BY DAWN BAUMGARTNER VAUGHAN

dvaughan@heraldsun.com; 419-6563

CHAPEL HILL -- Two former professional basketball players used their hands for another purpose Sunday morning at the N.C. Literary Festival at UNC Chapel Hill.

Instead of shooting the ball, they held books as they read with children.

Retired NBA player Eric "Sleepy" Floyd and retired WNBA player Andrea Stinson are both from North Carolina. Floyd grew up in Gastonia and went on to play for Georgetown before the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs. Stinson, from Cornelius, played for N.C. State and then the Charlotte Sting.

Floyd was the 13th overall draft pick in 1982, going to the New Jersey Nets before the Golden State Warriors, Rockets, Spurs and a final season back with the Nets before retiring in 1995. UNC fans will remember the game against Georgetown for the national championship in 1982. Floyd played well for the Hoyas that game, but "some freshman closed his eyes and got lucky with the last shot," Floyd joked. That freshman, of course, was Michael Jordan.

Now Floyd's own son is a college freshman. Evan Floyd will be studying business at Georgetown, but not playing basketball. Sleepy Floyd's former coach, John Thompson, is trying to get the younger Floyd involved with the team somehow, but Sleepy Floyd said he won't push it.

"Getting an education is a cornerstone and foundation to what you're going to be when you grow up," Floyd told the children after reading "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything" by Linda Williams, with a young volunteer from the audience. Floyd encouraged the children to continue reading and focus on their school work.

Floyd also explained his nickname, which was given to him as a third-grader. It was a morning baseball game, and Floyd was playing second base and looking at the ground when the ball went right between his legs. A guy in the crowd said, "Get that kid out, he's sleeping," Floyd said, adding that he hated that nickname for years. But it also made him try harder, he said, and helped him concentrate more on basketball.

Floyd said he grew up in a strict household and his parents kept him focused on doing well in school and going to church. He had goals at a very young age, he said.

"I always loved basketball. I love the competition," Floyd said. He has met the gamut of basketball stars on the court -- Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, Michael Jordan, Isaiah Thomas. "There are so many great players. I think the competition of basketball is so fabulous. That's what drives me," he said.

Stinson played for the Sting from 1997 to 2005, then her final U.S. professional season with the Detroit Shock. She also played professionally in Europe, which gave her a chance to travel all over the world, she said. She mentors young women and is starting a foundation called A Lady's Touch that will "teach young females to become women of our future," she said.

During the event, two little girls took turns reading from the book Stinson chose, called "Grandpa's Garden Lunch" by Judith Caseley. Stinson and Floyd were at the festival on behalf of the organization NBA Cares.

Stinson said that she grew up in a household of Carolina fans, but chose N.C. State to go against the grain and also for the chance to play for the late Kay Yow, whom she called a wonderful coach.

Stinson received a full scholarship to N.C. State.

"That's what working hard in high school, middle school will do for you," she told the children.