Former Duke Men's Basketball Player Who Currently Is The Head Coach Of Niagara Greg Paulus Returned To Durham On Tuesday To Watch The Team He Played For Take On Wake Forest
As a freshman at Duke in 2005 -2006 Greg Paulus was Selected to the ACC All-Freshman team and the ACC All-Tournament second team
Saw action in all 36 games, starting 33 times
Averaged 6.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.6 steals in 32.3 minutes per game
Shot .373 from the floor (72-of-193), .314 from three-point range (22-of-70) and .784 from the foul line (76-of-97)
Had 11 double-figure scoring games
Led the ACC in assists per game (5.19), becoming just the fourth freshman in ACC history to lead the league in assists ... joined Ed Cota (North Carolina, 1997), Jeff Jones (Virginia, 1979) and Kenny Anderson (Georgia Tech, 1990) as freshmen assist leaders in the ACC
His 187 assists ranked third behind only Bobby Hurley (288 in 1990) and Jason Williams (220 in 2000) among the freshman assist leaders in Duke history
Assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.58:1 led Duke and ranked seventh in the ACC (second among freshmen)
Orchestrated an offense that led the ACC in scoring (81.1 ppg), scoring margin (+13.0), field goal percentage (.487) and three-point percentage (.386)
Tallied 10 points, four rebounds and six assists against No. 14 George Washington (3/18) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament
Dished out eight assists and recorded four steals against Southern (3/16) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament
Recorded a career-high five steals to go along with 10 points, five rebounds and two assists against No. 11 Boston College in the ACC Championship game
Scored a season-high 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line against Wake Forest (3/11) in the ACC Semifinals ... also tied a career high with seven rebounds to go along with five assists against the Demon Deacons
Scored 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting from three-point distance and 4-of-6 from the free throw line to go along with five assists and three rebounds against Temple (2/25)
Had eight assists against Georgia Tech (2/22)
Scored 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc against Maryland (2/11) ... also compiled seven assists against the Terps
Had seven assists, six points and two steals against No. 23 North Carolina (2/7)
Scored 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line against Georgetown (1/21) ... also grabbed four rebounds and had four assists against the Hoyas
Recorded 10 points, four rebounds, eight assists and two steals against Clemson (1/14)
Had 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals against No. 23 Maryland (1/11)
Named ACC Rookie of the Week (12/19) for the second time in three weeks after breaking the school record for assists in a game by a freshman when he recorded 15 assists against Valparaiso (12/18)
Received ACC Co-Rookie of the Week (12/5) after leading Duke to wins over Virginia Tech and Indiana
Compiled 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe to go along with six assists at No. 17 Indiana (11/30)
Recorded seven rebounds and eight assists to go along with five points against No. 11 Memphis in the championship game of the NIT Season Tip-Off (11/25)
In his first career start, scored 12 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line against Seton Hall in the NIT Season Tip-Off (11/16)
As a sophomore in 2006-2007 Greg Paulus,
Played in 33 games with 29 starting assignments
Averaged 11.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game
Shot .456 from the field (130-of-285), including a team-best .450 from three-point range (68-of-151)
Tied for fifth in the ACC in three-point field goals per game (2.06 3pg)
Was the team’s fourth leading scorer
Led the team in assists (124) for the second straight year ... also led the Blue Devils in three-point field goals (68) and charges drawn (10)
Posted 21 double-figure scoring efforts, including a team-high five 20+ point games
Scored in double-figures in the final 12 games of the year
Led the team in scoring nine times and in assists 20 times
Scored a career-high 25 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-6 shooting from downtown, and 6-of-11 shooting from the foul line against Virginia Commonwealth (3/15) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament ... also had five rebounds, four assists and three steals against the Rams
Had 18 points, two assists and two rebounds against N.C. State (3/8) in the opening round of the ACC Tournament
Scored 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, including 3-of-8 shooting from three-point distance, and 4-of-4 shooting from the foul line to go along with five rebounds, four assists and one steal against North Carolina (3/4)
