Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony could barely walk around his own basketball camp in Lakewood last summer without getting stopped by autograph seekers and fans wanting to take pictures. Chris Paul was there, too, but most fans had no idea who he was.
Now NBA fans know all about Paul, the New Orleans-Oklahoma City Hornets rookie point guard sensation.
Paul is the overwhelming favorite to win the rookie of the year award. Surprisingly, he has the Hornets in competition for a playoff berth. Anthony has been serving as a mentor for the budding star.
“I talk to him about everything in the NBA,” Paul said. “He gives me advice on everything. Even when we played Denver early in the season, he saw something on the court and told me what I could do to be better. He’s been extremely helpful.”
Paul’s best friend is former Wake Forest teammate Justin Gray, who was a prep teammate and roommate of Anthony at Oak Hill (Va.) Academy. While at Wake Forest, Gray often told Paul stories about Anthony. Anthony and Paul met for the first time at Magic Johnson’s charity game last summer in Los Angeles. The meeting led to Paul working at Anthony’s basketball camp.
“Melo, he is almost like a big brother,” Paul said.
Two teams passed on Anthony before he was selected with the third overall pick by Denver in the 2003 draft. Milwaukee, Atlanta and Utah passed on Paul in last year’s draft. Anthony averaged 21 points as a rookie and led the Nuggets to their first playoff berth in 10 years. Despite being dispatched to New Orleans/Oklahoma City with low expectations, Paul is the main reason the Hornets entered Saturday with the eighth-best record in the Western Conference. Eight West teams will make the playoffs, but the Hornets are far from a lock – with Houston, Sacramento and Utah on their heels.
“I talk to Chris a lot,” Anthony said. “Before he came into the NBA, I talked to him about what I went through and what he has to go through. He had to go to an organization similar to the one I went to and take over, put them on his back. I think he’s doing that right now.
“They’re in the playoff race. They’re the most surprising team in the NBA, just like we were. I just try to be there for him anytime he needs some advice.”
While Paul is the overwhelming front-runner for the top rookie honor, his focus is on getting the Hornets back to the playoffs after a five-year postseason streak ended last year. If the Hornets make it, owner George Shinn said the games would be played in Oklahoma City, although the team will move back to the Big Easy in 2007.
“The only thing I’m thinking about right now is the playoffs,” said Paul, whose Hornets will host the Nuggets on Saturday in one of three games in New Orleans. “I feel if our team makes the playoffs and we’re successful enough, the rest of the rookie of the year stuff will take care of itself.”
Said Anthony: “He will be one of the best in the NBA in due time. He’s one of the top point guards already, and he’s just a rookie.”
Paul was the only rookie who received strong consideration for the West all-star roster. And had he made the All-Star Game, he said he would have offered his spot to Anthony.
“Melo is one of the faces of the NBA,” Paul said. “When you think NBA, you think Shaq (O’Neal), Allen Iverson, LeBron (James), Kobe (Bryant) and Carmelo. I really thought that he definitely deserved an all-star spot this year.”
Said Anthony about Paul’s offer: “I wouldn’t have taken it because he deserves it. I think he deserved it, too. A rookie doing what he is doing, I respect that. That means a lot that he would say that.”
No comfort zone
Puerto Rico guard Carlos Arroyo made an interesting observation when asked to look back at his country’s stunning victory over the United States in the 2004 Athens Olympics. The Orlando Magic guard said USA coach Larry Brown asked Puerto Rico to “play anything but zone” when the teams scrimmaged before the Olympics. Without a strong shooting team, the Americans were primed to be hurt by a zone defense. Puerto Rico obliged Brown’s request in scrimmage play, but used the zone to help shock the Americans in the Olympics.
“My (Puerto Rico) coach was very humble going into the closed scrimmages, asking Larry Brown what he wanted to play,” Arroyo said. “We played five quarters and (Brown) said, ‘Play anything but zone.’ I remember that. That was kind of funny. Going into an international tournament and the biggest stage, the Olympics, you’ve got to be ready for anything.”
Hedo a no-go?
Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu is the pride of Turkey. But after playing on Turkey’s national team since 1999, a fatigued Turkoglu is leaning toward not playing in the world championships in Japan this summer.
“I haven’t told them yet, but right now that’s how I’m thinking,” Turkoglu said. “It’s a long season. If we don’t make the playoffs, I’ll have plenty of time to get rest. If I’m feeling better, I’ll say, ‘OK, I’m going to come.’ But right now, no.
“The pressure is really big. But it’s my decision, and they’ve got to respect it because there is no reason to go out there hurting myself and the team, too.”
Kiki’s European tour
Nuggets international scout Massai Ujiri is scheduled to take general manager Kiki Vandeweghe on a European scouting trip from March 23-31 in Greece, Serbia and Montenegro, Italy, France and Spain. They will watch Nuggets second-round pick Axel Hervelle, a forward for Real Madrid, as well as top European prospects Andrei Bargiani, a forward for Italy’s Benetton Treviso; Tiago Splitter, a forward for Spain’s Tau Ceramica; and Oleg Pecheverov, a forward for Paris Racine. The Nuggets don’t have a first-round pick this year.
“Europe is not that great this year,” Ujiri said of the talent overseas.
Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com. Spears can be heard on “Roundball Rap” at 4 p.m. Thursdays on ESPN 560 AM.
