Niagara University Athletics

Greg Paulus is highly regarded in college athletics for his dedication to the holistic development of student-athletes. His stellar resume includes eight NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament appearances as a player and a coach.
 
The Purple Eagles have continuously exceeded expectations in each of Paulus’ first three years at the helm. Becoming the first head coach of Niagara men’s basketball to earn back-to-back first round byes in the MAAC Championship since 2008-2009, including the programs first MAAC semifinals appearance in eight seasons in 2021.  
 
Paulus became the 23rd head coach of Niagara Basketball on Nov. 7, 2019.

• Second-straight season as No. 5 seed in MAAC Championship
• Second in the MAAC in scoring defense (65.5) and assist/turnover ratio (1.12).
• Third in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (30.6).
• Fourth in the MAAC in scoring margin (1.9) and field goal percentage (43.9).
• Senior Marcus Hammond named to All-MAAC and NABC All-District First Team, becoming the first Purple Eagle since Khalil Dukes (2018) to receive both honors.
• Three student-athletes named to MAAC All-Academic Team.
• Named to 40 Under 40 Rising Starts List by the Athletic on Nov. 23, 2021.
 

• Led the MAAC in turnover margin (+3.25), assist to turnover ratio (1.19) and averaged the fewest turnovers per game (9.9).
• Niagara ranked sixth in the nation in fewest turnovers per game and 22nd in turnover margin.
• Earned No. 5 seed in MAAC Championship, defeating No. 4 Marist in quarterfinals to advance to MAAC semifinals for the first time in eight seasons.
• The Purple Eagles had a strong season in the classroom and recorded a program-record 3.45 grade point average (GPA) in the fall 2020 semester.
• The program was recognized for its outstanding academic year with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award for the second straight season.
• Junior Marcus Hammond and Senior Kobi Nwandu named to All-MAAC Second Team.
• Four Purple Eagles named to MAAC All-Academic Team.
• Senior Nicholas Kratholm earned CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team.
• NABC Team Academic Excellence Award and NABC Honors Court for second consecutive season.
 

• Named the 2019-20 Joe B. Hall recipient, which is awarded annually to the top first-year coach in NCAA Division I basketball.
• Won first MAAC postseason game in three years with 56-54 win over Marist in first round.
• Won ten games against conference opponents for just the second time in the previous seven seasons.
• The Purple Eagles ranked statistically in the top-25 in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (10.6), in fewest total turnovers (338), in turnover margin (3.3), and 3-point field goal percentage (.372), while leading the MAAC in all four categories.
• Niagara had the best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.13) in the MAAC.
• Sophomore Marcus Hammond named to All-MAAC First Team.
• Two Purple Eagles named to MAAC All-Academic Team.
• NABC Team Academic Excellence Award after posting 3.3 team GPA. 
 

Paulus was on the staff at George Washington for the 2018-19 season and spent the 2017-18 season at Louisville where he helped the Cardinals to an NIT Quarterfinals appearance. While at Louisville, he assisted in the development of two NBA players - Deng Adel and Ray Spalding.
 
He was an assistant coach for four seasons at Ohio State (2013-17) after serving as the program's video coordinator for two years (2011-13). During six years on the staff there, Paulus served as both offensive and defensive coordinator as Ohio State produced a 147-66 record, two Big Ten Championships and participated in the NCAA Tournament on four occasions, including playing in two NCAA Regional Finals and reaching the 2012 Final Four.
 
Paulus helped the Buckeyes sign top-10 recruiting classes in 2014 and 2015 and was recognized by college basketball national reporter Jeff Goodman as one of the nation's top assistant coaches in 2015. He had extensive work player development which helped lead to four NBA draft selections - Jared Sullinger, Deshaun Thomas, Keita Bates-Diop and D'Angelo Russell.
 
Paulus began his coaching career as an assistant coach at the Naval Academy (2010-11).
 

Paulus had a successful four-year playing career at Duke (2005-09). A three-year starter and two-time captain for Duke, he played on three ACC Championship teams and four NCAA Tournament teams, helping Duke to a combined 112-28 record while leading the team in assists in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

As a freshman in 2006, Paulus was a member of the ACC All-Freshman First Team, the ACC All-Tournament Second Team and a second-team freshman All-American while averaging 6.7 points and 5.2 assists. He is one of just four freshmen in ACC history to lead the league in assists. He scored 1,193 career points at Duke and ranks among the career top 10 in assists (468), three-point field goals (210) and three-point field goal percentage (.398).
 
Paulus spent the 2009-10 season at Syracuse as a graduate student transfer on the football team where he was the starting quarterback and captain. He passed for 2,024 yards and 13 touchdowns in 12 games. His 67.7 completion percentage (193-of-285) is a Syracuse single-season record.
 
Paulus earned ACC All-Academic Team accolades on three occasions and was a two-time Academic All-American Third Team selection. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science with a certificate in markets and management studies in 2009. He earned a master's degree in Television, Radio and Film from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse in 2010, earning 2009 Big East All-Academic Team honors.
 
Paulus was named the Gatorade High School Football Player of the Year (2004) and the Gatorade High School Male Athlete of the Year (2005) at Christian Brothers Academy. Other recipients of the Gatorade Male Athlete of the Year award are LeBron James (2003), Dwight Howard (2004), Kevin Love (2006), Matt Barkley (2008) and Kyler Murray (2015).
 

A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Greg and his wife, Megan, have three children, Preston, Whitney, and Landon.