Bob Berghaus

Asheville

Randy Shepherd saw a post on Facebook that surprised him and took him back to fond times when he was playing basketball at Asheville High and later for UNC Asheville.

A friend emailed him a picture of Michael Jordan from 1983 when he was attending North Carolina. Jordan was surrounded by several students who watched him dunk a basketball outside of a frat house. Jordan was wearing a sweatshirt with the letters UNCA across the front.

So how did he get the shirt?

"That was my sweatshirt," said Shepherd, the co-founder of Crossfire Ministries, who also played at UNC Asheville.

Shepherd first met Jordan when both were in high school and attended Dean Smith's basketball camp at Chapel Hill. That was a couple years before Jordan would play for Smith and, as a freshman, made the jump shot against Georgetown that gave Smith his first NCAA title.

Shepherd and Jordan got to know each other a lot better because of Buzz Peterson, a friend and teammate of both. Peterson went from Asheville High to Chapel Hill and was Jordan's first roommate. On occasion Shepherd would visit Peterson, and he developed a friendship with Jordan, who owns the Charlotte Hornets.

"What I remember is that I gave it to him," said Shepherd. "I can't remember if he gave me anything back then but he certainly did when he went on to play for the Chicago Bulls."

Shepherd remembers several times when Jordan hooked him and his buddies up with tickets when the Bulls played in Atlanta. On one occasion Shepherd was wearing a fake Rolex, which had been a present from his sister.

"Michael sees the watch and says, 'Shep, I want that watch,'" Shepherd recalled.

"I'll give you this if you give me three watches," Shepherd said.

Done. Shepherd got three, one of which was a Rado, a designer watch back in the day.

"I thought it was crazy, but I got three watches for my fake Rolex," Shepherd said.

Panthers' Davis makes moving speech

Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis had the best moment during the overdone NFL Awards show Saturday night.

Davis was named the Walter Payton man of the year for charitable work he did during the 2014 season.

Davis and his wife run the Thomas Davis Defending Dreams Foundation, which in part helps enhance the life of underprivileged kids and their families in several cities. Among the things done by the foundation are providing two college scholarships for graduating high school seniors; and programs that provide a back-to-school supply giveaway, a Thanksgiving meal for a Charlotte women's shelter and a Christmas gift giveaway for underprivileged children.

There was a moving video of Davis talking about how he was poor growing up and overcame struggles to play football, which has enabled him to make a difference in the lives of many.

"To the guys in this league, I just want to say to you, let's take charge," he said after accepting his award from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. "Dare to be different. We are a village. Let's step up and be a village of guys that make a difference. Let's change this world," he said through tears.

"We're well compensated for what we do. Let's show these kids how much we care about them. Let's give the media something positive to talk about instead of bashing our league."

Davis received a standing ovation and a long embrace from Goodell.

Mitchell runs 2nd in New York race

Manteo Mitchell finished second behind Lalonde Gordon in the 300-meter run in the Armory Invitational track meet in New York on Saturday.

Mitchell, the former Western Carolina standout who won a silver medal in the 4-by-400-meter relay in the London Olympics, finished with a time of 32.81 seconds. Gordon won with a time of 32.57. Mitchell entered the race hoping to run a faster time.

"For my first race I'd say it was about a B- performance rating," Mitchell said. "It's early in the season, but it felt good to get the first one out of the way and run the 3rd fastest time in the world right now! My coach (Danny Williamson) has a plan, so I am trusting that route."

The race was the first for Mitchell with Under Armour as his sponsor.

Bob Berghaus is a sportswriter for the Citizen-Times. Follow him on twitter @Bob_Berghaus