Chris Paul was a late-bloomer who grew eight inches between his sophomore and junior years of high school.

“I loved the Tar Heels,” Paul said, smiling. “I grew up following North Carolina. It was 13 miles away from my home in Lewisville. Since I was a little kid, that was the only school I wanted to play for.”

Paul led his high school team to a 26-4 record during his senior season and shortly thereafter received the scholarship offer he had coveted.

“I had waited patiently for that day to come,” Paul said, recalling that he could initially only get UNC to encourage him to walk-on. “I wanted to know I was good enough to get one. As soon as it was offered, I called coach [Skip Prosser] and committed to Wake Forest.”