For the more than half a century - 53 years to be exact - "JP" has been a permanent fixture on the sidelines.
The 72 year-old reached the top when he coached the New Zealand women's team from 1972-77. He drew a small wage then, and again when he worked at Otago Boys' High School during the 1980s. But otherwise he has generously given his time with no expectation of anything in return.
While he is well known in the basketball community, he has largely operated behind the scenes. His years of wonderful service have gone mostly unnoticed.
Not that Paul gives a hoot. He does not coach for the notoriety or recognition, he coaches for the love of the sport and, in that respect, the rewards have been huge.
"I've always got a lot of enjoyment out of it and you're meeting people," Paul said.
"And sport has always been part of my life."
Paul was a talented sportsman. He made his senior cricket debut as a 15-year-old and was also a gun footballer. In those days basketball was not played at school, so it was not until he started work that he discovered hoops.
Paul began an electrical apprenticeship in the mid 1950s and meet Murray Muir, Dame Lois Muir's late husband. Muir was a keen basketball fan and introduced Paul to the sport.
A few short years later, Paul found himself coaching teams of junior girls. It was 1958. Walter Nash was Prime Minister, it was the year of the Black Budget, Neil Finn was born and New Zealand had a population of 2.3 million.
By the mid 1960s Paul's coaching career had started to take off. As a player, he was beginning to scale back and was struggling with a back complaint, which would later need surgery. He married Valerie in 1964 and the couple eventually had three children. So the timing was right to put everything into coaching.
He was appointed Otago women's coach in 1967 and the team had a great run. Under his leadership, Otago won the national title five times and finished runner-up on three occasions.
"I guess that put me in the spotlight at national level," he said.
Paul's coaching career peaked when he led the New Zealand women's team from 1972-77.
"The biggest problem back then, and still is to some degree, was getting some consistency in the programme. It always seemed to be an on again, off again thing."
In the late 1970s Paul decided to restrict his coaching to grassroots level and from the early 1980s ran the basketball programme at Otago Boys' for a decade.
Whenever required, though, Paul would answer the call to arms, and he coached some Otago age-group teams during that period.
"When I finished at Otago Boys', I was going to retire," he chuckled.
"But Carl Dickel . . . got the Nuggets appointment and he rang me up and asked if I would assist him."
The pair had four years with the Otago Nuggets from 1994-97. The Nuggets used to win games back then and finished third in 1995 and fourth in 1997. For a period of five or six years in the early and mid 1990s, the Nuggets were the hottest ticket in town with crowds of up to 3000 flocking to the Freezerdome.
Paul went back to coaching at club level after his stint with the Nuggets. He also had another spell with the Otago women's team as Richard Dickel's assistant. He still coaching these days but does more one-on-one work.
Yes, he feels proud to have done as much as he has for the community. But what makes the man a local hero is his passion and commitment. It is not his way to reflect on his achievements. He is much more comfortable plotting his next move.
"I don't really think too much about [the past]," he said.
'There is always something to look forward to, not back at."
John Paul
- Master coach
• Age: 72
• Sport: Basketball
• Roles: New Zealand women's coach 1972-77, Otago Nuggets assistant coach 1994-97, Otago senior women's coach 1967-77 and many, many other coaching assignments.
