Keeping It Heel
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UNC Basketball: 10 recruits UNC fans wish the Tar Heels had signed

By Blake Cockrum

MIAMI, FLORIDA - JANUARY 19: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts against the Miami Hurricanes during the second half at Watsco Center on January 19, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - JANUARY 19: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts against the Miami Hurricanes during the second half at Watsco Center on January 19, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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NEW ORLEANS – JANUARY 21: Chris Paul #3 of the New Orleans Hornets shoots ahead of Keyon Dooling #55 of the New Jersey Nets on January 21, 2009 at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Hornets defeated the Nets 102-92. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2009 NBAE (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

Chris Paul

Rewind to the year 2002. Raymond Felton is the nation’s No. 1 point guard coming out of high school, and a freshman at the University of North Carolina.

With his point guard of the future already in place, North Carolina head coach Matt Doherty didn’t offer up-and-coming class of 2003 point guard Chris Paul a scholarship. He instead asked the 5-star prospect to join the Tar Heels as a walk-on. Paul, in turn, accepted a scholarship offer from Wake Forest’s Skip Prosser, and the rest is history.

That may have been an oversight on the part of Doherty — who eventually offered Paul a scholaship after it was too late — though it certainly wouldn’t be his only one. His time in Chapel Hill was quickly coming to an end, and as egregious an error as it may seem like now, his reluctance to offer Paul a scholarship was probably the least of his offenses.

Make no mistake, Felton had a great career at North Carolina, and one that ultimately ended in a national championship. So this isn’t to say that things didn’t turn out just fine for the Tar Heels, because they did. However, having Paul as a North Carolina alumnus and ambassador would be a nice recruiting tool for Roy Williams and the UNC basketball program to snag talented, young high school point guards.

After a successful two-year stretch at Wake Forest that included winning ACC Rookie of the Year in 2004, as well as first team All-ACC and consensus first team All-American in 2005, Paul was selected by the New Orleans Hornets with the fourth pick of the 2005 NBA Draft.

In the time since, Paul has been selected to nine All-Star games, named All-NBA first team on four occasions and All-NBA Defensive first team seven times. He’s led the league in steals six times, assists four times and was named the All-Star Game MVP in 2013.

Like Paul, Felton is still in the NBA, though his level of success hasn’t touched that of the former Demon Deacon. He has had a nice career as a starter and backup for nearly 15 years, however, and is still a viable reserve in the league today.

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