Road to Duke
Gregory Russell Paulus was born on July 3, 1986, in Medina, Ohio. He grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, before his family moved to the Syracuse suburb of Manlius, New York. He was one of seven children — six brothers and a sister: David, Matt, Dan, Chris, Mike, and Sarah. The Paulus household was a factory of athletes, and Greg was the most gifted of them all.
At Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, Paulus became something that shouldn’t be possible: the best high school quarterback AND the best high school point guard in New York State simultaneously, and arguably in the entire country. On the football field, he broke New York state records for career passing touchdowns (152) and career passing yards (11,760), and set the single-season yardage record with 3,677. He was named Sports Illustrated’s best quarterback in the nation. He was a U.S. Army All-American, a Parade All-American, and a USA Today second-team All-American — all in football. In the 2004 New York State Class AA Championship game, Paulus led CBA to the school’s first-ever state football title, defeating New Rochelle High School and future NFL running back Ray Rice 41–35 in the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. He was named MVP of the championship game.
On the basketball court, he accumulated 2,399 career points — twelfth in New York state history — and averaged 26.8 points, 8.2 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.4 steals as a senior. He was a five-time all-league selection, four-time all-state, New York State Mr. Basketball, a McDonald’s All-American, a Parade All-American, and the top-ranked point guard in the country by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. At the Nike Hoop Summit, he set a record with 10 assists.
He was named Gatorade National High School Football Player of the Year in 2004 and then Gatorade National High School Male Athlete of the Year in 2005 — covering all sports. He received football scholarship offers from Miami and Notre Dame. He received basketball offers from Duke, Syracuse, Georgetown, Florida, North Carolina, and Xavier. He had to choose between being the nation’s best quarterback and the nation’s best point guard. In his first week as a high school junior, Greg Paulus announced he would attend Duke to play basketball. First and foremost, his father David said, Greg has a passion for basketball, and he’d love to be involved in helping Coach Krzyzewski and his team compete for a national championship.
At Duke
Paulus played four seasons at Duke, 2005–06 through 2008–09, appearing in 139 games. He was a three-year starter, a two-time team captain, and a three-time Academic All-ACC selection and two-time Academic All-American. He scored 1,193 career points, dished 468 assists, and shot 39.8 percent from three-point range. His teams went a combined 112–28, won four ACC championships, and made four NCAA Tournament appearances including two Sweet Sixteen runs.
As a freshman in 2005–06, Paulus led the ACC in assists at 5.2 per game and was named to the ACC All-Freshman First Team. He set a Duke freshman record with 15 assists in a single game against Valparaiso — one short of the all-time Duke record held by Bobby Hurley. His 187 freshman assists ranked third in Duke history behind only Hurley and Jay Williams. Duke went 32–4 and won the ACC regular-season and tournament titles.
Junior year, 2007–08, was his best statistical season: he led the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio, shot over 42 percent from three, hit 82 threes, and averaged 10.5 points and 4.3 assists. He led Duke to a 28–6 record and scored 18 points in an 89–78 victory over rival North Carolina. He was named Third Team All-ACC.
His senior season was humbling. The development of sophomore Nolan Smith pushed Paulus out of the starting lineup — he started only five games and averaged 16 minutes. For a player who had been the nation’s number one point guard recruit, coming off the bench as a senior tested everything he was made of. His father’s high school scouting report had said that football made Greg tough — tough enough to handle the disappointment of diminished playing time and still lead from wherever Coach K needed him.
After Duke
What Greg Paulus did next is one of the most remarkable athletic feats in modern college sports history. After four years of playing only basketball at Duke, Paulus took advantage of an NCAA provision allowing him a graduate transfer year for football. On May 14, 2009, he announced he would play quarterback at Syracuse University — the school in his hometown, in the same Carrier Dome where he had won a state football championship five years earlier. He enrolled in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications for his master’s degree.
Paulus had not taken a competitive snap in four years. He had to compete against redshirt freshman Ryan Nassib and senior Cameron Dantley for the starting job under first-year head coach Doug Marrone. Marrone named Paulus the starter on August 18, 2009, citing his leadership and competitive experience. He started all twelve games that season. He completed 193 of 285 passes for 2,024 yards and 13 touchdowns, setting a Syracuse single-season record for completion percentage at 67.7 percent. The team went 4–8.
After going undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft, Paulus tried out with the New Orleans Saints at rookie minicamp, competing behind Drew Brees, Chase Daniel, and Sean Canfield. He was not offered a contract. The football dream was over. But the basketball dream had already been fulfilled, and a coaching career was about to begin.
Where Is He Now
Paulus went into coaching immediately. He spent a season at Navy, then six years at Ohio State — starting as video coordinator and rising to assistant coach, helping the Buckeyes reach the 2012 Final Four and sign top-10 recruiting classes. He coached at Louisville under David Padgett, then at George Washington, before returning to his home state of New York to join the Niagara staff. In October 2019, he was named interim head coach after Patrick Beilein resigned, and was later made the permanent head coach. He is married to Megan.
In 2024, Paulus was inducted into both the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame and the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, recognition of a high school career that may never be matched in the state: first-ever athlete to be named the national player of the year in football AND the national athlete of the year across all sports, while also being named the state’s best basketball player.
Greg Paulus was born in Medina, Ohio, raised in Appleton, Wisconsin, and made in Syracuse, New York. He broke New York state records for career passing touchdowns and yards. He beat Ray Rice in a state championship game in the Carrier Dome. He scored 2,399 points on the basketball court. He was the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year and the Gatorade National Athlete of the Year and New York State Mr. Basketball and a McDonald’s All-American and the nation’s number one ranked point guard. He chose Duke basketball over Miami football, and his father said it was about passion. He played 139 games for Coach K across four seasons, won four ACC championships, led the ACC in assists as a freshman, and came within one assist of Bobby Hurley’s all-time Duke record in a single game. He lost his starting job as a senior and handled it with grace. Then he went back to the Carrier Dome — the same building where he had won a state football championship five years earlier — and started all twelve games at quarterback for Syracuse without having played football in four years. He tried out for the Saints. He became a head coach. He was inducted into two Halls of Fame. There has never been another Greg Paulus, and there probably never will be. He was the best at everything, and when he had to choose, he chose basketball. And then, because he was Greg Paulus, he went back and played football anyway.