Duke nabs European off guard

Martynas Pocius verbally committed to head coach Mike Krzyzewski Monday, according to recruiting website TheDevilsDen.com. The Lithuanian shooting guard is Duke's fifth verbal commitment from the class of 2005. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound Pocius began attending the Holderness School in Plymouth, N.H., a year ago and flew under the recruiting radar until this summer.

Martynas Pocius verbally committed to head coach Mike Krzyzewski Monday, according to recruiting website TheDevilsDen.com. The Lithuanian shooting guard is Duke’s fifth verbal commitment from the class of 2005.

The 6-foot-4, 185-pound Pocius began attending the Holderness School in Plymouth, N.H., a year ago and flew under the recruiting radar until this summer. At the 2004 European Under 18 Championships in Zaragoza, Spain, Pocius averaged 18 points per game, including at least two three-pointers in all seven of his contests for Lithuania. For the tournament, Pocius shot an impressive 42 percent from beyond the arc, grabbing the attention of coaches from major college programs.

Among those schools was Kansas, which invited the sharpshooter to their Midnight Madness. But after a visit to Duke last weekend Pocius opted for the Blue Devils. According to the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World, it is widely believed that the decision came after the Jayhawks, who have just one remaining scholarship for the class of 2005, opted not to offer Pocius a scholarship.

“Ironically, it’s a better situation for playing time at Duke than at Kansas,” Holderness coach Jamie Gallagher told TheDevilsDen.com. “But he really liked the visit and was excited. He’s very fired up, because it’s where he wanted to go. When he was listening to all the schools and they all came up to see him, I think Duke was ultimately where he wanted to end up.”

Pocius joins center Eric Boateng, power forward Josh McRoberts, combination forward Jamal Boykin and point guard Greg Paulus in the class of 2005. He is not ranked in scout.com’s class of 2005 rankings.