By: Jordan Meadows, Staff Writer
For Glendale “Bo” Gibbs, his time on the basketball courts of New Bern High School in the early 1980s was marked by hard work, perseverance, and unforgettable matchups with one of the greatest basketball players in history, Michael Jordan.
“I played against him every year. He started on junior varsity, and I did too,” Gibbs said.
Their first meeting on the court was during their sophomore years when Jordan, not yet the household name he would later become, was playing for Laney High School. Gibbs recalls the early rivalry with a sense of perspective. Jordan, though already showing signs of greatness, was still a developing player.
“Coach came in and told us about this guy named Mike Jordan—that’s what they used to call him,” Gibbs remembered. “He told us we better be ready because this guy can play.” Despite Jordan’s potential, the first time Gibbs’ team faced him, the game ended in a large victory for Gibbs’ team, with Jordan scoring under ten points. At that point, Gibbs said they didn’t fully see Jordan’s talents and potential.
“When we first started playing against each other, I wasn’t in awe of him or anything like that,” Gibbs said. “When we played against him my junior year, that’s when you started to see some of the things he ended up doing later on.”
Jordan’s progression was quick, though, and by the time they faced each other again, Jordan had transitioned to the varsity team.
In 1981, after a standout sophomore season as a point guard on JV, Gibbs was moved to varsity where he found himself coming off the bench.
“A lot of games, I found myself sitting on the bench and really knowing that I could contribute. It was really frustrating.”
Halfway through the season, Gibbs received news from his coach, Jimmy Thames: he would be starting on varsity for the first time. It was the game against Jordan.
At that time, Jordan hadn’t yet fully hit his growth spurt, standing around six feet or maybe even shorter. Despite that, Jordan scored nearly 30 points, and Gibbs’ team lost. It was the only time Jordan beat Gibbs.
That season, Gibbs averaged 14 points and 5 assists per game, earning him an all-conference spot. He was joined by notable Eastern NC basketball greats like Cecil Exum and Lynwood Robinson, who both went on to play at UNC-Chapel Hill with Jordan. Other standouts included James Carlton, who played at Holy Cross, and David McGee, likely the best player in the conference at the time.
“I wasn’t prepared to play,” Gibbs admitted. “That was the first glimpse I’d seen of his development. It seemed like out of nowhere.”
But it wasn’t entirely out of nowhere, as Gibb’s explained. MJ had been honing his skills at home, at school, and at summer basketball camps across the country. One camp, in particular—the Five-Star basketball camp in the summer of 1980—was a turning point in Jordan’s development. Before attending the camp, Jordan had only received two scholarship offers. Just 24 hours later, every school in the nation was eager to recruit him.
“They have all the players there and then the second week, they had the best of the best. And Michael was able to impress them enough that they wanted him to stay for the second week,” Gibbs said.
Gibbs would face Jordan one more time before the Christmas break, this time in New Bern. The night before the game, Jordan was featured in the newspaper—everyone knew he was committed to Carolina and that the game was set to be a high-stakes showdown, as both teams were undefeated.
Gibbs outperformed Jordan, shooting 8-for-12 from the field with 6 assists, 4 steals, and 4 rebounds. His team won by three points. After the game, Gibbs approached Jordan, who was standing and talking to others, and simply said hello.
“We were familiar with each other, after playing all these years against each other. And I had won four of the five games we played against each other,” Gibbs said.
In his senior year, Gibbs, standing at 5-foot-10, had just come off a season where he earned spots on the Mideastern 4A All-Conference team for the second consecutive year and was named to the Raleigh News and Observer All-East second team. On top of those honors, Gibbs also received a nomination for the prestigious McDonald’s All-American Game.
Though he wasn’t selected to play in the 1981 game, the New Bern native eventually received a certificate recognizing his nomination 34 years later.
Among the players in that 1981 McDonald’s All-American Game was Michael Jordan, who went on to star at North Carolina and become one of the NBA’s greatest players. Other notable alumni from that game include Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin. Gibbs often wonders what it would have been like to have been part of that event.
Today, Gibbs’ name remains a permanent part of New Bern High School’s athletic history. When the school inducted a new class into its Hall of Fame, which included legendary athletes like Walt Bellamy, Montario Hardesty, and Tom Marsh, Gibbs’ contributions to the school’s basketball legacy were celebrated, particularly his memorable performance against Michael Jordan.
Looking back, Gibbs is still proud of his high school achievements, especially his ongoing rivalry with one of basketball’s all-time greats.
