Up close and personal with Brandon Paul

The IHSA state tournament tips off in less than two weeks, which means that boys high school basketball around here is about to get a lot more serious.

Before we ratchet up the intensity, I thought it would be fun to take a lighthearted look at one of the most seriously talented players in Lake County: Warren senior guard Brandon Paul.

The 6-foot-3, high-flying Paul signed with Illinois before the season began and has lived up to all the hype, averaging more than 20 points per game while providing frequent entries for the highlight reel.

Unfortunately, Paul recently discovered, through an X-ray and MRI, that a high ankle sprain he suffered last week and further irritated in Warren's loss to Glenbrook North on Saturday may be serious enough to keep him out for the rest of the regular season.

His status is day to day, which isn't good news for him - or for Warren. Here's hoping that this snappy Q-and-A will provide him, and you, with some smiles and comic relief before the real March Madness begins.

PBM: What's your nickname?

BP: My friends call me BP.

PBM: How convenient. That's what we're calling you for this article.

PBM: How's your ankle feeling?

BP: It hurt pretty bad (against Glenbrook North). It's off and on now. I want to play this weekend (Friday against Mundelein and Saturday against Hoffman Estates), but we'll have to see.

PBM: You come from a sporty family. You have a younger brother (Darius, a freshman at Warren) and an older brother (Cliff, 20) who are basketball players. Plus, your mom Lynda played some college basketball at Ball State and your dad Cliff, Sr. played semipro football. Who's the best athlete in the family?

BP: That would be me.

PBM: No question about it, huh?

BP: Uh, no. (Laughs)

PBM: Do you all have some heated games of 1-on-1 in the driveway?

BP: Yeah. (Cliff) used to be able to beat me, but that doesn't happen anymore.

PBM: And you're probably still beating Darius, right.

BP: Yep.

PBM: What about your Mom? Can she take you to the rack?

BP: She likes to pretend she can beat me, but she really can't.

PBM: When's the last time you played her?

BP: The last time it was warm outside.

PBM: That recently?

BP: Oh yeah. She still likes to play.

PBM: It's cool that you like to spend time with your family. And your coaches say you're a real nice kid. But give us some dirt. Do you have any dirty little secrets?

BP: Umm, not really. Hmmm. I like making blueberry muffins. My mom taught me how to make them one time and I really liked them so now I make muffins when I'm hungry. Sometimes when I'm hanging out with my friends, we'll even go out and buy some mix so that we can make them.

PBM: Favorite downtime activity. Baking?

BP: (Laughs) Nah, watching TV, or a movie.

PBM: What's your favorite TV show?

BP: "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."

PBM: What about video games?

BP: I haven't played video games in a long time. I used to always play with my brothers and it got to the point that it was the only thing I was doing, so a few years back I just stopped playing and never really went back.

PBM: You may be one of the few teenage boys I've talked to who doesn't totally dig video games.

BP: I know.

PBM: iPod or MP3 player?

BP: iPod.

PBM: How many songs are on your iPod?

BP: I used to have one that held like 1,000 songs but it got stolen. Now, the one I have holds only about 300.

PBM: Of all those songs, what's the song you listen to most?

BP: "Best Thing Yet" by Lil Wayne.

PBM: Favorite gift you've received.

BP: Probably a cell phone.

PBM: When did you get your first one?

BP: I think when I was in like sixth grade?

PBM: Are you text-er?

BP: Oh yeah. I text my friends more than I talk to them on the phone.

PBM: How many texts do you do in a day?

BP: On a school day or a day out of school?

PBM: (Laughing) Either one.

BP: Probably over 500.

PBM: In one day? Just the ones you send out yourself?

BP: Oh yeah.

PBM: Favorite food and favorite pregame meal.

BP: Buffalo wings are my favorite. For pregame meals, I'll usually eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or maybe spaghetti.

PBM: Best game and worst game of your high school career.

BP: Best game was against Oak Park-River Forest last year in the Pontiac Holiday Tournament. I scored my career-high, 36 points. I was playing against Iman Shumpert, and he plays at Georgia Tech now. Worst game ... maybe this year against Waukegan during the Thanksgiving tournament. My shot selection wasn't as good as it needed to be and I didn't go to the rack as much as I needed to.

PBM: Who is the player in this area who has guarded you the best?

BP: Colin Nickerson from Waukegan. He has quick hands and he's always on you. He makes it tough for you to get open and get your shots off.

PBM: When a Colin Nickerson is making life difficult for you, what trick do you pull out of your hat? What is your go-to move?

BP: I like driving baseline, and finishing on the opposite side.

PBM: Who is the toughest player in the area you've had to guard?

BP: Matt Vogrich of Lake Forest. He's a good player. He can score on you in a lot of different ways. He has a nice shot.

PBM: Who is the best player you've ever played against, period? Perhaps someone you went up against in a national AAU tournament?

