Fresno State sends life-size get-well card to Paul George
Eager to do something to wish Paul George well after the horrific compound fracture of his lower right leg he suffered at a Team USA scrimmage last Friday night, Fresno State's athletic department came up with a clever idea.
They made the former Bulldogs star a life-size get-well card.
Everyone from fans, to players, to coach Rodney Terry piled into the Bulldog Shop on the Fresno State campus Tuesday to sign the back of the 6-foot-9 card. School officials intend to send the card to the Indiana Pacers later this week so they can give it to George.
"Immediately following the injury, we had a lot of former student-athletes and community people reach out and say, 'Hey we want to wish him well, we want to send something to him, what can we do?'" associate athletic director Paul Ladwig told the Fresno Bee. "So we got together very early Saturday morning and said why don't we do a 6-foot-9 Paul George-size get-well card and invite the community down to sign.
"Paul has meant so much to us since he has left. Every time we've called him to say could you do this for us or shoot this promo for us, Paul has been there for us. We just want him to know we're there for him."
George was a largely unknown recruit when the Palmdale, Calif., native arrived at Fresno State in 2008. He wasn't able to lead the Bulldogs to much team success in his two seasons, but he averaged 14.3 points and 6.2 rebounds as freshman and 16.8 points and 7.2 rebounds as a sophomore, catching the eye of NBA scouts with his athleticism, defensive prowess and ability to finish at the rim.
Since Indiana selected him in the first round of the 2010 NBA draft, George has blossomed into one of the Eastern Conference's best players. The two-time all-star was coming off the best season of his career when he suffered the broken leg that will likely sideline him all of next season.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
