DURHAM - Greg Paulus could be bleeding from the mouth with a black eye and swollen nose and be asked, "What happened to you?" And he'd say, "Nothing."

The Duke guard, who has become the No. 6 Blue Devils' most dangerous 3-point shooter and one of the ACC's most efficient ballhandlers, would rather dance around the truth than admit anything is wrong.

It's not important, he says.

"If I'm out on the court, there's no excuses," Paulus said.

That means no excuses about how a foot injury that needed surgery slowed him on both ends of the court last season and earned him criticism from coast to coast.

And no revealing how many stitches he needed to close the cut below his right eye he picked up at N.C. State on Saturday.

"It's how I think I should be," Paulus said. "It's one thing I've learned [at Duke]. It's about the results and trying to get it done."

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said that's the way of the Paulus family, where seven siblings grew up playing sports against each other and all six boys have played Division I football or basketball.

"He comes from a family that goes to work every day, no matter what happens," Krzyzewski said. "Greg's been through so many injuries. He's battling a bad knee right now, too. ... More so than toughness, it's commitment. I admire that. I just wish he was a little healthier at the moment."

Paulus has dealt with his share of scrapes and injuries, including this season, which continues Saturday with a rematch at home against No. 1 North Carolina.

This season alone, Paulus has walked off the court with a bloodied mouth (altercation with Ryan Reid at Florida State on Jan. 16), a bruised nose and face (colliding with James Dews of Miami on Feb. 2) and face lacerations that required stitches (the latest at N.C. State on Saturday).

"Especially in college, there are times when you're banged up and beat down; it's just part of the game," said Paulus, who later threw out a bone revealing he needed four stitches Saturday. "Everyone goes through it."

It's not like Paulus clammed up when he got to Duke. Paulus even keeps his parents out of the loop.

Only once did Paulus' father, Dave, notice Greg hurting and still playing -- after Paulus led his Christian Brothers Academy football team to a New York state title in 2004. Paulus got roughed up in that game, then played a basketball game, hobbled by a bum leg and ankle, two days later.

"He still never said anything about it," Dave Paulus said. "I'm never surprised that he plays. That's his toughness. ... It's just the way he is."

Paulus suffered more severe injuries in his first two college seasons. As a freshman, he played with torn cartilage in his left wrist, which required surgery as soon as the season ended.

As a sophomore, he injured his left foot in the second practice of the season, healed enough to play the season wearing a protective boot, then had surgery to repair it as soon as the season ended.

The foot injury hampered his quickness and his lateral movement, both necessary to defend ACC guards. Paulus took a lot of heat for getting beaten while the Devils limped to a 22-11 record.

Teammate Jon Scheyer said Paulus took it personally at times. Paulus agreed.

"There were definitely points that have been frustrating where I wasn't doing what I was supposed to be doing and trying and not getting it done," Paulus said. "It's just something to keep fighting through and working hard to get better. Having the experience we had last year helped this team a great deal. We had to dig through that frustration."

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."