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Before his season, he was able to heal, condition and get stronger for an entire offseason. So he has been better with the ball. His 2.17-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (1.23-to-1 last season) ranks third in the ACC. He has maintained a silky, clutch 3-point stroke (68 3-pointers) while scoring in double figures in 10 of Duke's past 13 games.

Paulus is a stronger defender. Duke likes to switch on ball screens more this season. Sometimes Paulus finds himself guarding a bigger, taller player and running into more arms and elbows.

"I am trying to stick my nose in there a little more and make more plays in different types of situations," Paulus said.

The end result is that Paulus, who was chosen a third-team Academic All-America pick by ESPN this week, finally has the health he needed to go along with his game and is having a great season.

That makes him a target for opposing fans. Two years ago, Duke star J.J. Redick predicted that Paulus would become the next "hated" Devil, like Redick and Christian Laettner before him.

During a loss at Miami, the crowd showered Paulus with the same obscene taunt that Redick received from Maryland fans during a Duke win in College Park years ago.

Reminded of Redick's prediction last week, Paulus chuckled and said, "Yeah. Thanks, J.J."

Paulus said he learned the trick handling that specific kind of heat by watching Redick get heckled, buckle down deeper into the game, work with teammates, hit the big shot, then smile at the crowd on his way back on defense.

"I guess people can chant what they want," he said. "If it's directed at me, I'll use it to concentrate harder to make another play to keep them quiet."

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