Poured in 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-8 shooting from downtown, against Maryland (2/28)
Scored 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor, including 5-of-7 shooting from three-point distance, and 2-of-2 shooting from the foul line to go along with two rebounds, two steals and one assist against St. John’s (2/25)
Knocked down four three-pointers and finished with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting against Georgia Tech (2/18) ... also dished out five assists and had three steals and two boards against the Yellow Jackets
Had 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field to go along with seven assists, four rebounds and three steals against Boston College (2/14)
Registered 15 points, four assists, three rebounds and one steal against North Carolina (2/7)
Scored 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-6 from downtown, and 3-of-4 from the foul line against Florida State (2/4)
Knocked down 6-of-14 shots from the field, including five three-pointers, for 17 points against Wake Forest (1/18)
Posted 15 points to go along with three assists, three rebounds and a steal against Miami (1/14)
Had a perfect shooting night against Temple (1/2), scoring 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field, 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe
Scored 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-6 from three-point distance against Gonzaga (12/21) ... also dished out four assists and grabbed three rebounds against the Zags
As a junior in 2007-2008,
Greg Paulus was Third team All-ACC selection
Third team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America selection ... the 10th player in Duke history to achieve Academic All-America honors
Academic All-District III first team pick
Named to the Academic All-ACC team
Starting point guard in 33 of the 34 games
Averaged 11.4 points per game, fifth best on the team
Also averaged 2.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals in 27.7 minutes per game
Shot a team-high .423 from three-point distance (83-of-196) ... also posted a .423 shooting percentage (118-of-279) from the field overall
Posted team-highs in three-pointers (83), three-point attempts (196) and assists (109)
Finished second on the team in steals (50), free throw percentage (.827 - 67-of-81) and assists-to-turnover ratio (1.98:1)
Led the team in scoring five times and in assists on 14 occassions
Made at least one three-pointer in 33 of 34 games, including 15 games with three or more three-point field goals
Guided an offense that averaged 83.2 points per game and posted a league-best +4.79 turnover margin
Ranked among the ACC leaders in three-point field goals per game (4th, 2.44 3pg.) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3rd, 1.98:1)
In conference only games, he ranked among the leaders in scoring (19th, 12.9 ppg.), steals (5th, 1.88 spg.), three-point field goal percentage (2nd, .417), three-point field goals per game (2nd, 2.81 3pg.) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1st, 2.55:1)
Had 30 steals and just 20 turnovers in 16 regular season ACC games
Fifth on the team with 21 double-figure scoring games ... scored in double figures in 15 of the last 17 games
Made 25 straight free throws in a stretch of eight games from Jan. 6 to Jan. 31
Recorded his 100th career steal against Princeton (11/19) in the first round of the Maui Invitational ... made his 100th career three-point field goal against No. 20 Wisconsin (11/27)
Scored 13 points to go with three rebounds and two assists in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against West Virginia (3/22)
Tallied 12 points and five rebounds against Belmont (3/20) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament ... his 12 points against Belmont made him the 56th player in Duke history to score over 1,000 career points
Scored a team-high 17 points on 5-9 shooting, 3-of-6 from the three-point line and 4-of-4 from the foul line in the semifinals against Clemson (3/15)
Scored 15 points against No. 1 North Carolina (3/8) ... knocked down four three-pointers and added two assists and no turnovers against the Tar Heels
Tallied 14 points on 5-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-7 from the three-point line to go with two rebounds and three assists at Virginia (3/5)
Canned 5-of-9 three-point attempts to finish with 15 points at N.C. State (3/1) ... added three rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win
Made 5-of-11 field goals, 4-of-8 three-point field goals and 6-of-6 from the foul line for 20 points against Maryland (2/13)
Scored 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 6-of-8 from three-point range to go along with three rebounds, three assists and four steals at No. 3 North Carolina (2/6)
