Greg Paulus has the heart of a champion!

Greg Paulus arrived at Duke, from Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, NY, as the # 1 ranked point guard in the Class of 2005.  His career at Duke has been a roller coaster ride of ups and downs.  As a freshman, he led the ACC in assists with 187 and was named to the All-ACC Freshmen Team.  However, on October 14, 2006, in Duke's second official practice of Paulus' sophomore season, he broke his left foot and was hobbled for his entire second season in Durham.  As a junior, Paulus rebounded with a solid season earning 3rd Team All-ACC honors and solidified his reputation as a deadly long range shooter.  For the season, Paulus made 42.3 % of his field goal attempts from behind the 3-point arc.  Coach Mike Krzyzewski, during his annual summer press conference, on June 17th, stated that Paulus had been out two and a half months rehabilitating a sore knee so it is evident that Greg wasn't 100 percent healthy during his junior season.

 

The arrival of Paulus' senior season finds Duke in good shape.  Coach Krzyzewski stated this year's team has the most talent he has had for the past four years.  Duke returns eight scholarship players from last season's 28-6 squad; three new recruits have arrived including McDonald's All-American Elliot Williams; and 6-5 shooting guard Martynas Pocius returns after a medical redshirt.

 

Paulus is a gritty competitor and Duke needs him to provide on court leadership in his senior season.  This year’s squad is very experienced when compared to the last two seasons, but Paulus needs to aggressively pursue a leadership role and be the glue guy that holds all the talent together.  Paulus has proven how tough he is by playing hurt…he has proven how talented he is by knocking down shots from deep behind the bonus line…he has proven how big of a heart he has by diving across the floor in pursuit of loose balls.  His legacy at Duke could be established this season when he proves how great of a leader he is by holding together this year’s talented group of Blue Devils.  Success for Greg Paulus will not be measured by individual accomplishments and accolades, but by whether Duke is still playing in April.