Greg Paulus
Name: | Greg Paulus |
Born: | September 21, 1986 Syracuse, New York |
Height: | 6 feet 1 inches |
Weight: | 185 lb. |
Position: | Point Guard |
NCAA Team: | Duke Blue Devils |
Class: | Freshman |
Greg Paulus (born September 211986 in Syracuse, New York) is a starting point guard on the 2005-06 Duke University's men's basketball team. Paulus is a member of a highly regarded recruited class that has helped Duke attain the top ranking nationally in his freshmen season. Currently, Paulus leads the team in assists and all freshmen in minutes per game (28.4). He set a Duke freshman record for assists in a game with 15 (to only 3 turnovers) in a 104-77 home victory over Valparaiso on December 18, 2005; that assist total was only one away from the all-time single-game Duke record of 16, set by NCAA career assist leader Bobby Hurley.
Paulus is credited with a savvy court sense and sweet shooting touch. His precision passing, court awareness, and ability to penetrate enable him to be an effective point guard. Paulus' current role is more of a distributor of the ball, as he only averages 6.2 PPG, although he has become more of a scoring threat as of late. He currently leads the ACC in assists per game with 5.3. Paulus will be an important factor in deciding Duke's fate for the 2005-2006 basketball season.
Many people know of Greg Paulus for football instead of basketball. Paulus is a native of the Syracuse suburb of Manlius, New York, graduating from Christian Brothers Academy. While there, he played basketball and football, earning all-state honors in each sport three times. Paulus played quarterback and led his football team to two straight Class-A state championships during his junior and senior season. Following his senior season in 2004, he was named Gatorade's National High School Football Player of the Year. Paulus received numerous scholarship offers to play football at several powerhouse programs such as the University of Southern California, University of Miami, Notre Dame, and Florida State University. He also received scholarship offers to play basketball from Duke University, Syracuse University, and Michigan State University. In the end, his love of basketball and Duke caused him to sign a letter of intent with the Blue Devils. His quarterback skills have helped him on the basketball court, allowing him to have great court vision and the ability to read the opponent's defense. Greg Paulus joined Joe Mauer with the unusual distinction of being a Gatorade National High School Football Player of the Year who did not play football at the collegiate level.