Made 4-of-10 three-point field goals and 4-of-4 from the foul line for 16 points against Miami (2/2) ... also had six rebounds, three assists and one steal against the Hurricanes
Tallied 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting, 5-of-8 from the three-point line and 5-of-8 from the foul line, against N.C. State (1/31) ... also had six assists and three steals against the Wolfpack
Posted 12 points, two assists and four steals in 19 minutes at Maryland (1/27)
Made all eight of his free throw attempts to match a career high against Temple (1/9) ... finished with 13 points, four assists and no turnovers versus the Owls
Scored a game-high 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc against Wisconsin (11/27)
Recorded nine points, a season-high eight assists and four steals against New Mexico State (11/12)
For his career as a player for Duke Greg Paulus was a ritty competitor who serves as the team’s floor leader
Possesses a tremendous feel for the game and leadership skills
One of the top three-point shooting threats in the country
Has 1,017 career points to rank 54th on Duke’s scoring chart
Has reached double-figures in scoring 53 times, including 21 times as a junior
Leads returning players with seven games with 20 or more points
Averaging 9.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.4 steals in 103 career games
Ranked 10th at Duke with 173 three-point field goals, including a team-high 83 treys as a junior
Has knocked down 41.5 percent (173-of-417) of his three-point field goal attempts to rank 12th in the ACC (fourth at Duke) career record book
Has led the team in assists in each of the past three seasons ... looking to join Bobby Hurley as the only players in Duke history to lead the team in assists four times
Ranks 11th at Duke with 420 career assists ... 4.08 assists per game average is eighth-best in Duke history
Recorded at least three assists in 77 of 103 career games
Has at least one assist in 101 of his 103 career games
His 144 career steals are tops among Duke returnees and 22nd all-time at Duke
Active in the community, including in Duke’s award-winning Verizon Read with the Blue Devils, a community outreach reading program in the Durham school district
“according to his biography on goduke.com”
Since leaving Duke he has become a coach aulus, who developed his craft after 14 years of playing and coaching at some of the most prestigious programs in collegiate athletics, joined the Purple Eagles staff in May 2019 as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He was named Niagara University men’s basketball head coach in November 2019.
Paulus made the 2019-20 Purple Eagles one of the most competitive teams in the MAAC. The Purple Eagles surpassed preseason predictions with Paulus having the Purple Eagles contending near the top of the conference all season and winning ten games against conference opponents for just the second time in the last seven seasons. Niagara won a game in the MAAC Tournament for the first time in three seasons after beating Marist in the first round.
The Purple Eagles ranked statistically in the top-25 in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (10.6), in fewest total turnovers (338), in turnover margin (3.3), and 3-point field goal percentage (.372), while leading the MAAC in all four categories. Niagara had the best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.13) in the MAAC as well. Under Paulus’ tutelage, sophomore Marcus Hammond had a career-season en route to being named to the All-MAAC First Team.
Paulus’ accomplishments during his maiden voyage as a head coach were recognized by the college basketball industry as he was the recipient of the 2019-20 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year Award which is presented annually to the top first-year coach in NCAA Division I college basketball.
It was a record-setting 2019-20 academic campaign for the Purple Eagles which started with the team earning a 3.4 GPA in the summer of 2019. The Purple Eagles followed with a then-record 3.18 GPA in the fall semester. The spring semester welcomed another record-setting GPA as the Purple Eagles posted a 3.42 GPA with 11 student-athletes earning a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Eight Purple Eagles earned 2019-20 MAAC Academic Honor Roll accolades for having a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 or higher. Justin Roberts and Steven Levnaic garnered MAAC All-Academic Team honors at the end of the season.
The program was recognized for its outstanding academic year with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award. The award honors programs that had a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher for the 2019-20 season; the Purple Eagles finished with a 3.3 GPA.
