New Orleans Times Picayune OKLAHOMA CITY -- Hornets top draft pick Chris Paul was warned by teammates that he needed to stay in shape in the offseason if he hoped to survive the rigorous training camp Coach Byron Scott conducts. That was good advice, Paul found out at the start of Tuesday?s opening training camp practice. Scott had the team sprinting, backpedaling and moving around the baseline in a defensive stance with their hands raised for 20 minutes nonstop. Before practiced ended, Scott made his players run sprints again. Paul got through it, but he looked exhausted after the drill ended. ?At Wake Forest, you had preseason conditioning and that's one thing you don't have in the NBA,'' said Paul, a former star point guard for the Demon Deacons who was selected by the Hornets as the fourth overall pick in the draft. "In college, (conditioning is) totally separate from practice. You're on the track or on the football field two or three weeks before practice starts. This now is pretty much conditioning and practice at the same time.'' Scott said he could have made Tuesday's practice much harder, but he took in consideration that some players, like veteran forward P.J. Brown, might have had their workout schedules disrupted because of Hurricane Katrina. But starting today, he promised there will be no scaling back. "I thought he (Paul) did well,?? Scott said, adding that he was pleased with his players? conditioning and the way they practiced. Scott has high expectations for Paul, who is expected to be the starting point guard when the Hornets open the regular season on Nov. 1 against the Sacramento Kings at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. During Monday's Media Day, Scott hinted that Paul could be the league's Rookie of the Year winner this season. Yet, Paul isn't even sure he?ll win the battle for the starting job against Speedy Claxton, Troy Bell and Alex Garcia. "I want to play, but I do not feel like I have job security,'' Paul said. "I'm competing against great players, and I'm just trying to show coach that I'm a leader and I'm going to play as hard as I can.'' Source
