Former Richmond coach Laton reflects on time coaching Chris Paul at West Forsyth

David Laton isn’t surprised Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul got to this point — now just two wins away from his first NBA championship ring with the Phoenix Suns.

After all, the Hamlet-resident saw firsthand what kind of player Paul was while coaching him for two years on the West Forsyth varsity boys team from 2001-2003.

“He was very much a team player, a great leader on and off the court,” Laton said. “I’m not exaggerating — he’s the hardest worker I’ve ever coached in my life. His whole career, even today, he did nothing but strive to get better at every aspect of the game, and he has.”

Paul averaged 25 points, 5.3 assists and 4.4 steals per game as a junior under Laton at West Forsyth, then upped those numbers to 30.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 6 steals per game as a senior.

Laton also coached Paul’s older brother and noticed how much of a role model his brother and his parents were for him. Laton said that Paul having that solid family core helped him develop as a person and as a player.

“They kept him on the straight and narrow as far as his behavior and his focus,” Laton said. “He had the motivation and the resolve, and also his parents and brother — they were more important than any coach he’s ever had.”

Even as his playing career has taken him to New Orleans, Los Angeles, Houston, Oklahoma City and now Phoenix, Paul has retained close ties with his home state. In addition to staying close to home in Winston-Salem and playing at Wake Forest in college, Paul was part of a statewide effort to encourage people to vote in fall of 2020 and he’s currently enrolled in communications classes at Winston-Salem State, according to The Ringer’s Paolo Uggetti.

Prior to his time at West Forsyth, Laton was an assistant coach at West Point under former Wake Forest assistant and head coach Dino Gaudio. Gaudio was an assistant under late-Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser and was instrumental in recruiting Paul to join the Demon Deacons.

Because of Laton’s coaching background and time coaching under Gaudio, he ran a lot of the same drills and systems at West Forsyth that he did at West Point. Gaudio and Prosser implemented those similar drills and systems at Wake Forest.

“So (Paul) went to Wake Forest and already knew a lot of the drills and offenses that they did there,” Laton said.

However, despite his stint at West Forsyth, Laton steadfastly remains a “Richmond County guy” through-and-through.

He coached the Lady Raiders in 2008 and the Raider boys from 2009-2017, then had a brief stint at Marlboro Academy, but is currently now semi-retired, yet he still coaches the Temple Christian School boys basketball team in Rockingham. In his eight seasons with the Raiders, Laton compiled a 140-66 overall record. In 10 years at West Forsyth, he went 191-88.

In his final two seasons at Richmond, Laton became a proponent of a fast, up-tempo style-of-play called “The System,” adopted from Grinnell College in Iowa, that emphasizes three-point shooting, full-court pressure and constant substitutions. Laton said Richmond’s own Keith Parsons talked him into adopting the newfound basketball philosophy.

In 2017, Laton’s final season leading the Raiders, Richmond led the nation in scoring, averaging 100.9 points per game, while scoring more than 100 points in 16 of 25 regular season games.

“Richmond County is my home,” Laton said. “Those were the two most enjoyable years I’ve ever had coaching. It looks like chaos, but it’s not. It’s very simple. We broke four NCHSAA scoring records, never had a losing season and averaged about 16 wins per season. It was a lot of fun. The players loved it and the coaches loved it.”

“I enjoyed coaching Chris Paul — I had a lot of fun coaching him, and he’s the best player I’ve ever coached,” Laton added. “But this is my home and the most enjoyable teams I ever coached were here.”