WS Chronicle

NBA star Chris Paul is expected to be on hand March 2 at Joel Coliseum when Wake Forest University retires his No. 3 jersey.

The ceremony will take place during halftime of the Wake versus Maryland basketball game, which will begin at noon.

Paul’s No. 3 will be the 11th Wake Forest jersey honored in the rafters of the Lawrence Joel Coliseum. He will join Charlie Davis (12), Muggsy Bogues (14), Skip Brown (15), Tim Duncan (21), Randolph Childress (22), Dickie Hemric (24), Rod Griffin (32), Len Chappell (50) and Rodney Rogers (54).

Paul, who grew up 10 minutes from the Wake Forest campus in Lewisville, played two seasons for the Deacons from 2003-05. As a freshman in 2003-04, Paul was named ACC Rookie of the Year after averaging 14.9 points and 5.9 assists per game. He led Wake Forest to a 21-10 record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.

Paul ended his Wake Forest career with 948 points, 395 assists and 160 steals. He ranks eighth in school history in assists and seventh all-time in steals. Paul’s teams went a combined 30-4 at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum, including a perfect 16-0 mark in 2004-05.

Paul left Wake Forest for the NBA after his sophomore season and was the fourth overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets. Paul spent his first six seasons in the NBA with New Orleans before being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Paul, who has won two Olympic gold medals with Team USA, is only the fifth player in NBA history to lead the league in both steals and assists in the same season (2007-08; 2008-09) and he is one of two players to accomplish the feat twice. Just this week, he was named MVP of the NBA All-Star game.

The first 10,000 fans in attendance at the March 2 game will receive a free tie-dye t-shirt compliments of Jordan Brand.

As part of Chris Paul Day, Wake Forest will honor Paul at a breakfast to benefit his CP3 Foundation.

The breakfast will be held at the Grand Pavilion at the Embassy Suites in Winston-Salem at 9 a.m. on March 2. The breakfast is open to the public at a cost of $100 per person, with proceeds benefitting the CP3 Foundation.

For reservations, call the Wake Forest Sports Marketing Office at 336-758-7225. For tickets to the game, go to WakeForestSports.com or call 336-758-3322.