Point Guard University received a commitment this afternoon from Greg Paulus, its floor general of the future.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound point guard announced his decision to attend Duke University at a noon press conference held at his high school, the Christian Brothers Academy.
"[Greg decided] after he came back from his visit at Notre Dame," Greg's father Dave told The Chronicle Monday afternoon. "He stepped back and reflected on everything and he felt that [Duke] was the best fit for him."
His reasons for coming to Duke were varied.
"Number one, it's a great academic institution," his father said. "Number two, [Duke has] a great basketball tradition that is going to allow him to compete at the highest level. Number three, he gets an opportunity to play for one of the greatest coaches of all time and will help get his game to the next level. Number four, [Greg has] got a great opportunity to step in and be in a position to lead a team and compete for an NCAA championship every year."
In addition, Duke's tradition and love of basketball gave the Blue Devils an edge over Notre Dame, Syracuse, North Carolina and Xavier, Paulus' other top choices. And football may still be a possibility for the talented quarterback prospect.
"[There are] a lot of other intangibles: environment, people, in his heart he felt that [Duke] was the best place for him," Dave Paulus said. "He's also left the door open for football depending on the situations, and how things unfold. That's still undecided how that will happen."
Paulus will enroll at Duke in the fall of 2005, making him Duke's first commitment in the class. He will be following the giant footsteps of Duke's long line of stellar point guards: from Johnny Dawkins and Quin Snyder in the mid-1980s, to Bobby Hurley and Steve Wojciechowski in the early 1990s, to William Avery and Jason Williams in recent years, Duke is currently led by a two-time Naismith Award candidate, Chris Duhon. Duhon, however, will be graduated when Paulus steps into the Blue Devil uniform for the first time--but a healthy crop of McDonald's All-Americans will be there to surround him.
"He's going to have great teammates down there, great coaching and he'll be part of a terrific basketball team," Dave Paulus said. "We're really looking forward to the next six years."
Please stay tuned to The Chronicle Online for updates throughout the day, including an interview with Greg later tonight.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.