Jacobs On Turnovers, Assists, And Greg Paulus

Among the persistent themes in 2006 struggles throughout the ACC was a paucity of reliable point guard play. This proved crippling for Georgia Tech, Maryland, and Wake Forest, programs recently accustomed to NCAA participation, as well as a limiting factor for several other teams.

The top two finishers during the regular season, Duke and North Carolina, did have good, if inconsistent, playmakers, Greg Paulus and Bobby Frasor, respectively.

Frasor can be expected to move to an off-guard spot, or at least develop into an all-around backcourt presence in the manner of former Tar Heels Steve Hale and Jeff Lebo.

Paulus is destined to run the Blue Devils.

The New Yorker showed considerable acumen in his ACC debut, leading the conference with 187 assists in 36 games. Paulus became the second Blue Devil after Bobby Hurley in 1992 and 1993 to pace the conference in assists, and the first freshman.

Since assists were initially reported leaguewide in 1973, when first-year players became eligible for varsity competition, only three other freshmen led the league in this category – Virginia’s Jeff Jones in 1979, Georgia Tech’s Kenny Anderson in 1990, and North Carolina’s Ed Cota in 1997. Anderson and Cota led their squads to the Final Four.

Paulus also finished the 2006 season with 118 turnovers, tops in the ACC. As a general rule of thumb, a turnover is worth about 1.5 points to the opposition. Conversely, an assist is worth at least two points. A pass that produces a trip to the foul line for the recipient is not counted as an assist. Duke went to the line 905 times in 2006.

The 2005 ACC turnover leader was Raymond Felton of North Carolina, who had 129 in 36 games. He also had 249 assists, a ratio of 1.93 assists per ballhandling error.

Paulus’ turnover total was good, or rather bad, enough to finish seventh among those who have played under Mike Krzyzewski since 1980-81. His 3.28 turnovers per game was surpassed by 13 of Duke’s 24 100-turnover men, and his ratio of assists to turnovers (1.58:1) tied for 11th among Krzyzewski’s 100-turnover players.

Compared to previous freshmen who led the ACC in supportive passing, Paulus was last in his ratio of assists to turnovers. Anderson had 2.05 assists per turnover, Jones 1.94, and Cota 1.89.

The four Devils who had more turnovers in a season than Paulus did earn first team All-ACC honors – Bobby Hurley as a senior in 1993, when he had his fewest miscues; Jason Williams as both a sophomore and a junior in 2001 and 2002, years in which he surpassed Paulus’ TO total; and Christian Laettner, twice a first-teamer and once (1991) a producer of more turnovers than Paulus.

Only Quin Snyder and Jeff Capel among K’s 100-TO crew failed to make at least second team All-ACC during their careers. And Snyder, who directed squads to the Final Four in 1988 and 1989, did post two of the five best A:TO ratios among Krzyzewski’s most prolific producers of turnovers.