Paulus, Pocius undergo surgery

Sophomores Greg Paulus and Martynas Pocius each underwent successful surgeries over the past week.

Paulus had surgery on his left foot Tuesday at the Duke Medical Center. He is expected to be out 12 to 16 weeks.

Paulus reaggravated a previous injury in Duke's first day of practice before the season but did not have surgery at that time. Paulus returned to the Blue Devils' lineup in time for their Nov. 12 opener and played in every game this season.

The injury, however, caused Paulus to miss the entire preseason and seemed to slow the sophomore down early in the season-he scored in double figures just once in Duke's first 10 games. But he finished the season strong, averaging 20.6 points per game over the Blue Devils final five games.

Pocius underwent surgery on his right ankle late last week. The sophomore appeared in 27 games this season but played just 7.1 minutes per game.

"Both Greg and Martynas played with these injuries the entire 2006-07 season," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I am very proud of the toughness they showed in playing through their respective injuries and being important contributors to our team. Now, they both begin a long healing process. We expect a full recovery for both of them and look forward to the two of them returning at full strength for next season."