000]

Nice player, that Jordan kid... But what made Donovan McNabb finish his career Untitled?

[@XanderDDS]

the J is silent.

[@mrfreemental]

Jordan keeps Ewing off of the champions podium his entire life is diabolical.

[@davidhusari2739]

it’s crazy that in the 80s outside shooting meant mid range shots

[@MrShanester117]

It’s crazy how she basically said being a good person is a negative trait

[@jjm5353]

I think you all should add some variety in the sports covered on the channel.

[@episodesglow]

This Jordan guy looks pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good

[@Amm17ar]

Lol according to "Air", this is the reason Nike signed Jordan. Dunno how accurate it was but pretty cool if it was.

[@chukwunonyeanyakoha8573]

I just finished watching the movie " Air"

[@ProducoesBatata]

Brabo

[@johnnierichardson6130]

Dean Smith is the reason we have a shot clock! 😂