LeBron, Paul provide unforgettable scene, stirring memories

AKRON, Ohio -- Kelly Mumaw is a freshman at the University of Akron. I don't really know much else about her except that she spent part of Monday night with her face mashed against a window, peering desperately into the school's Recreation Center trying to get a glimpse of the reason she sprinted from her dorm all the way across campus seconds after the phone call arrived.

LeBron James and Chris Paul were more than spectators at LeBron's camp. (Getty Images)

"Somebody called and told me LeBron James was at the Rec Center," Mumaw said. "I've never ran so fast."

It was true, by the way.

LeBron James was indeed at the Rec Center.

So was Chris Paul.

The byproduct was one of the neater scenes I've seen in a while, specifically 20 of the nation's best college basketball players, in town for the second annual LeBron James Skills Academy, running pickup games with and against the men who finished second (Paul) and fourth (James) in this year's NBA MVP voting.

It was cool. And that it happened in the Rec Center at Akron made it even cooler given how there were dozens of normal students who entered the facility to run or swim or play ping-pong and ended up watching two of the best basketball players in the world.

"I just thought it was an intramural tournament or something," said Akron student Vaughn Fox, who stepped off a treadmill to watch. "I couldn't believe it."

Want to know something else unbelievable?

The five-man team led by James and Paul lost.

Three times, in fact.

Swear to LeBron, a team featuring Paul and James -- plus Cavs rookie Darnell Jackson -- won four games and lost three, and this does not bode well for our Olympic dreams, I don't think. Furthermore, if this is the result when James plays with other great players perhaps Cleveland general manager Danny Ferry is doing the right thing by surrounding his star with garbage, but that's another column for another day.

Anyway, the group that gave Team James-Paul the most trouble was comprised of Jonny Flynn (Syracuse), Patrick Beverley (Arkansas), Patrick Christopher (California), Terrence Williams (Louisville) and Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State). They went 2-2 against Team James-Paul and created memories they seemed to cherish immediately.