Darius Paul

Darius Paul (born April 8, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Albany Patroons of North American Premier Basketball

Darius Paul
No. 11 – Albany Patroons
PositionSmall forward
LeagueNAPB
Personal information
Born (1994-04-08) April 8, 1994
Gurnee, Illinois, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High schoolWarren Township (Gurnee, Illinois)
College
NBA draft2017: undrafted
Playing career2017–present
Career history
2017Petrolero Argentino
2018Vancouver Knights
2019Albany Patroons
2020Los Colorodos

Collegiately, he played for Robert Morris University in the NAIA, for Western Michigan University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association and was a member of the University of Illinois basketball team, but never appeared in a game.

High school career

Paul played for Warren Township High School. As a high school senior, Paul was named a member of the 2012 Illinois All-State Team as selected by the Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, News-Gazette, and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. Through his college recruitment, Paul received interest from Northwestern and Iowa and received scholarship offers from Bradley University, Detroit, IUPUI, Florida Gulf Coast, and Western Michigan.[1][2] On November 25, 2011, Paul committed to play for Steve Hawkins at Western Michigan.[3]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Darius Paul
PF		 Gurnee, IL Warren Township HS / Western Michigan /
Lamar State College–Port Arthur		 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Dec 11, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars
Overall recruiting rankings:   247Sports: 18 (Junior College)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

College career

Freshman

Entering Western Michigan during the 2012–13 season, Paul quickly became a key contributor, as he started 33 of 35 games, averaging 10.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Paul also led all Mid-American Conference freshman in scoring and rebounding, recording five double-doubles throughout the season. He was named Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year at the conclusion of the season.[4]

Redshirt sophomore

After announcing his decision to transfer from Western Michigan, Paul announced via Twitter on May 4, 2013, that he would play for John Groce at Illinois, following in the footsteps of his older brother Brandon Paul. Paul also had scholarship offers to Florida, Iowa State, Marquette, Miami (Fl.), Missouri, Nebraska, and Nevada.[5][6]

Due to NCAA transfer rules, Paul was forced to sit out during the 2013–2014 season. During the season Paul only participated in practices and attended home games at the State Farm Center as an observer. In April 2014, Paul was suspended from the team after being arrested for underage drinking and after resisting arrest. .He pleased guilty to the drinking charge, the resisting arrest charge was dropped.[7] He then went on to spend the 2014–15 season at junior college Lamar State.

Junior College

Paul recorded the fifth triple-double in Lamar State College–Port Arthur Seahawks history in a win over Victoria College, posting a line of 21 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.[8] During his junior college season, Paul was also named a top five junior college recruit by the Sporting News.[8] On November 12, 2014, Paul signed his National Letter of Intent to return to Illinois during the 2015–16 season as a redshirt junior.[9] For the 2014–15 season, Paul led the Seahawks in points per game and rebounds per game, averaging a double-double for the majority of the season.[10]

Back at Illinois

He returned to the University of Illinois for the 2015–16 season. During an exhibition tour in Deauville, France in August 2015, Paul was charged with vandalism, public intoxication and resisting arrest, he was sent home[11] and later dismissed from the team.[12]

Senior

Paul spent his senior year (2016–17) at Robert Morris University. Averaging 18.7 points, having made 43-of-91 from beyond the arc on the season, 7.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game,[13] he earned NAIA Division II All-American Honorable Mention Team honors.[14]

College statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012–13 Western Michigan[15] 353324.8.466.227.6585.71.70.50.410.5
2013–14 Illinois Did not play due to NCAA transfer regulations
2014–15 Lamar State–Port Arthur[16] 2220-.438.280.6839.13.81.52.417.1
2015–16 Illinois Did not play - Dismissed from team
2016–17 Robert Morris – Chicago[17] 292326.5.587.473.6587.91.61.01.118.7

Updated July 3, 2017

Professional basketball

Coming out of college, Paul signed with Petrolero Argentino of the Argentinian Liga Nacional de Básquet for the 2017–18 season,[18] but was waived in November 2017.[19]

Led the Albany Patroons to a TBL Championship for the in 2019 The Basketball League inaugural season. Also received the TBL "Most Valuable Player" honor

Personal

Paul is the son of Cliff Sr. and Lynda Paul and he has two brothers, Cliff Jr. and former Fighting Illini basketball player Brandon Paul. Brandon last played for the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA.

References
  1. DeCamp, Scott (January 7, 2013). "Freshman Darius Paul more 'assassin' than 'Bambi' for Western Michigan basketball team". mlive.com. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  2. Walsh, Cavan (June 29, 2011). "Class Of 2012 Warren Township Star Darius Paul Continues To Hone His Skills, And Is Ready For The July Evaluation Period". ChicagoHoops.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  3. Powers, Scott (November 25, 2011). "Paul, Harris commit to WMU". ESPN. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  4. DeCamp, Scott (April 23, 2013). "Darius Paul's transfer means Western Michigan basketball losing Freshman of Year, 'really good friend'". MLive.com. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  5. Powers, Scott (May 7, 2013). "Darius Paul headed to Illinois". ESPN. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  6. Doyle, Kevin (May 5, 2013). "Darius Paul will transfer to Illinois". NBC Sports. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  7. "Darius Paul: 'I am really sorry'". Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  8. Johnson, Kendrick E. (December 4, 2014). "LSC-PA's Darius Paul is laying the ground work to a bright future". The Beaumont Enterprise. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  9. "LSC-PA Seahawk Paul intends to play for Illini". The Beaumont Enterprise. November 12, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  10. Johnson, Kendrick E. (March 3, 2015). "LSC-PA ready to push past the setbacks". The Beaumont Enterprise. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  11. Ryan, Shannon. "Warren grad Darius Paul faces uncertain basketball future at Illinois". Lake County News-Sun. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  12. "Illini dismiss Paul after recent arrest in France". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  13. "DakStats WebSync". www.dakstats.com. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  14. "Robert Morris University Athletic News". www.rmueagles.com. March 17, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  15. "Darius Paul Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  16. "NJCAA". stats.njcaa.org. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  17. "Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conf. - Robert Morris Ill".
  18. "Liga Argentina de Basquetbol | Noticias | Darius Paul completa el plantel de Petrolero". www.laliganacional.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  19. "Liga Argentina de Basquetbol | Noticias | Chris Millender llega a Petrolero en lugar de Warren". www.laliganacional.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved November 25, 2017.
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