Chris Paul knows all about expectations.
They have come from his own coach—“I wouldn’t trade Chris Paul for any point guard in the nation,” Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser often says. They come from opposing coaches—“He’s everything you would want in a point guard,” claimed Texas’ Rick Barnes. And they come from the national media, which named him the preseason National and ACC Player of the Year.
All season long, Paul has lived up to the hype, and he deserves the ACC Player of the Year Award.
A point guard’s excellence can be measured by his ability to run an offense. With Paul at the helm, the Demon Deacon attack ranked third in the nation. They scored more points than any ACC team against conference competition. The Lewisville, N.C., native led the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio and ranked second in assists—the hallmarks of a great playmaking, offense-running guard.
Paul has also been a standout on defense, an area Redick improved upon this year but one in which he still lags behind the conference’s best. Paul was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team and led the conference in steals with 2.4 per game.
“He’s not Arnold Schwarzenegger, but he might be when it comes to heart,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said of the sophomore’s effort and desire.
Paul also stepped up big at the most important moments. Against Texas Dec. 18 the sophomore singlehandedly led the Demon Deacons back from a five-point second-half deficit, taking the ball to the basket and drawing fouls twice on two consecutive key possessions. In a win over N.C. State March 6, Paul shook off a subpar game to hit a buzzer-beating runner as time expired and give Wake Forest a two-point victory.
Even when Paul has not scored at the end of the game, he has led an offense that has been remarkably efficient at closing teams out; the Demon Deacons are 7-1 in games decided by five points or fewer.
Simply put, Paul is the most complete and most outstanding player in the ACC. Redick might have scored a larger percentage of his team’s points and played more minutes, but no player did as much for his team as Paul.
He is among the best scorers, passers and defenders in the conference. He has shot from long range and taken the ball to the basket with fearless abandon. He is Wake Forest’s floor general, starting the offense and taking over when the shot clock runs down.
Though Redick has gotten better at handling the ball, creating his own shot and playing defense—his biggest weaknesses from last season—he remains average at best in these crucial areas. Paul, by contrast, has no shortcomings.
Believe the hype: Chris Paul is the best player in the ACC.
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