<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony could barely walk around his own basketball camp in Lakewood last summer without getting stopped by autograph seekers and fans wanting to take pictures. Chris Paul was there, too, but most fans had no idea who he was. Now NBA fans know all about Paul, the New Orleans-Oklahoma City Hornets rookie point guard sensation. Paul is the overwhelming favorite to win the rookie of the year award. Surprisingly, he has the Hornets in competition for a playoff berth. Anthony has been serving as a mentor for the budding star. "I talk to him about everything in the NBA," Paul said. "He gives me advice on everything. Even when we played Denver early in the season, he saw something on the court and told me what I could do to be better. He's been extremely helpful." Paul's best friend is former Wake Forest teammate Justin Gray, who was a prep teammate and roommate of Anthony at Oak Hill (Va.) Academy. While at Wake Forest, Gray often told Paul stories about Anthony. Anthony and Paul met for the first time at Magic Johnson's charity game last summer in Los Angeles. The meeting led to Paul working at Anthony's basketball camp. "Melo, he is almost like a big brother," Paul said. Two teams passed on Anthony before he was selected with the third overall pick by Denver in the 2003 draft. Milwaukee, Atlanta and Utah passed on Paul in last year's draft. Anthony averaged 21 points as a rookie and led the Nuggets to their first playoff berth in 10 years. Despite being dispatched to New Orleans/Oklahoma City with low expectations, Paul is the main reason the Hornets entered Saturday with the eighth-best record in the Western Conference. Eight West teams will make the playoffs, but the Hornets are far from a lock - with Houston, Sacramento and Utah on their heels. </div> <div align="center"> Source</div>
