Re: Undeniable Talent & Class <span style="font-family:Georgia"><div align="center"><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%">Undeniable Talent & Class</span><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%">Chris Paul</span></div>It was a very touching story to me. Chris Paul?s grandfather was killed only a few days before, and he was out playing in his last regular high school game. His grandfather was murdered at age 61, and that number was in Paul?s mind from start to finish. He was dedicating the game to his beloved grandpa, who had guided and mentored him through life. Late in the fourth quarter, Paul had 61 points and was heading to the foul line. He intentionally air balled both free throws. Paul then took himself out of the game almost in tears. The amazing part about this was the high school scoring record was within his reach had he kept playing. That wasn?t important to him. That just really showed me the class act Chris Paul was.He did gain some publicity because of his high school days, but people really started to notice him his freshman year at Wake Forest. He was an extremely quick point guard who had all the moves. He was named National Freshman of the Year and was seriously contemplating heading to the NBA. He did stay one more year at Wake Forest and led them into a memorable Elite Eight run. After that, he knew he was ready for the League, but the question became, was the League ready for him??With the fourth pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, the New Orleans Hornets select Chris Paul, point guard, from Wake Forest.? That could go down as the greatest thing ever spoken within the New Orleans franchise. Two teams had passed up on Paul and the Hornets weren?t going to be the third. Their thinking was Paul would make Milwaukee and Atlanta look foolish for not picking him. Boy, were they right.With a huge smile on his face and tons of talent in his game, Chris Paul was drafted into a team that really needed a lift. They were consistently at the bottom of the League and never really in the Playoff hunt. Paul was about to change all that. From day one he was the number one point guard and leader of the team. I don?t know if I?ve ever seen a rookie take control of his team like Paul did and lead them through the year. He came out scoring, passing, rebounding and playing defense very well. He was making a buzz all around the League. Heading into the All-Star Break, New Orleans was the eighth seed in the Playoffs and Paul was flirting with being voted into the All-Star Game. He didn?t quite make it, but I doubt we?ll see that happen again for a long time. He was also leaving his fellow rookie class in the dust. He was easily the clear cut Rookie of the Year at that point. Thing is, he wasn?t going to let up. The second half of the season was a little tougher for Paul and the Hornets. Paul suffered through some back injuries and New Orleans wasn?t winning as many games. He was, however, still playing great. He was wowing the League with quick crossovers and strong moves to the hoop. He kept it up all year, but he just didn?t have quite enough help to keep the Playoff hopes alive. They ended the year 38-44, not too great, huh? Well, opposed to only 18 wins the year before; I?d say they had one heck of a season. And if you think that was because anyone but Chris Paul, I would have to say you?re wrong. With that big of turnaround led by a rookie, the only thing I can really think to compare is Larry Bird coming to Boston. Am I comparing Paul to Bird? Of course not, but he had that same kind of instant impact. He ended the year statistically being compared to the greatest of point guards. His 16.1 points per game, 7.8 assists per game, 5.1 rebounds per game and league leading 2.2 steals per game earned him a near unanimous Rookie of the Year selection. Magic Johnson?s rookie year looked pretty similar, he averaged 18 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game, 7.3 assists per game and 2.4 steals per game. How about Isiah Thomas? 17 points per game, 7.3 assists per game, 2.9 rebounds per game and 2.1 steals per game. That is some amazing company to be compared to, and if he keeps it up he can be that great at the end of his career.However you look it at, Chris Paul is a special player and a special person. His skills are undeniable, and they are only going to get better. His personality: Well, you?ll rarely find him without a smile on his face. And if you need to know more about his character, reread the first paragraph.</span><span style="font-family:Georgia">Written by Brandon Smith</span>
Re: Undeniable Talent & Class Wow, great article. That was probably the best article ever written on BBW. Great job, what happened in that HS bball game was very sad. I read all of it, very interesting story.
Re: Undeniable Talent & Class A great article, and a better read. This should be placed on the homepage. I hope we see more of this out of you here Energy.
Re: Undeniable Talent & Class <span style="font-family:Georgia">Thanks guys :dribble: I've always loved writing, hopefully I can keep the articles coming.</span>
Re: Undeniable Talent & Class Chris Paul was actually the 4th pick in the draft...good article...I remember the 61 story in Slam.
Re: Undeniable Talent & Class <span style="font-family:Georgia"><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BCB @ Jun 21 2006, 01:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Chris Paul was actually the 4th pick in the draft...good article...I remember the 61 story in Slam.</div>My bad Thanks for pointing that out.</span>
Re: Undeniable Talent & Class Wow... this super good article and only 4 replies? this should have at least 20 replies about his amazing it is lol. Seriously. One of the best written articles I'dve read in a long time.Good Job, B (no jr. anymore HAH)
Re: Undeniable Talent & Class Very nice article, it was a good read. I hope you can write us some more articles!! :happy0144:
