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Miserable air, massive crowds and the public presumption that you must win? Sounds like quite a trifecta.

Then again, it's the Olympics, which is why Chris Paul will embrace it and not simply tolerate it.

The former Wake Forest Demon Deacon spoke to the participants at Fred Whitfield's Achievements Unlimited Basketball School in Greensboro on Wednesday, telling them to recognize and avoid bad influences; articulate and retain personal goals; and, in their spare time, to go on YouTube and check out the video in which he dunks over Dwight Howard.

That last one was in response to a question about whether Paul had ever jammed over Shaquille O'Neal and/or LeBron James. No, he said, but he's not terribly disturbed about it.

Paul said he used to watch every conceivable Olympic competition -- gymnastics, boxing, swimming -- and wants to take in as much of the spectacle as he can in person in China.

And the grind of the training camp, which follows swiftly after a New Orleans Hornets playoff run, doesn't seem to bug him, either.

"That's why you take care of your body," he said. "I'm 23 years old."

In becoming an All-Star and an Olympian in a matter of months, Paul has enjoyed a breakout year that figures to make him one of the most marketable players in the NBA.

He took the opportunity to speak to the campers, he said, because he appreciates the work Whitfield and his associates have done in 24 years of running the sessions.