In 1978, a 14-year-old Michael Jordan stood in the hallway of Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina, scanning the varsity basketball team list. He had spent the entire summer practicing, shooting hoops late into the evening, sometimes under the dim light of the porch. His dream was clear: to make the varsity team. Yet, when he saw the list, his heart sank. His name wasn’t there.
The sting of that rejection would go on to fuel one of the greatest careers in sports history. Michael Jordan, devastated at the moment, used that pain to build the foundation of his legendary career. But the story of his cut from the varsity team was more complex than the public believed, and after decades, it would be finally untold by the very man who had made that decision: Coach Clifton “Pop” Herring.
At that time, Michael was 5’10” and shorter than most of the other players trying out. He was still growing, still learning the game, but his determination to prove himself was unmatched. During tryouts, Coach Herring had noticed Michael’s talent. Michael had showcased his speed and precision, his agility, but his physique hadn’t caught up yet. After tryouts, when the list was posted, Michael’s name was missing. Instead of the varsity team, he was placed on junior varsity, the team for younger, less experienced players.
That day, Michael struggled to contain his emotions. The pain of being overlooked was crushing. He had worked so hard, and yet, it felt like he wasn’t good enough. Later, when he confronted Coach Herring, the coach explained his decision with patience. “You’re good, Jordan,” he said. “But the varsity team is full of experienced players. You’ll play more on JV, and that’s what you need right now. Playing time.”
Michael wanted to argue. He believed he could keep up with the varsity players, but he respected Coach Herring’s decision. “Yes, sir,” he replied quietly. He walked away, heart heavy, unsure if he could ever let go of that moment. But his mother, Dolores, gave him a perspective that would change his life. “You can let this defeat you, or you can use it as fuel,” she told him. “The greatest people in history faced rejection, but it’s what they do afterward that makes them great.”
That night, Michael wrote three words on a piece of paper and taped it above his bed: Cut from Varsity. Every morning, those words reminded him of the pain, but also of his promise: he would prove everyone wrong.
Over the next year, Michael worked tirelessly. He practiced every morning before school and every afternoon after junior varsity practice. His skills sharpened, his body grew stronger, and his confidence soared. By the next season, Michael had transformed. He was taller, faster, and more powerful. When tryouts came again, there was no question. Coach Herring, impressed by Michael’s growth, put him on the varsity team.
That year, Michael led the varsity team to victory, and his talent began to turn heads. He dominated every game, catching the attention of college scouts. His hard work had paid off, and he was soon on his way to the University of North Carolina, where his career continued to rise.
Years later, Michael Jordan became a global icon, winning six NBA championships, countless MVP awards, and cementing his legacy as the greatest basketball player of all time. Meanwhile, Coach Herring’s life had taken a different path. After coaching for several more years, Herring faced mental health struggles, eventually being diagnosed with schizophrenia. As his health deteriorated, he retired from coaching and lived a quiet, isolated life in Wilmington.
In 2009, when Michael was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, he gave a speech about the people who had influenced his journey. He mentioned many coaches and players, but he did not mention Coach Herring. It wasn’t out of anger or resentment, but because Michael had never fully understood the coach’s decision to place him on JV. For years, he had believed it was a rejection, a judgment of his abilities.
It wasn’t until 2015, after a story in a local Wilmington newspaper revealed the truth behind Coach Herring’s decision, that Michael began to reconsider. Herring hadn’t cut him; he had placed him on JV to give him more playing time and a chance to develop. He hadn’t doubted Michael’s talent—he had seen it from the start. Michael read the article with a new understanding. He realized that the pain he had carried for so many years had been based on a misunderstanding.
In early 2019, Michael decided it was time to reach out to Coach Herring. He wanted to set the record straight, to understand the full truth, and to reconcile. With the help of a local reporter, Jason Mitchell, Michael found Coach Herring, now in an assisted living facility. Herring’s health had declined, but his memories of Michael remained clear.
The meeting was arranged for May 2023. Michael flew to Wilmington, nervous about how their reunion would unfold. When he walked into the facility, he was struck by how much older Coach Herring had become. The once-booming voice of the coach was now soft and raspy, but when their eyes met, it was clear that the bond they had shared remained unbroken.
“Michael,” Coach Herring said softly, a smile tugging at his lips.
“I grew up,” Michael replied, his voice full of emotion.
