It's no secret that Michael Jordan is one of the greatest athletes that the sports world has ever seen. However, he may also be one of the quickest -- compared to even top college football and NFL talent. In an appearance on "The Herd" with Colin Cowherd, current North Carolina head coach Roy Williams -- who was an assistant on Dean Smith's UNC staff in 1982 -- revealed that Jordan ran a 4.38 in the 40-yard dash during his sophomore season.
Williams recalled that it happened during a team practice at the beginning of the season. He told Jordan to run the 40-yard dash in hopes of being able to track the young star's growth between seasons -- similar to how Williams would measure his players' height and weight each year.
When the assistant coach's stopwatch read 4.38, he made Jordan run again -- this time with multiple people tracking the time.
"Too fast for you, huh?" was Jordan's response.
On the second run, the coaches were officially blown away.
"He goes back to the line, runs it again, and all of us got below 4.4," Williams said.
To put this 40-yard dash time into perspective, only four prospects at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine ran faster times than a 4.38. Williams added that while Jordan clearly got master, he also got strong and grew two inches going into that season as well.
Williams was on Smith's staff when Jordan helped the Tar Heels to a national title in 1982 and eventually left the school to become the head coach at Kansas in 1988. He returned to North Carolina in 2003 and has been the head coach of the Tar Heels ever since. Jordan was a two-time All-American at UNC before being selected third overall in the 1984 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls and putting together a legendary NBA career.
