Chris Paul’s next appearance is at the Westport Library.
The basketball (and State Farm) star will discuss his life — and his new memoir “61: Life Lessons from Papa, On and Off the Court,” an ode to his grandfather and family — with journalist, FOX Sports anchor and Westport resident Lindsay Czarniak.
The free event is set for June 27 (8 p.m.). Chris will join virtually, with Lindsay in person. The event will be livestreamed and recorded as part of her podcast, “Lunch with Lindsay.”
After the conversation, members of the audience will have the opportunity to ask Paul questions. Priority will go to children and teenagers at the Library. Copies of “61” will also be for sale.
Chris Paul
“I can’t wait for people to see this side of Chris Paul,” Lindsay says.
“I love uncovering the experiences, things, people that connect us all, and I’m excited to bring this podcast to life for a night and give kids in the community a chance to hear from someone they look up to.
“His play on the court speaks for itself. But I’m especially pumped because Chris’ story about his inspiration to be the best basketball player he can be is much broader than sports. It’s about the human connection and inspiration. I think we can all relate to that.”
The event is a partnership between the Library, Westport Weston Family YMCA, Y’s Men of Westport/Weston, and “06880.”
An All-America high school player in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, hPaul gained national attention when he made a run at the state high school scoring record, just 5 days after his grandfather died of a heart attack during a robbery at the service station he owned. Paul’s last attempt before coming out of the game was a free throw that he missed intentionally — ensuring he would finish with 61 points, the same age as his grandfather. It was 6 points shy of the state record.
Chris Paul will be in conversation with Lindsay Czarniak.
Paul starred at nearby Wake Forest University. He was the 4th overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He has enjoyed a great career with the Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder and now Phoenix Suns.
The 2006 NBA Rookie of the Year was the first player in league history to register 20,000 career points and 10,000 career assists, records since reached only by LeBron James. Paul is a 12-time All-Star. He won 2 Olympic gold medals with Team USA, in 2008 and 2012, and was named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.
Lindsay Czarniak is an award-winning sportscaster. She anchored SportsCenter for 6 years and has also served as a FOX NFL sideline reporter, CBS SRX racing host, and studio host for NBC’s Summer and Winter Olympic Games coverage.
Click here to register for a seat at the Library event. You can order “61” through the same link.
I believe Chris Paul played his third college game ever at the then Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut back in November 2003. It was a strong team performance by the Demon Deacons that day, and you could tell that Chris Paul was a special point guard even then. I enjoyed watching that game. He was voted ACC Freshman of the Year that season, as well as selected as Sporting News’ collegiate Freshman of the Year. He left to play professionally at the conclusion of the following season, selected 4th overall.
https://basketball.realgm.com/ncaa/boxscore/2003-11-29/Wake-Forest-at-Yale/30798
Tim, I was curious as to what brought Wake Forest to Bridgeport and saw that it was a game against Yale. I had a similar enjoyable experience decades earlier when I saw a stacked UNC squad play Yale in New Haven at Payne Whitney Gym in December 1974.
UNC featured frosh point guard sensation, Phil Ford, who, along with his teammate Walter Davis, went on to earn the Rookie of the Year award in the NBA along with All-NBA honors. Two other UNC players, Mitch Kupchak and Tommy LaGarde, went on to pretty successful careers in the NBA.
So, as a huge hoops fan, it was something to see (especially with the legendary Dean Smith up close).
The amazing thing is that this happened during Xmas break with the students gone—so it wasn’t even a capacity crowd (and Payne Whitney Gym was not huge to begin with). I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the smallest crowd that the star-studded UNC squad played in front of the entire season.
I can’t recall how or why Yale managed to bring in UNC for a game on Yale’s home court.
Tim, as a bit of a college basketball junkie, I could not help but pull up the Wake Forest/Yale box score you provided. Of note, one of the bench players on Yale was John Shumate. His father, also “John Shumate”, was an All-American at Notre Dame and had a long career in the NBA. The younger Shumate, obviously was a fine player but not of the skill set of his father and given his matriculation at Yale a good student. Always nice to see the offspring of elite athletes succeed in areas requiring academic achievement, not just athletics. Another example would be Fred Cantor’s and my personal favorite, Walt Frazier, whose son was a player at and graduated from UPenn. Thanks for sharing this bit of trivia.