Paul Shirley

infobox NBA Player
name = Paul Shirley

|300px
position = Power forward
height_ft = 6 | height_in = 10
weight_lbs = 233
league = ACB
team = Menorca Bàsquet
nationality = American
birth_date = birth date and age|1977|12|23
birth_place = Redwood City, California
highschool = Jefferson West
college = Iowa State
draft = Not drafted
career_start = 2002
career_end =
former_teams = Atlanta Hawks (2002-2003)
Chicago Bulls (2003-2004)
Phoenix Suns (2004-2005)
awards =

Paul Murphy Shirley (born December 23 1977) is an American professional basketball player, currently playing for Menorca Bàsquet of the Spanish ACB. He is also a writer, with his primary focus on his basketball experiences.

Shirley is most noted for briefly maintaining an online journal while playing for the Phoenix Suns in 2004-05. His first journal dealt with a several-day-long road trip, while the second chronicled the Suns' NBA Playoffs run. After their playoff elimination, the Suns did not re-sign him, as he rarely played in his twelfth man position. He is the author of a blog for ESPN.com entitled "My So-Called Career". As of July 2008, it contained 56 column-length entries. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/keyword/search?searchString=paul_shirley&rT=sports] ESPN Search Paul Shirley. Accessed May 5, 2007.]

Shirley was signed to a non-guaranteed contract by the Minnesota Timberwolves in early October, but was cut in training camp before the start of the 2006-07 season. On an ESPN.com chat on October 23rd, Shirley referenced the $10 million, 5-year contract of Mark Madsen as the reason why he was released. [ [http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=13328] Chat with Paul Shirley Number 13328. Accessed May 5, 2007.]

Writing career

Shirley's first two blogs have gained notoriety for their witty, literate, frank, and sometimes sarcastic observations on players, teams, fans, cities, sports media, cheerleaders, the game of basketball, and topics outside the athletic sphere. Much of their popularity is due to their sharp divergence from common expectations; Shirley employs a rich vocabulary, openly criticizes fans and the general public, and makes forays into controversial, sophisticated topics such as the USA Patriot Act, which he condemned as " [putting] the US on a fast-track to an Orwellian destiny". [ [http://www.nba.com/suns/news/shirley_playoff_blog.html] Suns: Paul Shirley's Blog May 5, 2007.] His writing garnered attention from national sports media, as well as other outlets such as "Newsweek", "The Wall Street Journal", and the British Broadcasting Corporation.

In ESPN blog entries #21 and #22, Shirley revealed that he was working on a pilot episode of a television show based on his experiences in the NBA. Later blogs stated that the sitcom (working title: "The Twelfth Man") was not picked up for the fall but will be shopped at other networks.

Shirley's first book, entitled "Can I Keep My Jersey?", was released on May 15, 2007 from Random House [ [http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345491367] Random House Books Can I Keep My Jersey? Hardcover May 5, 2007.] . A paperback version of the book was released on December 26, 2007. [ [http://www.randomhouse.com/randomhouse/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345495709] Random House Books Can I Keep My Jersey? Paperback March 2008.]

Personal history

Shirley was born in Redwood City, California and grew up near the small town of Meriden, Kansas. He played high school basketball at Jefferson West High School. He went to Iowa State University on a National Merit academic scholarship, majoring in mechanical engineering.

Shirley worked his way from walk-on to three-year starter for the Cyclones basketball team, which was coached by Tim Floyd (who eventually went on to be an NBA coach briefly) and featured future NBA players Jamaal Tinsley and Marcus Fizer. The Cyclones progressed to the Elite 8 of the NCAA basketball tournament his junior season. In his college career, he earned three Academic All-Big 12 selections and, in his senior season, was named second-team Academic All-American. Since graduating, the 6'10" Shirley has played power forward for thirteen different professional teams including the Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, and teams in Badalona and Menorca, in Spain and Kazan, in Russia.

Shirley wore #45 for the Bulls and Hawks and #17 for the Suns.

He has three brothers who used to live in the Johnson County, Kansas City area, Shirley's off-season home.

He appeared in the film "Glory Road" (#50 for Iowa, uncredited).

References

External links

* [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/paul_shirley/ Paul Shirley NBA.com Profile]
* [http://www.nba.com/suns/news/shirley_blog.html Road Ramblings]
* [http://www.nba.com/suns/news/shirley_playoff_blog.html Paul on the Playoffs]
* [http://search.espn.go.com/keyword/search?searchString=paul_shirley Blog entries at ESPN.com]
* [http://www.acb.com/jugador.php?id=B39 ACB.com Profile (Spain)]
* [http://www.menorcabasquet.com/ficha.php?id=271 Paul Shirley Spain Profile]
* [http://www.myspace.com/paulshirley Paul Shirley's MySpace]
* [http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB111445048716416116-AmepmvTCdzd1ApU4FZaF6Mk2iv4_20050529.html Wall Street Journal article describing Paul Shirley's writing style and content]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2165552/ Paul Shirley's IMDb entry]
* [http://www.youcastr.com/profile/paulshirley Paul Shirley's weekly broadcast show on YouCastr.com]