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View Full Version : Coach K Teleconference - Paulus injury, "G"



watzone
11-18-2008, 01:50 PM
Krzyzewski was on of four coaches who answered media questions today at noon. I had dual duties, covering Cutcliffes PC too, but did manage to get to phone for K.

http://bluedevilnation.net/?p=1330

Edouble
11-18-2008, 05:21 PM
Thanks, great Q & A. I like the idea that a pilgrimage to Mecca will help G ignite the fire in his game.

BD80
11-18-2008, 06:00 PM
Mark, I think you had a typo, I think Coach K said:


Hopefully, Madison Square Garden will bring out the beast in him [G].

dukelifer
11-18-2008, 07:07 PM
Thanks, great Q & A. I like the idea that a pilgrimage to Mecca will help G ignite the fire in his game.
I trust K that he understands what is going on here. G is likely thinking that this is the year he needs to show is ready for the NBA - that he is good enough to leave in his junior year. He has all the physical gifts, the former NBA-playing dad- the Duke connection. This IS a lot of pressure on a young man. He just needs to settle in and forget about the next step and focus on this season. Of course, easier said than done. I suspect a few other players in Chapel Hill are also putting similar pressure on themselves. Sometimes it is much easier to be flying under the radar.

Dukie4Life
11-18-2008, 07:36 PM
I read the pc notes however missed the game on Sunday. Can I please get an update on Paulus' injury. I noticed he was wearing the sleeve again that he wore when his wrist was injured. Is it his wrist or the knee he injured this summer?

heyman25
11-18-2008, 08:22 PM
He took a charge in practice last Friday. Could not ball his fist Saturday. Played Sunday. Its a new injury. Don't have any updates on his condition.

Edouble
11-18-2008, 10:12 PM
True, but it was the knee he hurt this summer.

Ders24
11-19-2008, 12:49 AM
He took a charge in practice last Friday. Could not ball his fist Saturday. Played Sunday. Its a new injury. Don't have any updates on his condition.

I believe he should be good to go by the game on Thursday.

Dukie4Life
11-19-2008, 07:03 AM
Thanks for the update! I hate to see anyone injured but I don't remember the last time that Greg played and he wasn't injured. Its his senior year and I'd love for the guy to be able to play one healthy season!

CameronCrazy'11
11-21-2008, 03:04 PM
is overdue for a huge game. Can you feel it coming?

Kedsy
11-21-2008, 03:10 PM
is overdue for a huge game. Can you feel it coming?

Maybe after he gets over his injury.

OldPhiKap
11-21-2008, 03:15 PM
Maybe after he gets over his injury.

I was about to say the same thing. But he's a big-time player and he can step it up at any time. I would love to see it.

CameronBornAndBred
11-21-2008, 03:16 PM
Maybe after he gets over his injury.
Agreed. With his fingers taped it doesn't help him. His shots weren't bad shots last night, butthey weren't falling. I wonder how much being so banged up is affecting him. Some of his passes were horrible, and that's mental. He'll get past both and have better games, but I'm not looking for any breakouts soon.

davekay1971
11-21-2008, 03:20 PM
If I understand his injury correctly, it's a forearm injury on his shooting hand. He's going to have a hard time getting a natural shooting stroke until that heals. I'm sure he's too much of a competitor to shut it down, but, honestly, after tonight's game might be a good time for him to just focus on healing and rehabbing for awhile so it doesn't plague him through the ACC campaign. We're going to need his toughness and shooting in the conference wars.

pbc2
11-21-2008, 03:28 PM
A near-healthy Paulus would be a great help against the 1-3-1 tonight. Even 15-20 minutes and 10-15 points would be a big boost.

weezie
11-21-2008, 03:46 PM
In spite of his injury, he still brings a measure of calm to the offense. Most of the game pace was absolutely frantic last night. It's nice to see us run but that's going to wear on any team over the long haul. Greg has an important role to play. I hope he gets better soon.

shadowfax336
11-21-2008, 03:48 PM
A near-healthy Paulus would be a great help against the 1-3-1 tonight. Even 15-20 minutes and 10-15 points would be a big boost.
10 points in 15 minutes projects to 20 points in 30 minutes. Paulus has hit for 20 a total of 5 times in his career, never playing less than 30 minutes to do it.
Expecting 10-15 points in 15-20 minutes is Redick-like efficiency, not near-healthy Paulus efficiency

shadowfax336
11-21-2008, 03:48 PM
In spite of his injury, he still brings a measure of calm to the offense. Most of the game pace was absolutely frantic last night. It's nice to see us run but that's going to wear on any team over the long haul. Greg has an important role to play. I hope he gets better soon.

Very much agreed, I haven't seen Jumbo's +/- yet, but I'm betting Paulus' was quite high

Cavlaw
11-21-2008, 04:05 PM
I actually agreed with Coach Knight's assessment last night, when he sais Paulus needed to forget about shooting and take command of the offense to get his teammates doing what they needed to in order for other people to score.

It seemed like that's what he did a little bit after Knight made the comment. A good game doesn't necessarily mean scoring a lot; there's more than one role to fill on a team in any given night.

west_coast_devil
11-21-2008, 05:02 PM
has anyone read the latest ESPN the magazine? In the NCAA basketball section towards the back an article refers to the the starting point guard situation between Paulus and Smith. The article states, " Paulus has never worked on improving his strength or speed". C'mon, never sounds a little strong. It just seems to me that no matter what Paulus does everybody is his critic. Me personally, I think Paulus is a good player. Sure he isn't the most giftedplayer on the floor, but he has a great shot, good bball IQ, and always gives 100%. I hate ESPN. Thoughts?:confused:

miramar
11-21-2008, 06:24 PM
No matter what his faults, the Duke offense seems to flow better when Paulus is playing (and healthy, of course). Nolan Smith has yet to take over as point guard, and in fact seems to surrender some of those responsibilities to Scheyer. I am sure that Smith will improve in that regard, but Paulus is clearly an essential part of this team.

As far as ESPN is concerned, I suppose that Paulus could get stronger, but I don't think he will ever be particularly fast. Nevertheless, his defense has improved over the years. He only averaged about two two-point field goals per game last year (62 in 33 games), but I think part of the explanation is that he doesn't finish strong, so it's not entirely a problem with quickness.

Many of these criticisms are really due to Duke's lack of late-season success in the last few years, and that is a team rather than an individual issue.