The program set another record with a 3.45 GPA in the fall 2020 semester and had nine student-athletes named to the Dean’s List.
The Purple Eagles were active in the local community as they practiced the university’s mission of community service. The team sponsored a family during the holiday season through Community Missions of Niagara Frontier and volunteered at the Magdalene Project at St. George’s Church in Niagara Falls at Thanksgiving.Prior to becoming the Head Coach of Niagara Greg Paulus was an Assistant Coach at Ohio State where he He was an assistant coach for four seasons at Ohio State (2013-17) after serving as the program's video coordinator for two years (2011-13). During six years on the staff there, Paulus served as both offensive and defensive coordinator as Ohio State produced a 147-66 record, two Big Ten Championships and participated in the NCAA Tournament on four occasions, including playing in two NCAA Regional Finals and reaching the 2012 Final Four.
Paulus helped the Buckeyes sign top-10 recruiting classes in 2014 and 2015 and was recognized by college basketball national reporter Jeff Goodman as one of the nation's top assistant coaches in 2015. His extensive work in player development helped lead to five NBA players - Jared Sullinger, Deshaun Thomas, Keita Bates-Diop, D'Angelo Russell, and Jae’Sean Tate - including four NBA draft selections. Then he was on the coaching staff at George Washington for the 2018-19 season before being an Assistant Coach at Louisville where he helped the Cardinals to an NIT Quarterfinals appearance. While at Louisville, he assisted in the development of three NBA players - Deng Adel, Ray Spalding, and Jordan Nwora.“according to his biography on purpleeagles.com”
This season under the direction of Greg Paulus Niagara has a record of 11-13 while they are 6-9 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Though on Tuesday night Greg Paulus wasn’t coaching Niagara! Instead, he returned to Durham to watch Duke take on Wake Forest where edged Duke edged Wake Forest 76-74
What were Greg Paulus thoughts about being back in Durham watching Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium where he used to suit up himself for games? This is what Greg Paulus had to say about being back in Cameron!
No place like Cameron
what a finish.
Why?
I don’t know exactly why though I have feeling because it was the game went!
Just how did it go?
What started as 19 point lead turned into 76-74 win for Duke over Wake Forest Tuesday with without the services of Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski with the services of Associate Head Coach, Future Head Coach Jon Scheyer.
Why?
Because Mike Krzyzewski coached the first half after not feeling well while Jon Scheyer coached the second half from Mike Krzyzewski usual chair that will become his usual chair during the 2022-2023 season in first season as Head Coach of the Duke Men’s Basketball Program.
Though, Duke won 76-74 win over Wake Forest Wake Forest clawed its way back from a 19-point deficit to tie the game on a pair of Alondes Williams free throws, Duke (22-4, 12-3 ACC) had 17 seconds to attempt a winner. Duke got the ball in the hands of freshman Paolo Banchero, who drove the lane and laid the ball high off the glass. His try glazed off the rim and was quickly hammered home by Mark Williams, and the basket was ruled good after a lengthy review as goaltending was called on the floor.
“according to an article on goduke.com”
Wendell Moore Jr. had this to say about Duke’s 76-74 win over Wake Forest!
It was just really our will to win”,If you looked into our huddle , no matter how big of a run they went on everybody’s face in the huddle we new we were not going to lose this game. ‘‘
Jon Scheyer had this to say to say about the health of Mike Krzyzewski!
Clearly coach wasn’t himself he wasn’t right. After the game Jon Scheyer had this to say about Mike Krzyzewski!
First and foremost we were concerned about coach and his health . Coach is doing much better . He’s in a much better place.”
Associate Head Coach, Future Head Coach Jon Scheyer wasn’t the only one to comment on Mike Krzyzewski after Duke’s 76-74 win over Wake Forest as Paolo Banchero did as well by saying. He’s one of the toughest guys I know . He came and gave us a talk , just like he would have been if he was coaching.
“according to Stephen Wiseman’s article on newsobserver.com”