Here is his coach's story.
Coach adamant basketball recruit will sign with Duke
By Thad Mumau
Correspondent
Duke fans have been frantic for the past week, worried that the Blue Devils will lose a previously committed, highly acclaimed point guard prospect for the second straight year.
Last year, it was Shaun Livingston, who surprisingly shunned Duke for the NBA. This time, Greg Paulus is the "evasive" one. A 6-foot-2 two-sport star from Syracuse (N.Y.) Christian Brothers Academy, he committed to the Devils more than a year ago - in early September, 2003, at the start of his junior year.
But when the early signing period (Nov. 10-17) ended last week, Duke did not have a letter-of-intent signed by Paulus. We listed him among our signees because it was assumed his letter was in the mail. However, that was not the case.
Stories have been circulating up and down the East Coast that Paulus did not sign because he is wavering on his decision. There is speculation that he is considering a college football career and therefore is eyeing big-name gridiron programs.
Forget about it. That from Christian Brothers basketball coach Buddy Wleklinski.
"Greg will be playing basketball at Duke," he said. "The fact that he did not sign is being blown way out of proportion. The only reason he didn't sign is that he did not want to be a distraction when our football team is going for the state championship."
Paulus, who is a highly regarded quarterback prospect, completed 20 of 28 passes for 216 yards (his second-lowest total this season) and two touchdowns as Christian Brothers defeated Webster-Thomas, 44-14, in the state 2-A semifinals this past weekend.
For the season, he has connected on 187 of 290 passes, 64.5 percent, for over 3,300 yards and 40 touchdowns. He has 149 career scoring passes and more than 1,200 yards passing.
He will be entering his fifth year of varsity basketball. As an eighth-grader, he backed up his brother, Dan, at point guard and still made the all- (Onondaga) league team, while averaging just over 10 points.
Paulus averaged 17 points as a freshman, around 23 his sophomore season and 23.4 points and 6.2 assists as a junior, when Christian Brothers finished 19-5. He scored a career-high 46 points in a game as a sophomore.
"There is absolutely nothing to the rumor that he might pass that up to play football. He isn't even thinking of playing football at Duke, for that matter. He is looking forward to being part of a great basketball program."Greg wants to play point guard at Duke," Wleklinski said, "and that's what he is pursuing.
"He has worked hard in the classroom and in athletics to set himself up to have some great options. And there have been so many of them. Who wouldn't want to be the point guard at Duke and have the opportunity to play for Coach (Mike) Krzyzewski?
"He is going to honor his commitment and go to Duke. Greg is not thinking of anything else. It is not even an issue. It's that simple."
Wleklinski stressed that knowledge of the game and his position, not statistics, are what impresses college coaches about Paulus.
"He is a great teammate," the Wleklinski said. "He is very good at distributing the ball and getting it to the right people in the right places. In AAU ball, he played a little different than other guys because he looked to pass first, not shoot.
"Greg knows how to play; he has a great head for the game. That is what the coaches at Duke like so much about him.
"He is very quick, handles the ball very well and penetrates into the lane. He has really good body control, and he is never out of control. On top of that, he is an outstanding shooter. You can't leave him alone."
Asked if he feels Krzyzewski is concerned that Paulus did not sign early, Wleklinski said, "No, he knows what's going on. All the buzz that Greg might not wind up at Duke is way out of whack."
Paulus, who is ranked No. 28 in the country among high school seniors by prepstars.com, qualified academically for freshman eligibility as a junior.
