"James Jordan was a hero": Roy Williams revisits how Michael Jordan's father once 'built' a wooden stove as a gesture
Former North Carolina Tar Heels basketball coach Roy Williams played a key role in recruiting Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan out of high school. During this time, Williams developed a relationship with Jordan and his family. According to the legendary coach, he was blown away by the kindness shown to him by Jordan’s father, James R. Jordan Sr.
During a 2021 appearance on the “In Depth with Graham Bensinger” show, Williams recounted recruiting Jordan during his senior year of high school (1980-81). Williams was only an assistant at North Carolina at the time and had yet to make it big in coaching.
While visiting Michael Jordan, he spoke with his father. Williams told Jordan Sr. he had just moved to a new house and was looking to build a wooden stove. To Williams’ surprise, Jordan Sr. later called him and said he was delivering him a stove:
“He called one night and said he was coming up and he had me a stove, and I said, ‘Great,’” Williams said.
After testing it out, Williams said he tried to pay Jordan Sr. for the delivery. However, he refused to accept the payment. Williams was then shocked to find out that Jordan Sr. had built the stove himself as a housewarming gift:
“We came in, it was heavy. We get it out of the truck, put it in and start it, and it works. I wanted to get the checkbook. He said, ‘What for?’” Williams said.
“I said, ‘I want to write you a check.’ He said, ‘If you write me a check, I’m taking it out and putting it in my truck.’ He said, ‘I made this for you, I built this.’ I said, ‘You built it?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I built this for you,’ and I was just blown away.”
Williams added that later in his coaching career, he moved to a bigger house, and Jordan Sr. built him a second, even bigger stove:
“Then we moved to another house, and it was bigger. So, Mr. Jordan came over, measured it again and built me a second one,” Williams said.
Williams concluded by saying that Jordan Sr., who was tragically murdered in 1993, was one of his biggest heroes:
So, Michael’s dad was great, one of the most well-known, efficient, hard-working guys, loyal to a core. … James Jordan was a hero of mine,” Williams said.
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Roy Williams helped cultivate Michael Jordan’s relentless work ethic
Throughout his basketball career, Michael Jordan was renowned for his persistent work ethic and killer mentality. According to Roy Williams, he helped cultivate the Bulls legend’s mindset during his college career.
During his interview with Graham Bensinger, Williams said Jordan always had the desire to be great. However, Williams taught him that to do so, he had to outwork all of his peers consistently:
“He was just gifted, but he had a desire that was different from everybody else,” Williams said.
“He told me he wanted to be the best player ever at North Carolina. I said, ‘Well, you’ve got to work harder than you did in high school.’ And he said, ‘I worked as hard as everybody else.’ I said, ‘Excuse me? I thought you told me you wanted to be the best. You have no chance, no chance.’”
Williams said Jordan responded to his challenge, and from that day on, he never let anyone outwork him again:
“Two days later, he came back and said, ‘I want to talk to you,’ and said, ‘I'm going to show you. Nobody will ever outwork me.’ And nobody ever has to this day,” Williams said.
Michael Jordan went on to win the 1982 NCAA championship with North Carolina and six NBA titles with Chicago. Today, he is widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time.
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