Billy Graham, Michael Jordan lead list of most admired North Carolinians

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Evangelist Billy Graham and basketball great Michael Jordan top a recent survey of most admired people with North Carolina ties.

During an Elon University poll late last month, 720 North Carolina residents were asked, "Think of a person, living or dead, who is from or associated with North Carolina. Of those people, who do you admire most?"

Of the responses to the open-ended question, 7.5 percent said Graham. Four percent answered Jordan, who grew up in Wilmington and attended Laney High School before a Hall of Fame career at UNC and the NBA. He now owns the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats (soon to be renamed Hornets).

Margin of error +/- 3.65