Another Deacon olympian - CP3
The W-S Journal had a great piece on our beloved Chris Paul today:
Chris Paul got the word last week that he had been selected to the U.S. Olympics basketball team.
Yesterday, the news became official.
Paul, the former West Forsyth and Wake Forest star who recently finished his third season with the New Orleans Hornets, was on the 12-man roster announced by USA Basketball.
He’ll leave Winston-Salem next week to start training camp in Las Vegas, and eventually it will be on to Beijing for the Olympics starting on Aug. 8.
“This is the best feeling I’ve ever had,” Paul said. “I’ve always said to play in the NBA is a blessing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great, all good and well. But there’s so many guys that have that opportunity to play in the NBA. To play on the U.S. Olympic team and represent your country, I don’t think there’s any greater honor than that. There’s so many people who fight every day for our freedom out of this country. And I get to play basketball and say that’s my way to stand up for the USA. I’m happy. I’m proud.”
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/jun/24/paul-will-help-represent-us/?sports
Hometown boy makes good.
I had the pleasure of meeting Chris a number of times. His parents were members of our Parents’ Council, which I helped support, and Chris and his parents were some of the nicest, most polite, most grounded people I have ever met. Chris probably does not remember me, but in all the times I ever talked to him at our events, he always called me “Ma’am”, always spoke to me, always smiled. Forget how insanely talented he is, we should all be lucky to raise kids as polite as he is. That is no accident either. His parents are rock solid individuals.
CP3 and Hunter are the two Deacs I know so far who are in the Olympics. If there are others I have left out - please tell me so I can add them to our “Root for” list here on the blog (and my apologies to those folks).