YouTube Gold: Muggsy vs. Michael

Lately fans have focused a lot, and understandably, on Zion Williamson, who is a totally unique player. At 6-6 and 270 or so, he does things no basketball player anyone can remember doing.

He’s hardly the first unique player in history though and one of our absolute favorites was Wake Forest’s Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues.

Bogues was just 5-3 yet able to dominate games with his quickness, daring and athleticism. Dave Nathan, now with the UNC radio Network, tells a great Muggsy story.

Seems he was at a camp in Winston-Salem and a high school kid, who was about 6-7, was taunting Bogues about his height. At a certain point, Bogues had had enough and tossed the kid the ball and said, okay, you get one play. Let’s see what you can do.

So the kid figured, logically, he’d drive and dunk on Bogues...except that Bogues went up and blocked the kid in mid-air.

Dave, who witnessed this personally, said that the kid just went and got his stuff and never came back. It’s not surprising. This was in front of a gym full of people all of whom were laughing in his face.

He wasn’t the first guy Bogues got of course. We saw Johnny Dawkins in the ACC tournament once just pick up his dribble near half-court, fully expecting Bogues to come rushing under his elbow. The look on his face when he realized Bogues was nowhere near was priceless.

He also had a famous block on 7-0 Patrick Ewing and, as you’ll see here, backed down from no one, not even Michael Jordan.

We’re likely to see a few more Zions before we see another Muggsy.