Chris Paul says UNC wanted him to walk-on in college
Former Wake Forest Demon Deacon Chris Paul is one of the greatest players in school history. However, on Sunday afternoon on “The Bird & Taurasi Show”, he revealed something many people never knew about his college basketball career. That the North Carolina Tar Heels wanted him to walk-on for them. ESPN2 was airing “The Bird & Taurasi Show” during Sunday afternoon’s women’s national championship game between Iowa and LSU.
Since he hails from North Carolina, Taurasi asked Paul if he had any pressure on him to go to Duke or UNC when he was choosing colleges and here is what he had to say.
“Carolina wanted me to walk-on. They asked me if I could walk on. We couldn’t afford that. … It was Matt Doherty at the time,” Paul said. The future Hall-of-Famer then broke down why he chose Wake Forest. “It was close to home, it was a great academic school and I was close with coach Skip Prosser, my college coach. He actually passed away my second year in the NBA.”
While it is pretty shocking that UNC wanted Paul to walk-on, keep in mind, the Tar Heels had Raymond Felton at the time of his recruitment. It’s tough for a coach to stockpile two of the greatest point guards in college basketball history on the same roster. Still, it has to be one of the few times in college basketball history that a former McDonald’s All-American has been offered a spot to walk-on for a college basketball team.
During his two seasons with Wake Forest (2003-2005), Paul propelled the team to remarkable heights and established himself as one of the greatest players ever to put on a jersey at the school. He earned consensus first team All-American honors in 2005. In, 2013, Wake Forest retired Paul’s No. 3 jersey, which currently hangs in the rafters of Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. He still ranks in the top 10 in school history in career assists (395), career steals (160), career three-point percentage (46.9), and career free throw percentage (83.8). The Winston-Salem, North Carolina native was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.
Prosser died in July of 2007 after suffering a heart attack after jogging. He was the head coach with Wake Forest from 2001-2007, leading the Demon Deacons to a 2003 regular season title and winning ACC Coach of the Year honors that year, too. During the 2004-2005 season, Paul and Prosser guided the Demon Deacons to a No. 1 overall ranking in the Associated Press poll for the first time in school history.
During his prolific career in the NBA, Paul has firmly cemented his legacy as a future Hall of Famer. He’s been named an NBA All-Star 12 times, including bringing home All-Star game MVP honors in 2013. He’s led the league in assists five different years and led the league in steals six different seasons. Paul was honored on the NBA’s 75th anniversary team and the only thing missing from his impeccable resume is an NBA Championship. He’ll hope the addition of Kevin Durant can help bring him that elusive crown this season. Paul is certainly winding down his remarkable NBA career, which he’s averaged 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 9.1 assists per game.