Rarefied Air

It was Mike Jordan who helped the Tar Heels to that 1982 NCAA championship with his clutch shot at the New Orleans Superdome, but it was Buzz Peterson who was considered the No. 1 recruit in the 1981 class for Dean Smith. The legend of Michael Jordan - known as “Mike’’ in his early North Carolina days - began with that shot.

“The jump shot against Georgetown still blows my mind,’’ said college teammate Matt Doherty, now the coach at Southern Methodist. “It was a different era back then [for freshmen]. We didn’t have Carmelo Anthony doing what he did at Syracuse.

“It was different; we had juniors and seniors doing things, great players. Ralph Sampson was still in college. James Worthy was a junior. Back then, kids easily diverted to the upperclassmen. He could have easily bobbled the ball out of nerves, but he didn’t. It was such a pressure shot.’’

Yet the player who would become an icon, perhaps the greatest individual or team athlete in sports history, took baby steps on his way to greatness. He was a late bloomer in high school, and his domination of the McDonald’s All-America game was just a hint that Smith had a gem on his hands.

Jordan’s fierce competitiveness and refusal to back down to any opponent - including NBA players such as Walter Davis and Al Wood who visited Chapel Hill for intense summer pickup games - molded the player that basketball fans grew to adore.

The shot that beat Georgetown allowed America to see what Jordan’s teammates and adversaries had already experienced. He had little time for nerves during pivotal moments. Jordan was not only going to win, he was going to dominate.

His induction into the Naismith Hall of Fame in Springfield has been a given for nearly 20 years, and as it becomes official tonight - he enters with four other of the game’s luminaries - it provides basketball fans more time to reflect on how one man changed a generation with his athletic prowess, work ethic, and carefully sculpted image.

“I am one to tell you that I didn’t see it coming, early I didn’t,’’ said Peterson, now the coach at Appalachian State and a close friend of Jordan. “I wanted to go somewhere I could play and I ended up going to the same school he did. But eventually you saw somebody who loves the game, had tremendous athletic ability, and was still growing into his body but just had a knack for trying to win, and his competition level is unbelievable.

“The only guy I’ve seen with the mental toughness of MJ is Tiger Woods.’’

That toughness helped Jordan carve out playing time in a lineup that included another future Hall of Famer, Worthy, and the splendidly talented Sam Perkins. He averaged 13.4 points as a freshman in 1981-82, which is laughable when you consider he astonished the NBA with a 28.2-point average in 1984-85, the highest number for a rookie since 1970.

Smith is credited not only for building Jordan into an elite player but for creating enough restraints to force him to work on his weaknesses. Jordan entered North Carolina talented but raw and undisciplined as a shooter. He left as a remarkable scorer and superior defender.

“When people ask me if I knew Michael would become a Hall of Fame player when I recruited him to play at North Carolina, I laugh and say, ‘Who did?’ ’’ Smith said in a statement. “In fact, if Michael returned to the NBA right now, two things would happen: first, he would still be a very good player; and second, he would be looking for ways to become even better. He was always doing that, even at the height of his marvelous career.’’

But even LeBron James and Dwight Howard likely carry a slight bit of doubt that they could take him one-on-one, and Jordan enjoys that insecurity. Jordan’s knees are creaky, he has smoked cigars for years, and has picked up more than a few pounds, but is there one basketball player in the world who wouldn’t have a tinge of anxiety facing Jordan in a pickup game?

Peterson swears this story is true. During their junior year at North Carolina, he said, Jordan pulled him aside and told him to scrape up money and buy Nike stock because they would soon name a shoe after him.

“I said, ‘Boy, you are so cocky, so arrogant. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson are two of the best players in the NBA and they don’t have shoes,’ ’’ Peterson said. “Now I look back on it, if I had any money to buy some stock, I probably wouldn’t be coaching now.

“But you sit there and you think about what was going to happen, and it’s, what, 23 shoes later? When he had his mind set on something, it got done. He’s so well driven to be the best.’’

So 32,292 NBA points, six NBA titles, five MVPs, two retirements, two teams, and 25 years later, Jordan receives the ultimate honor. He will be presented at the Hall by childhood hero David Thompson, who led North Carolina State to the NCAA title eight years before Jordan’s memorable shot. “Knowing him, he would just let this day go by,’’ said Peterson. “Knowing MJ, he don’t want that. He does not want this award yet. Maybe one day when he has a hard time walking right, yes.

“But he still feels like he’s 20 years old. He can go out there right now and whip them all. In his mind, [the Hall of Fame means] he’s too old to play the game. That bothers him more than anything else.’’

“This is not fun for me,’’ Jordan said in April. “Because now you can always put shorts on and play, but now you are in the Hall of Fame, what else is there to do?

“This is kind of a love-hate thing for me. For me, I always want to be able to have you thinking I could play the game of basketball. Am I? No. But I would like for you to think that way.’’

Gary Washburn can be reached at gwashburn@globe.com.