Paul Atkinson (basketball)

Paul Atkinson Jr. is an American college basketball player for the Yale Bulldogs of the Ivy League.

Paul Atkinson
No. 20 – Yale Bulldogs
PositionPower forward
LeagueIvy League
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High schoolWestminster Academy
(Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
CollegeYale (2017–present)
Career highlights and awards

Early life and high school career

Atkinson grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida and attended the Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As a junior, he led Westminster Academy to the Class 3A state championship game, where they fell to Windermere Prep. Atkinson committed to play college basketball at Yale at the beginning of his senior year after receiving interest from Dayton, UNC-Wilmington, and Richmond.[1] As a senior, Atkinson averaged 20.6 points, 13.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game and was the Sun-Sentinel South Florida Player of the Year. He had 17 points and 12 rebounds in the 3A championship game.[2]

College career

Atkinson was a starter for Yale as a true freshman and averaged 9.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.[3][4] Atkinson was forced to play major minutes due to an injury to Jordan Bruner, and Yale coach James Jones praised Atkinson for his shot selection and accuracy, but wanted more aggressiveness from him.[2] He mostly came off the bench as a sophomore and averaged 9.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.[5][6] Prior to his junior season, Atkinson gained 20 pounds and worked on his athleticism.[7] As a junior, Akinson was named the Ivy League Co-Player of the year alongside Penn's A. J. Brodeur after averaging 17.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and leading the Ivy League with .630 field goal percentage during the regular season.[8] Following the season, Atkinson declared for the 2020 NBA draft.[9]

Career 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

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Yale 313024.2.692–.6674.61.0.7.59.3
2018–19 Yale 30120.2.697.000.6535.01.0.5.69.1
2019–20 Yale 302931.8.630.308.6717.31.51.2.817.6
Career 916025.4.661.286.6655.61.2.8.612.0

Personal life

Atkinson's parents, Paul and Laura, met in Stamford, Connecticut in high school. They moved to Georgia, where Paul Jr. was born, before returning to Stamford and finally moving to West Palm Beach.[10]

References
  1. Lammer, Pat (September 6, 2016). "Westminster standout big Paul Atkinson commits to Yale". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  2. Malafonte, Paul (January 25, 2018). "Yale coaches look for Paul Atkinson to turn up the volume". New Haven Register. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  3. Templon, John (February 19, 2019). "James Jones has assembled a machine at Yale that is cruising to another NCAA Tournament bid". MidMajorMadness.com. SB Nation. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  4. Browne, Rob. "Yale men add to its deep roster to make a run at the league title". IvyHoopsOnline.com. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  5. Borges, David (November 3, 2019). "'Different' Yale men's basketball team kicks off season on Tuesday". New Haven Register. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  6. Templon, John (February 12, 2020). "Paul Atkinson and AJ Brodeur lead the Ivy League's big man revolution". MidMajorMadness.com. SB Nation. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  7. McCormack, William (February 19, 2020). "MEN'S BASKETBALL: On cusp of 1,000 points, Paul Atkinson '21 redefining dependability". Yale Daily News. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  8. "Yale's Paul Atkinson is co-Ivy League Player of the Year". New Haven Register. March 11, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  9. McCormack, William (March 31, 2020). "MEN'S BASKETBALL: Forward Paul Atkinson '21 to declare for NBA Draft". yaledaileynews.com. Yale Daily News. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  10. Anthony, Mike (January 15, 2020). "Mike Anthony: Yale's Atkinson rarely misses, and Bulldogs don't miss a beat in a season of roster turnover". Hartford Courant. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
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