Jaylin Davis Jersey The Michael Jordan documentary has captured the nations attention like few any? documentaries ever. Sports fans acro s the country have been riveted every Sunday night as ESPN broadcasts back-to-back episodes of The Last Dance.Ive watched every second because I remember watching Jordan play, and the nostalgia is intoxicating. Younger folks than me watch because theyve heard stories of Jordan, but never seen him like this. And some people such as Scott Burrell watch because, well, they know Jordan and they can see themselves on the television.I think its awesome, Burrell told Sporting News in a phone interview on Monday. You see old live footage of when you played with that team, and how it was to play with Michael, what makes Michael great and all the advantages Michael tries to get on people, or what motivates him.MORE: Burrell played with Jordan during the 1997-98 season, the The Last Dance season. Cameras followed Jordan and the Bulls everywhere, filming pretty much everything. And a few of the scenes that made the final cut showed Jordan giving Burrell who was in his first year with the Bulls, his fifth year in the NBA and who turned 27 during the season plenty of trouble on and off the court.One scene in particular shows Jordan telling the video crew about Burrells propensity for late nights and partying.I asked Burrell if he knew that was coming. He just started laughing.Oh, I knew. Ive seen parts of the video, so I knew it was coming, he said. Oh yeah. It doesnt bother me. Its 22 years ago, No. 1. And No. 2, it was an exaggeration of who I am and what Id do. But thats how stories are built, what Mel Ott Jersey makes things fun, the exaggeration. You dont tell someone you caught a fish six inches long. You tell them you caught one thats 22 inches long. The little one is everyday, but an exaggerated story makes it fun. Thats the way I look at it because thats the way it was. But Twitter had fun with it.And then there was the scene where Jordan berates Burrell during practice because he wasnt properly running the offense. There was no exaggeration there, only a demand for perfection.Thats a good representation. That was one of my first practices, Burrell said. I just gave him an answer because I didnt know what to say to him. I mean, first of all, no one is ever going to double-team me. Hes like, What are you waiting for the double-team for? And Im thinking, Because thats the first thing that came to my mind. But I was new and I didnt know the triangle offense yet. So when the wing guy cut and the corner guy cut, Im like, Damn, whats the next thing in this offense?Burrell, a 6-7 small forward who played college ball at UConn, was traded from the Warriors to the Bulls straight up for Dickey Simpkins about a month before the 1997-98 season started. So he not only was learning the triangle offense, but also was walking into one of the most intense seasons in NBA history. It was the last dance for the Bulls as everyone knew them. It was Phil Jacksons last year as the teams coach, and rumors were flying that Jordan would follow him out Melvin Adon Jersey the door. Scottie Pippen was unhappy with his contract and Dennis Rodman was, well, Dennis Rodman.I started to ask Burrell if anyone on the team Michael, Scottie or Dennis, or maybe Phil sat down with him to explain his role, and he cut me off.Ryan, Ryan, Ryan. Im playing with three Hall of Famers. You know what your damn role is already, my man, he said, laughing loudly. You dont need to ask. A team that won five out of seven championships, two in a row, you dont need to have your role defined. Just give him the ball. Rebound, play D, make shots. Theres no role definition that needs to be taught. Dont me s this s up. Thats all youve got to do.MORE: We only see a bit of Burrell in the documentary. The focus, as it should be, was on Jordan and the other big names. Burrell played his role well for the Bulls, averaging about 14 minutes, 5.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game during the regular season, then about a dozen minutes per game in Chicagos run to the 1998 championship.But thats just a snippet of Burrells fascinating athletic career. At Sporting News, Ive spent most of my time writing about baseball or college hoops, and Burrell knows a thing or two about both of those subjects. So of course I talked with him about that, too.Before he was a first-round pick (20th overall) by the NBAs Charlotte Hornets in 1993, .Yep, he was a baseball pitcher. Burrell turned down the Mariners offer that year, though, opting to attend UConn on a hoops scholarship. The Blue Jays picked him in the fifth round of the 1990 draft, and Burrell signed with the Jays, with the goal of playing both profe sional baseball and college basketball. That was, putting it lightly, a challenge.The majority of those guys played baseball and that was it, but Id have to go back to school in September, Burrell said. And Id go to summer school each year, then go play baseball for like six weeks, so I never got to play enough. Basketball is a winter sport, so I never really got my arm strong before I got to baseball. Id always be on a pitch limit, trying to Bruce Bochy Jersey get my arm strong. Then I would start a few games, but I never really got to where I knew. I did mi s it, but I loved basketball. Ill put it that way. I never really gave myself a full chance to be great at baseball.Burrell averaged 8.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game as a freshman at UConn. That summer, in his first taste of pro ball, Burrell made seven starts for St. Catharines in the Low-A New York-Penn League. At 19 years old, he quickly learned his formula for succe s in high school throw hard and mix in a curveball or two wouldnt cut it. Mike Owens, a lefty slugger for Batavia, taught him that le son.You think youre bad because you throw hard when youre young, but let me tell you something: I saw one of the farthest home runs Ive ever seen, hit against me, especially with a wooden bat, he said with a laugh. It was unbelievable. I learned quickly that I needed to learn about location and changing speeds. He crushed it. Just crushed it.Burrell finished those seven starts with a 5.86 ERA, with 24 strikeouts and 15 walks in 27 2/3 innings. After upping his hoops averages to 12.7 points and 7.5 rebounds as a sophomore at UConn that winter, Burrell had a much better summer on the diamond.He had a 1.50 ERA in two starts at St. Catharines, and the Jays quickly moved him to Cla s A Myrtle Beach. There, in five starts, Burrell posted a 2.00 ERA, with 31 strikeouts, 13 walks and 18 hits allowed in 27 innings.Burrell threw Logan Webb Jersey hard mid-90s, he said and added new breaking pitches to his repertoire as he spent time in pro ball.Y