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Lucy
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Post: #1
 
From http://www.wakeforestsports.com:

Paul Named ACC Rookie of the Week

Freshman scored 37 points, dished out 16 assists and had 10 steals in wins over Indiana and Richmond.


Dec. 8, 2003


GREENSBORO, N.C. - Chris Paul was the unanimous choice for ACC Rookie of the Week after accumulating a combined 37 points, 16 assists, 10 steals and seven rebounds in wins over Indiana and Richmond this past week.

The Lewisville, N.C., native scored a career-high 20 points, while collecting eight assists, five steals and one block as the Demon Deacons topped the Hoosiers, 100-67 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Paul reached the double-digit point plateau for the second straight game with a 17 point outing against Richmond. The 6-0 freshman guard also posted eight assists, five steals and a block shot as Wake rolled to an 81-66 win over the Spiders.

[Image: a-paul-120603.jpg]
12-11-2003 10:47 AM
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Post: #2
 
CP has been incredible so far! Even better than advertised IMHO.
12-11-2003 07:43 PM
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JoltinJacket
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Post: #3
 
I haven't seen much of him, so I couldn't tell you...but welcome aboard Diamond Deac!
12-11-2003 07:53 PM
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techfan4
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Post: #4
 
I saw the game vs. Indiana,a nd he looked pretty good.

Hopefully for the rest of the ACC he'll leave early. 03-wink

Did anyone else see the special SportsCenter did on him last year when he did something, I think it might have been score the most points in a game or something, but SC did a big thing and how his motivation was from his grandma who had just passed away a few days earlier.
12-11-2003 08:21 PM
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Lucy
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Post: #5
 
That story shows what a special person Chris Paul is. The day after he signed with Wake, his grandfather was murdered in his driveway upon returning home after a day working at the convenience store he had owned & operated for a number of years. Chris & his grandfather were very close & his grandfather was very excited & proud that Chris had signed with Wake. Well, the following weekend was the first round of the state basketball playoffs and West Forsyth was playing in them. It would have been understandable if Chris had sat out, but he not only played, but he dedicated his game to the memory of his grandfather & he went out and scored 61 points, his grandfather's age. Upon scoring his 61st point, he ended up on the foul line & missed his free throw on purpose to freeze his point total and asked to be taken out of the game.

The story never fails to make me misty-eyed.
12-11-2003 10:59 PM
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Lucy
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Post: #6
 
And the Hartford (CT) Courant chimes in with a wonderful article about Chris Paul too. (The Courant is doing a series of articles on impact players that UConn may meet later this season or in the NCAAs.)

[quote]Deacon For Mr. Jones
Memories Of Granddad Inspire Point Guard

December 14, 2003
By KEN DAVIS, Courant Staff Writer

Chris Paul's relatives have turned the Lawrence Joel Coliseum into an assembly hall for family reunions. They did the same thing last season at West Forsyth High School in Winston-Salem, N.C. Now the venue is bigger, the games are Atlantic Coast Conference-style and Paul is the headline-grabbing point guard at Wake Forest.

It's an extended family, and Paul's parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins need many more seats than the four allotted each player. So they took matters in their own hands, rushing the box office, ordering nearly 60 season tickets and turning one section of the Coliseum into their own Chris Paul Fan Club.

They come to support the Demon Deacons (5-0), the defending ACC champions who are ranked 15th in the nation. But their focus is on No. 3, the 6-foot freshman who has become Wake Forest's Little Big Man. They wear "CP 3" T-shirts, and when the game is over Paul knows there's someone waiting for him at the end of the players' tunnel, win or lose.

"I love it," Paul said.

Despite the family hug that Paul gets at every home game, there are two people who will never see him in a Wake Forest uniform, and their absence is felt every time he plays. But Paul keeps Rachel and Nathaniel Jones, his maternal grandparents, in his heart, in his soul, and in his hands before every game.

"When we run out for warmups, [teammate] Chris Ellis brings their obituaries out and when it comes time for the national anthem, he hands them to me," Paul said in a telephone interview. "Chris is hurt and can't play right now, so he has been helping me out. I hold their obituaries in my hands during the national anthem and then give them back to Chris."

Nathaniel Jones owned a Chevron station not far from the Wake Forest campus. Every day when Jones arrived at work at 6 a.m. he would telephone Chris and his brother C.J. to make sure they were awake and getting ready for school. Jones was a deacon at Dreamland Park Baptist Church and carried a Bible in his car. Every Sunday after church the family got together for dinner.

"My granddad was my best friend," Paul said.

Jones lived alone after Rachel died in 1992. A 10-minute drive was all that separated grandfather and grandson. On a Friday night in November 2002, Jones pulled his car into the driveway, went inside to put away some groceries, and encountered five teenage boys who robbed him, beat him and left him to die in his carport. They taped his mouth shut, tied his hands behind his back and beat Jones, 61, in the head and face.

Just one day earlier, Paul had signed his national letter of intent with Wake Forest.

"Wake had an exhibition game that night after I signed, and me and my granddad went to the game," Paul said. "The next day, Nov. 15, I was at a high school football game and I got a phone call from one of my cousins saying that my granddad had been murdered.

"I was so happy my granddad had been at my signing. After it was over, he told me how proud he was. I knew he would never miss a game."

The random act of violence had so much of an impact on Paul that he thought about quitting basketball. The day after his grandfather's funeral, West Forsyth played the first game of Paul's senior season. Paul's aunt, Rhonda Richardson, suggested that instead of sitting out he should score 61 points, one for each year that his grandfather lived.

"I thought that would be impossible," Paul said. "The most points I had ever scored in a game was 39."

But Paul started scoring, sometimes making baskets on shots that felt bad leaving his hand, but that seemingly were directed through the net by some higher force. Late in the fourth quarter, when he looked into the crowd, members of his family were signaling that that he needed two points. He drove for a layup, made the basket and was fouled.

Rather than exceed his goal, Paul intentionally missed the free throw, then removed himself from the game. He finished with 61 points and eight assists in a 117-71 victory.

"I walked out [of the game], looked at my dad and started crying," Paul said. "A lot of my family that came to the funeral stayed around to see that game. Seeing them, my feeling right after the game honestly was that I didn't want to play anymore. You know how people talk about going out on top? This was a feeling that I did this for my granddad and there was nothing else I could do. But I never told anybody that I felt that way."

The friendship of several Wake Forest players, primarily guard Justin Gray, helped Paul make it through his senior season. He was named a McDonald's All-American, played in the Jordan Capital Classic all-star game, set a record for steals at the USA Basketball Men's Youth Developmental Festival and now is one of college basketball's fresh stars.

Wake coach Skip Prosser had little choice but to start Paul in the opener, as junior point guard Taron Downey was recovering from an appendectomy. Paul played 37 minutes and had 10 points and four steals as the Demon Deacons beat Memphis 85-76 in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden.

"He played 37 minutes and had just one turnover," Prosser said. "We were thrilled with that."

Paul then logged 51 minutes in victories over Elon and Yale, handing out 12 assists and committing just one turnover. His game isn't wild and youthful. His decisions are solid; his quickness, lethal. He also made four of the eight shots he took in those two games.

But Prosser needed to get Paul's attention before a nationally televised game against Indiana. Prosser knew that opposing defenses needed to respect Paul's shot if the team was going to improve.

"It's a clich
12-15-2003 03:14 PM
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