They drove the lane, passed the ball and while on the court against each other twice last year, there couldn’t have been any way Kelvin Grady and Greg Paulus would have predicted they’d both be tied by a similar thread.

Less than a year after the two Michigan-Duke basketball matchups, the two former point guards are still on the offensive - this time in football.

“It’s a tough decision having to choose a sport,” Paulus said. “Having the opportunity to do two sports, there’s not many people that get a chance to do that, especially in major conferences.”

Yet here they both are, Paulus having gone from playing the point at Duke to being named the starting quarterback at Syracuse. Grady, meanwhile, left the Michigan basketball team after the 2008-09 season, contemplated leaving the university and then returned as a walk-on slot receiver on the football team.

Not surprisingly, though, both of their transitions have gone smoothly and will likely be on the field this fall, the latest in a long line of basketball players transitioning to football like Antonio Gates (basketball at Kent State, football in the NFL), Julius Peppers (played both at North Carolina), Tony Gonzalez (played both at California) and Donovan McNabb (played both at Syracuse).

The two are also part of a group of at least four players making the transition this year along with Miami forward-turned-tight end Jimmy Graham and Arizona forward-turned-Houston tight end Fendi Onobun.

Part of why it has been successful in the past and that football teams continue to welcome basketball talent has to do with the easy transition of the skill sets. Basketball players are in a sport which requires top conditioning and a lot of running along with nuanced footwork.

“My quickness, the footwork, just being in different situations, a lot of things from basketball carried on to football, different situations, not breaking down easily,” Grady said. “Things that correlate over.

“It’s one of those things where I’ve been here before.”

Grady played in the NCAA tournament last year, and while that isn’t in front of 110,000 people, it is a pressure-packed situation. So making a critical catch shouldn’t be as much of an issue.

They are new to the sport on the college level, but hardly freshmen.

“There’s been times where it’s been a big game in my career in basketball, a last-second deal where I know I’m going to get the ball and have to get to the hole and score or go to the free throw line and knock them down,” Graham said. “I don’t think that’s easy on national TV in front of the whole entire country.

“I feel like that can translate to football.”

The other thing, specifically for Paulus and Grady, comes with intangibles. As point guards, they are almost forced to be vocal leaders and extensions of their coaches on the court.

Paulus had been in that situation his whole life, being a top-rated quarterback in high school with offers from pretty much everywhere. So he said it’s been a natural transition back.

Grady, though, noticed it as a significant improvement in his vocal skills, something he was able to take from one sport and make into a positive in the other.

And all of the converts agreed - playing basketball improved their games, even if they didn’t realize it as they were helping their teams to the NCAA tournament last year.

“Most definitely,” Grady said. “You know what, basketball has really helped me.”

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for annarbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.