James Worthy has replaced Michael Jordan as North Carolina's honorary captain for the Carrier Classic against Michigan State.

Roy Williams said Jordan has a personal commitment he can't get out of. The coach said he called Worthy on Friday to ask him to step in for the game on Veterans Day.

"It's really important to us, really important to our players to have someone like Michael, and now James, that all of our players look up to so much," Williams said in a phone interview. "His jersey is in the front row of the rafters, he was a national player of the year, won a national championship and was the No. 1 draft pick in the NBA."