Checking in with Chris Paul: Special Rookie of the Year Edition
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In recognition of Paul’s recent 21st birthday on May 6, the schoolchildren sang “Happy Birthday” to CP3 and presented him with a cake. After blowing out the candles on the cake, Paul turned to the kids and grinned.
“Anyone want some cake?” Paul asked. The group of several hundred students quickly roared their approval.
During the rest of his whirlwind Wednesday, the 21-year-old sat for one-on-one interviews with a slew of television stations, Web sites and publications, including NBA.com, NBA TV, TNT, USA Today, the Winston-Salem Journal, New Orleans’ WWL-TV and Oklahoma City’s WWLS radio station.
En route to the Audubon Montessori School from the New Orleans airport, Paul sat down with Hornets.com’s Jim Eichenhofer to discuss his Rookie of the Year award and several other topics.
Eichenhofer: At times during the season, you somewhat downplayed how important winning Rookie of the Year was to you. Now that you’ve been named the Rookie of the Year, how big of a goal was it?
Paul: It was a huge goal. All the different rookies in the league, I think they had that as one of their goals. The playoffs were one goal, but at the same time, Rookie of the Year was right up there with all of the different goals. Now that I’ve actually won it, it’s great. It’s something that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.
Eichenhofer: Everyone knew you were going to win this award for a while, but did you get a lot of calls today from people who wanted to congratulate you?
Paul: I really wanted to call my college coach (Skip Prosser), but with the ceremony and everything going on, I hadn’t had a chance to do that. But he called me earlier and congratulated me, and let me that know that he didn’t expect anything less from me this season. He also gave me a challenge for next season, to come back and be better.
Eichenhofer: How much do you think the two years you spent in college helped you step in immediately and play well? There were several rookies who had solid seasons, but many of them didn’t find their stride until the second half of the season. You seemed like you were comfortable immediately.
Paul: I think college really prepared me as well as possible for the NBA, in that I got a chance to get a little bit stronger. I got a chance to play the game at a little bit faster pace (than high school) – not as fast as the NBA, but it did prepare me playing against the best college competition in the country. Playing in the ACC, I was going against so many future professionals night in and night out. If not for college, none of this would have been possible.
Eichenhofer: In the Rookie of the Year voting, you would have been a unanimous pick, except someone cast one vote for Deron Williams. Was there some opposing coach or broadcaster in particular who you remember ticking off this season?
Paul: [Laughs] I’m not sure, but Deron is a great guy and one of my friends. Having 124 out of 125 votes is motivation once again, as we go into next year.
Eichenhofer: Your parents, Charles and Robin Paul, have received a lot of recognition for the way they raised you, and they were even mentioned several times during the press conference today. What do they think of all the attention they are getting?
Paul: My parents have always been there for everything I’ve been a part of. It’s nothing new to us. Everything I do, they are always mentioned. They were happy to be a part of this, too.
Eichenhofer: You recently launched a new Web site, chrispaul3.com. Given all of the accolades your parents have gotten for their parenting skills, do you think it’s time for them to start their own Web site as well?
Paul: [Laughs] They could probably try. They deserve all the credit. They’re the reason that my brother (C.J.) and I have been able to go off on our own and be successful. They’re a part of everything I do.
Eichenhofer: Since you are such an avid bowler, as a gift today, the Hornets organization presented you with a bowling shirt that has ‘ROY’ (meaning Rookie of the Year) stitched into where your name would be. How often do you plan to wear that shirt when you hit the lanes?
Paul: [Grins] I’ll probably wear that as soon as I go back home and go to the bowling alley.
Eichenhofer: You made numerous TV and radio appearances throughout the season, and were featured in a multitude of Web site, magazine and newspaper articles. Besides the articles on Hornets.com, was there one appearance or article you enjoyed the most? Maybe being on the cover of ESPN Magazine, or being featured in People’s “100 Most Beautiful People” issue?
Paul: I really couldn’t pick just one. I was fortunate enough to have good relationships with all of the reporters this year. A lot of them followed me around to different places and at different times. I think everybody did a great job.
Eichenhofer: You were a star player at Wake Forest, but how much different did the media attention and responsibilities in the NBA turn out to be for you, in comparison to college?
Paul: It was much, much different. In the NBA, you do an interview just about every day. On the road, sitting in a hotel room on the phone… But it’s a business, and it’s well worth it. I had no problem with any of it.
