A few tales of close encounters that you've never heard before

Most Bulls fans probably need about 30 seconds to organize a mental list of Michael Jordan's highlights on the basketball court. So as he heads into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend, we asked people to share some encounters with Jordan that happened outside the spotlight.

Under the bus

Johnny Bach was a Bulls assistant coach from 1986-94. He still lives in Chicago.

"We were playing in Denver one time at the old McNichols Arena. The bus pulled down a ramp to get into the stadium. When we came back after the game, there was a lady under the bus who demanded Michael's autograph or she wouldn't move. They called all kinds of special forces; they were in camouflage, carrying rifles. There was a long standoff and finally Michael says, 'Heck, I've had enough waiting.' He goes down there while everyone was telling him not to do it - and says, 'If you come out, I'll sign that thing.'

"He said people have torn his clothes, knocked on his door, but that was the first time anyone crawled under the bus. That was Michael. Against all advice, he said, 'Come on, I'll sign that thing. Just don't tell anyone.' His clothes were always marked up with black markers from all the people begging for his autograph."

Pregame ritual

Kent McDill covered the Bulls for the Daily Herald during nine of Jordan's 13 seasons with the team.

"One time the Bulls were playing the Clippers in the old Los Angeles Sports Arena. Before almost every game, Jordan would meet with a kid from the Make a Wish program or something similar. On this day, I happened to be in the exact place where Jordan was meeting someone, and he invited me to stay.

"The boy, probably a teenager, was wheelchair-bound. His eyes didn't move much and his body was very still. The mother and grandfather stood behind the boy as Jordan reached down to grab his hand and give it a shake, even though the boy did not shake back. Jordan focused on the boy, whose eyes seemed to move ever so slightly as Jordan spoke to him. Jordan kept up a dialogue as the mother offered information about the boy's interests and mentioned several times how much he enjoyed watching Michael play.

"Finally, Jordan's 10 minutes or so were up, and he left to get ready for the game. He shook hands with the boy and his family, then walked down the hall to the locker room. As I walked with him, I'm sure I had tears in my eyes. Right before Jordan went into the locker room, I stopped him.

"You do that before every game?"

"Most games, yeah."

"How can you play, after something like that?"

He shrugged, "I just do."

Everyone in the pool hall

Phoenix Suns general manager Steve Kerr played with Jordan from 1995-98.

"I was always amazed at his life. Everyone else on the team could lead a totally different life. On the road, we could do whatever we wanted and he couldn't go anywhere. I remember we played a midseason game in Phoenix. I was with Toni Kukoc, Jud Buechler and Luc Longley; we went to a pool hall and it was completely empty. No one in the house.

"Then Michael came in with his guys, George and Gus. Literally within a half-hour, the place was packed. They had to rope off a table for him and bring in people to control the crowd. All it took was him walking in and one person making a phone call. I never admired that part of his life, that's for sure."

A fan joins the team

Mundelein native and UIC grad Shawn Harlan played for the Bulls during the 1996 preseason.

"When we played the first home preseason game that year, we were in the tunnel getting ready, did the 'What time is it?' chant. Jordan said to me and (fellow rookie) Matt Steigenga, 'Hey, you guys lead us out on the floor.'

"The announcer says, 'Introducing your World Champion Chicago Bulls.' Matt and I run out there; we're all excited and amped up. Then we realize we're the only ones on the court. The rest of the players stayed in the tunnel. They finally came out after about 15 or 20 seconds.

"Looking back, I figure at least those guys thought enough of us to joke with us. Michael was always joking around or putting a spin on something. But he didn't treat me like a free agent. He talked to the rookies and supported our efforts to make the team.

"It was an amazing experience. A few years before that I went to the Scottie Pippen charity game at the Stadium when Jordan kissed the floor. During training camp, I was in a shooting group with Jordan, Pippen and Ron Harper."

Friends through golf

Ann Gramm of Long Grove had a chance encounter with Jordan on a golf course and it turned into an unexpected friendship.

"Probably about 15 years ago, we were hitting balls on the driving range at Royal Melbourne. He said, 'You hit it pretty good.' I said, 'So do you' and he asked if I'd like to play sometime. I wasn't going to say no to Michael Jordan. We played together about five times. He's kind of a jokester on the course. In the fall, when you have to clear the leaves away from your ball, he'd walk up from behind and kick the leaves back in the way.

"Over the years, he stayed in touch. I get a Christmas card from him every year. He spotted me in the crowd at the Ryder Cup one time and brought me inside the spectator ropes. I asked his assistant if he could sign a photo I had and the next time he played golf in my neighborhood, he yelled at me, 'Do you have something for me to sign?' He stopped by when he was done playing and posed for pictures with my grandkids, told them how important it is to do their homework.

"I think he's great. I can't do anything for him, but he's always been very nice to me."

A convincing chat

Chicago native Randy Brown played with Jordan on the Bulls from 1995-98. He joined the Bulls coaching staff this summer.

"We found out we both can't swim. We were rehabbing in the pool and neither one of us would go in the deep water.

"My strongest memory, though, was when I was going through free agency in 1995. I was on the verge of signing with the Pacers. We were working out, playing pickup games at Moody Bible. I was sitting on my truck when it was over, Michael came up and said, 'Hey, are you crazy? You're giving up a chance to win championships and compete in front of your family and friends.'

"He completely changed my mind. And he was a man of his word; he got me three championships. The thought that I almost passed that up makes me nauseous."

We were all wrong

Geneva resident Sam Smith covered Jordan for the Tribune, wrote "The Jordan Rules" and now writes for Bulls.com.

"I always liked this story with Kent McDill (from the Daily Herald), Lacy Banks (of the Sun-Times) and I sitting courtside before the big Game 5 at Richfield Coliseum in 1989, before 'The Shot.' The Bulls that season were swept 6-0 by the Cavs. They played the Cavs the last game of the season in Chicago with the playoff matchup set. The Cavs rested their regulars and the Bulls played their starters and the Cavs won easily.

"So it's Game 5, and Jordan had just missed a pair of free throws that could have won Game 4 and was almost inconsolable in the locker room afterward. But now it's game 5. So we're sitting there and Lacy has picked the Cavs in 3, Kent the Cavs in 4 and me the Cavs in 5. Jordan stops, points at Lacy and says, 'We took care of you.' Then he points at Kent and says, 'We took care of you.' Then he points at me with a widening smile and says, 'We take care of you today.'"

All about respect

Dickey Simpkins played with Jordan from 1995-98 and now runs NLP training based in Hoffman Estates.

"People ask me if it was hard to play with Michael Jordan. If you came to work and respected the game, he respected you. When I came back from Golden State in 1998, Michael really pushed for that to happen. He would call me 'Trickster.' I don't know why, but that was the name he had for me. The way he said it, he always made it sound endearing."