The Duke basketball program is hosting a three-team "Brotherhood" event at Cameron Indoor Stadium, featuring Niagara and Howard. The Purple Eagles and the Bison are coached by Greg Paulus and Kenny Blakeney, respectively, who are both former Duke players who played under Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils took on Niagara on November 21st, winning 100-42, and will face off against Howard on Sunday. Before the contest against Niagara, Paulus, Krzyzewski, and Jon Scheyer met at half court, as The Brotherhood never goes away. But after the game, Paulus talked about how Coach K taught him so much more than just how to be a good college basketball coach.
Paulus became the head coach at Niagara in November 2019 after stints as an assistant at Navy, Ohio State, Louisville, and George Washington. Through his first six seasons at the helm for the Purple Eagles, Paulus brought Niagara to its first MAAC Semifinals appearance in eight years in 2021. In 2022-23, he led the Purple Eagles to their first winning season since 2017-18 and brought the program to the MAAC Semifinals for the second time in three years.
Greg Paulus learned "a lot of things and values" from his time with Coach K at Duke
After the game, Paulus talked to the media about his time as a Blue Devil, and he had much more to say about what Coach K taught him off the court than on the court.
"There's a lot of things and values that we take away from our experience here [at Duke] that learned from Coach [K]," Paulus said. "And there's no one better to learn from. So, I just consider myself really grateful and lucky to have a chance to play for Coach, to play with Jon [Scheyer], and so many terrific players."
Paulus spent four seasons in Durham from 2005-2009, serving as a full-time starter in three of those campaigns. He averaged 8.6 points and 3.4 assists throughout his career on 41.5% shooting from the floor and 39.8% shooting from three-point range, earning All-ACC honors in the 2007-08 season.
The Blue Devils now gear up to take on Howard on Sunday.