Ex-Duke star Jay Bilas picks Florida Southern center over Michael Jordan as “the toughest player” he played against: “I had to bust my a**”

Jay Bilas has made a name for himself as an analyst for ESPN over the years. Before making his mark on the sports broadcasting world, he enjoyed a short playing career, representing Duke during his college basketball career.

During his time with the Blue Devils from 1982 to 1986, Bilas faced players who later became some of the biggest names in the NBA. One of these was five-time NBA champion Michael Jordan, who represented the North Carolina Tar Heels and led them to the 1982 national championship.

One would believe that any player who played Jordan at any point in his basketball journey would dub him the toughest player they ever played against, but not Bilas. During his appearance on the "Glue Guys Podcast" on Monday, he explained why Florida Southern center John Ebeling was tougher to compete against than Jordan.

"I played against John Ebeling both years I played in Italy," Bilas said. "He wasn't this spectacular athlete, you know, he wasn't jumping out of the gym or anything. But when I played against him, everything I had to do was hard. And, when you finished playing against him, basically your thought was, 'I don't want to do that again.' Like, I don't want to play against him again, and honestly, I started being a little introspective going, 'Is that what my opponents think about me?' And I think the answer was no.

Every time, I had to bust my a** down the floor 'cause he was sprinting down the floor. And every time a shot went up, he cracked me every time, and every screen he set was hard, and it was all stuff I could do."

Jay Bilas reveals a lesson he learned from John Ebeling

Jay Bilas was in admiration of Ebeling's relentless nature, mentioning how his willingness to push harder taught him a valuable lesson.

"It was all stuff I could do, but honestly, I don't think I was willing to do it. So, that was a great lesson. He was the first one that I ever played against that did it every single time, and there was never a break. Ebeling didn't do anything that I couldn't do. He was just relentless."

Ebeling led Florida Southern to the 1981 NCAA Tournament and was named the Player of the Year in 1982 when Bilas joined Duke. Meanwhile, Bilas developed as a regular starter under Mike Krzyzewski, helping the Blue Devils make the Final Four in the 1986 NCAA Tournament.

Following a three-year stint in professional basketball, Bilas returned to Duke as an assistant under Coach K in 1989, before leaving three years later to pursue a career in broadcasting.