BP: Best player was at the LeBron James camp in the summer. His name is John Wall from North Carolina. He's a really smart, quick guard. I don't think he's committed anywhere yet.

PBM: Who do you model your game after?

BP: Dwyane Wade (of the Miami Heat). I love watching him play. I think we have similar games. We have the same kind of explosiveness.

PBM: College basketball or NBA basketball? Which do you prefer, as a fan?

BP: I guess it varies. College can be so exciting, but in the NBA, you get to see all of your favorite players. I guess I would have to say the NBA.

PBM: Favorite basketball team?

BP: The San Antonio Spurs, because they play so well together and they have a lot of weapons. They're a good team.

PBM: Favorite player?

BP: I have a few ... Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Paul. I haven't met Dwyane Wade, but I've met LeBron James and Chris Paul.

PBM: Favorite workout activity, and least favorite workout activity.

BP: I do sit-ups and push-ups every night. I do around 100 to 200 of each every night. That's probably my favorite. Least favorite is calf raises. I jump pretty high already, so sometimes I feel like maybe I don't need to do them every night. But I still try to do them anyway.

PBM: When was your first dunk? What was it and how did it make you feel?

BP: I was in eighth grade. It was just a regular one-handed dunk coming from the middle. I was really excited. It was during layup lines in warmups before a summer basketball game. Everyone was joking about how I hadn't dunked yet and my adrenaline just got going and I finally did it.

PBM: If not basketball, what? What other sport would you be playing?

BP: Probably football. Wide receiver. I played in eighth grade, but then I stopped.

PBM: Do you miss it?

BP: Kind of.

PBM: Top three reasons you chose Illinois.

BP: Location, close to family and friends. Winning tradition. And they have some guys in the NBA right now who are doing pretty well. Deron Williams is one of my favorite players.

PBM: What was your favorite part of your visit to Illinois?

BP: I enjoyed playing pickup games with the team.

PBM: How did you do?

BP: I did good. I was on a team that didn't lose the whole day, and we played a lot of games.

PBM: Did you visit any other schools?

BP: I didn't take any other official visits, but I went on an unofficial visit to Northwestern. I went to a football game and I played some pickup with their team. That was pretty fun.

PBM: What is your No. 1 goal next year at Illinois on the basketball court?

BP: I just want to get better individually, develop into a college-type player and get some minutes. Right now, I probably don't have the endurance or the toughness I need to play at the college level.

PBM: What's your biggest fear or worry about playing major Division I basketball?

BP: People playing harder than me, or over me.

PBM: What's your favorite subject in school?

BP: Social Problems, because you get to talk about stuff in the world that is happening right now, things that I might not have known about. We get into deep conversation about it and it helps me know more about what's going on because I don't watch too much news. We started talking about our welfare system and we watched a documentary about it and that was really interesting to me.

PBM: What are you going to do after basketball?

BP: I'm not really sure yet. I'm not even sure what I'm going to major in yet.

PBM: A fashion question. What shoes do you wear and how many shoes do you have in your closet?

BP: For games I wear these white LeBron shoes that I got from the camp I went to. I have probably 25 other pairs of sneakers, a couple I wear for practice and the others I wear to school. When it was warmer, I was wearing these Nike sandals that I got from the LeBron camp.

PBM: Do you have any dress shoes?

BP: I do, but I don't wear them very often.

PBM: Favorite piece of sports-related clothing?

BP: I really like Under Armour. I wear that under my jersey. I haven't been shopping in a long time, though. To school, I wear a lot of Nike, LeBron and Jordan stuff. I also like to wear sweats. I rarely wear jeans. Sweatpants are just more comfortable.

PBM: But what do you do when it's time to dress up. Like for prom? You can't wear sweats to the prom?

BP: I haven't been to prom yet, but I'll probably go this year. I'll be able to dress up OK.

PBM: Here's another dress-up opportunity. Say you're having a dinner party with three guests ... anyone in the world, living or deceased. Who would they be?

BP: Michael Jordan, Will Smith and Will Ferrell.

PBM: That would be a good party. Have you ever met MJ before?

BP: Yeah, he's real cool.

PBM: So what about the two Wills? Why do they get invites?

BP: Will Smith is one of my favorite actors and "Fresh Prince" is really funny. And Will Ferrell is one of the funniest actors I've ever seen. One of my favorite movies of his is "Step Brothers."

PBM: Name the three most influential people in your life.

BP: My parents, various NBA players and players in college who are playing well right now.

PBM: I know there's still more to come, but so far, what's your best memory of high school?

BP: One time, some friends of mine and I wanted to tee-pee the house of a friend of ours. We had just gotten started and some neighbor came out of his house and started chasing us away and kept running after us down the street. He didn't know it was our friend's house. He didn't catch us, but that was pretty funny.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com