Gold Rush: Four Future Deacs
12/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2002
By Jay Reddick
The night began with a fancy double-spin move. It ended with a missed free throw.
During the 29 minutes in between, West Forsyth's Chris Paul put on an exhibition not often seen in this state.
Paul, who signed a letter of intent to attend Wake Forest in mid-November, scored 61 points in a 117-71 victory over Parkland on Nov. 20, coming just six points short of the state record for points in a game, set in 1950.
The 5-foot-11 point guard, rated eighth among all players in the Class of 2003 by Brick Oettinger of prepstars.com, is the most highly touted of four players signed by Skip Prosser and his staff this fall.
Paul could have scored more points against the Mustangs, but he purposely missed a free throw late in the game to finish at 61 points. Paul's grandfather, Nathaniel Jones, had been murdered the week before in Winston-Salem, and he was 61 years old.
"He told me before the game that he wanted to play as hard, for as long as he could," West Forsyth coach David Laton said afterward. "He played for his grandfather. You won't see another performance like that for a long time."
Paul scored in transition and out of halfcourt sets, by creating his own shot and by taking passes from teammates. He showed incredible court awareness, anticipating passes to get steals and zipping crisp passes to teammates from every angle. He was credited with eight assists, but missed layups cost him at least four more.
"Skip's got a good one," said Laton, who worked with Deacons assistant Dino Gaudio at Army. "They did a great job recruiting him, and a lot of Carolina fans at West Forsyth are starting to convert."
Oettinger said Paul is the best point guard in this high school class, and the reason is that when the game is on the line, he's at his best.
"Paul is really outstanding, but considering his position, he may be the most underrated player in the class," said Oettinger, who also writes for the Prep Stars Recruiters' Handbook and the ACC Area Sports Journal. "Most people don't think he's the best (point guard) in the class, but most people didn't see him in Orlando (at an AAU tournament).
"He led his team to a national championship game, and when he was under pressure late in games, his leadership and play carried things. That's an extremely important part of the assessment."
Paul, who had gotten interest from N.C. State, South Carolina, Connecticut and Clemson, is rated 12th by Bob Gibbons of the All-Star Sports Report, and 17th by Dave Telep of bluechiphoops.com.
But he is far from the only blue-chip prospect in the class. Jeremy Ingram is a 6-3 wing guard from Kinston High, the same school that produced Craig Dawson. Kinston coach Wells Gulledge said that like Dawson, Ingram is a great outside shooter.
"He really increased his range this summer," Gulledge said. "As a shooter, he's as good as Dawson, but he's a more athletic finisher."
Ingram averaged 17 points, four assists and three rebounds per game last season, on a club that included three Division I signees.
"He played the point last season," Gulledge said. "Playing with other good people will give him an advantage next season, because he knows what it's like to not be a superstar."
Gulledge said Ingram fell in love with the campus and the staff when he came to Winston-Salem.
"Jeremy's a small-town kid, and Wake Forest is almost like a little small town," he said. "So many kids want the biggest gym, the biggest facilities, but the size of Wake Forest was important to Jeremy, because it provided a kind of security."
Ingram, who benches 300 pounds and has a 42-inch vertical leap, is rated 55th in the class by Oettinger and 83rd by Gibbons.
"I like him," Oettinger said. "He's got good talent. He didn't have a great summer, but if he can consistently play like he's capable, then he'll be rated a lot higher. He's explosive, a good finisher and transition player. He'll fit well in the backcourt with Paul."
Todd Hendley, a 6-8 power forward from Lee Senior High in Sanford, is rated 120th in the class by Oettinger, largely because of his shooting and scoring ability.
"He improved his shot and his range a lot this summer," Oettinger said. "He developed a step-back 3-pointer that will help stretch defenses.
"At 6-8, he might be a little undersized, but he has to play the 4 in college because he won't match up with wing forwards. He's a dangerous scorer, and with a little more strength, he'll be a solid college player."
Kyle Visser, a 6-10 forward/center from Grand Rapids, Mich., is the only non-North Carolinian in the fall class. Forest Hills Central High coach Ken George said Visser is not a typical low-post big man.
"He's not a slow, plodding 6-foot-10," George said. "He's very athletic, with good feet and good hands. He does a lot of things on the move."
Visser, who just turned 17, averaged 11 points and nine rebounds per game last season but stepped those numbers up to 22 points and 12 rebounds in the state playoffs, when Central reached the final 8.
"He's improved so dramatically in the last couple of years that it's scary to think what he'll be like at 20 or 21," George said.
Visser received interest from San Diego State, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan and Western Michigan. Oettinger doesn't rank him in his top 200 prospects, but said Prosser may have found a diamond in the rough.
"He's got quite an upside because of his age," Oettinger said. "He could be doggone good. For now, though, he needs some polish. He'll be the furthest away of Wake's new guys."
The three in-state recruits continue a recent trend for Prosser and his staff. Four of the five current scholarship freshmen are also from North Carolina.
The Deacons will welcome one of the consensus 20 best fall classes in the country. Oettinger puts the class "just inside the top 20," and just half a step behind Duke and Maryland in the ACC. Gibbons has Wake's class rated fifth nationally and second in the league behind Duke.
"We have a terrific product to sell," Prosser said. "The academics of Wake Forest and the allure of ACC basketball make our jobs a little easier, but the staff and the players have done an incredible job."