Duke's Pocius finally healthy

Duke guard Marty Pocius said this week that after losing last season to an ankle injury, he is healthy.

Pocius first injured his right ankle the summer of 2006 playing in Lithuania and had surgery late in March 2007. He reinjured it in a game in late November 2007 and had a second surgery in January. That second time under the knife ended his season.

Pocius will be a senior academically with two seasons of eligibility remaining starting in 2008-09. He and senior Greg Paulus are the only players left from a highly-touted six-man recruiting class in 2005.

But Pocius is still a mystery, though an early propensity to foul did earn him the ultimate honor — a loving yet delusional personal salute from the Cameron Crazies: "Marty doesn't foul! Marty doesn't foul!"

Pocius's story is the stuff of a great made-for-TV movie. He was playing for the Lithuanian junior national team when he was spotted by Jerry West, yes, the guy who is the NBA logo. West spread the word stateside, where Pocius was attending the Holderness School, and Pocius eventually chose Duke.

West saw an athletic leaper, with the ability to create and make his own shots. Pocius, either because of his defensive lapses or injuries, is still waiting to unleash them at Duke.

So Marty, really, how are you healthy?

"I'm 100 percent," he said smiling, after watching future Blue Devil Mason Plumlee play this past weekend in the Tournament of Champions at Cameron Indoor Stadium, adding that he feels good for the first time in a long time.