They sat together and spoke for hours, reminiscing about basketball, their shared past, and the impact they had each had on the other’s life. Michael apologized for never reaching out to Herring, for using that painful moment as motivation without understanding the reasoning behind it. Coach Herring, in turn, explained that he had never doubted Michael’s talent. He had seen it from the beginning but believed that putting him on JV would give him the time he needed to develop.
“It wasn’t a rejection, Michael,” Herring said. “It was a plan. I wanted you to have a chance to grow.”
Michael listened, absorbing the coach’s words. It was a profound moment of realization. The story he had carried for so long—of being cut—had shaped him, but now he understood it differently. It hadn’t been rejection; it had been guidance.
Before Michael left, he handed Coach Herring a small box. Inside was a gold ring—his first NBA championship ring, a symbol of the journey they had shared. “You were part of this,” Michael said, his voice choked with emotion.
Coach Herring, overcome with gratitude, whispered, “I always knew you’d be the greatest.”
As Michael walked away from the meeting, a sense of peace washed over him. He had finally found closure to the story that had defined his life. The coach who had once been seen as the one who cut Michael Jordan had, in fact, been the one who gave him the opportunity to grow.
In that quiet room, the two men—one a legend and the other a forgotten coach—had found their truth, bringing an unforgettable chapter of Michael Jordan’s life to a close.
‘Made a mistake dude’ – Crying Michael Jordan called out high school coach in emotional Hall of Fame speech
Michael Jordan is infamous for taking things personally.
The NBA great’s revelation on Netflix series ‘The Last Dance’ that he would invent perceived slights from opponents in his mind to fire himself up for games sparked a meme frenzy.
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Jordan fought tears throughout his speech
By the time he quit the NBA for a third time in 2003 — this time for good — Jordan was the face of the world’s biggest sportswear brand, a six-time NBA champion, five-time MVP and one of the richest athletes ever.
But he still had a giant chip on his shoulder.
His Airness was enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 to complete the career arc every player dreams of.
The tears were flowing as soon as he took the podium, long before he paid tribute to mom Deloris in an emotional speech.
Jordan had plenty of people to thank and also revealed what may have been the first time he took things personally.
This time the slight was real — and the offending parties were the high school coach who cut MJ and his friend that had the audacity to be picked ahead of him.
Clifton ‘Pop’ Herring, was the coach at Emsley A. Laney High School, in Wilmington, North Carolina, when a teenage Jordan was beginning his career.
With no returning players over 6ft 3in, Herring decided to pick a rising star sophomore for the varsity roster — a rare move in those days.
When a young Jordan, who was just 5ft 10in tall at the time, saw his name on the junior varsity roster, he was gutted.
When he saw fellow sophomore and close friend Leroy Smith — a 6ft 7in giant — on the full varsity squad, he was beside himself.
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Smith was seen laughing at Jordan’s rant
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The Chicago Bulls icon was a master at motivating himselfCredit: AFP
Air Jordan went home and cried in his room.
The decades later, he hadn’t let it go and went into a rant during his Hall of Fame enshrinement as the cameras picked out a bemused Smith.
“And then there’s Leroy Smith,” said Jordan. “Now you guys think that’s a myth.
“Leroy Smith was a guy when I got cut he made the team — on the varsity team — and he’s here tonight. He’s still the same 6ft 7in guy, he’s not any bigger, probably his game is about the same.
“But he started the whole process with me, because when he made the team, and I didn’t, I wanted to prove not just to Leroy Smith, not just to myself, but to the coach that picked Leroy over me, I wanted to make sure you understood, ‘You made a mistake dude,'”
Jordan’s hit list did not stop there.
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Jordan was intent on proving he was the greatestCredit: Getty
Next up was Buzz Peterson, who was named 1981 high school player of the year in North Carolina ahead of him.
The two would go on to be roommates at UNC and Peterson is now the Charlotte Hornets’ assistant general manager.
“Buzz was a great person, it wasn’t a fault of his, it was just my competitive nature,” said the Chicago Bulls icon. “I didn’t think he could beat me, or that he was better than me as a basketball player. He became my roommate.
“And from that point on he became a focal point — not knowingly, he didn’t know it — but he did.”
Tar Heels coach Dean Smith, who was also there to watch Jordan’s enshrinement before tragically passing away in 2015, also took some flak for not putting Jordan down as a starter on a Sports Illustrated cover when he was a rookie.
The fact Jordan kept receipts from his time in high school and college and refused to let them go even after making the Hall of Fame shows a level of pettiness that may have been the driving force behind his storied career.
