March 3, 2008

By Bill Hass
theACC.com

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Avoid those bumps in the road.

That's the goal for most good college basketball teams, and the same can be said for good players, especially freshmen. For Duke's Kyle Singler, the pavement has been relatively smooth in his first season.

"Fulfilled?" Singler said, repeating a question about his role this season. "I'm not sure if I've fulfilled it, but I've played as well as I think I can. I mean, you can definitely say you can play better. I think I've had a good season and I just hope I can contribute to the team more as the season goes on."

Certainly Duke's results bear out Singler's value. After scrapping their way to an 87-86 win at NC State Saturday, the Blue Devils improved to 12-2 in the ACC and 25-3 overall. The 6-foot-8 freshman from Medford, Ore., has been instrumental in that success, having started all but one game.

The win over State was a prime example of what Singler has done this season. He played a supplemental, yet crucial, supporting role with 12 points, a team-high six rebounds and no turnovers.

"So far we've had a good season, not great," he said. "We're a very good team; we ran into a bump in the road against Wake Forest and Miami (back-to-back losses), but to this point I think we're going in the right direction and I look forward to moving on and keeping our season strong.

"Our big focus now is winning the ACC, finishing strong and moving on to the ACC Tournament. We want to make a run in that, too. Our main focus is improving each week without taking a step backwards."

There haven't been many, if any, backwards steps in Singler's career. He led his South Medford team to two state championships in Oregon. Two years ago, he was a member of the Under-18 USA Junior National Team that won a gold medal in the FIBA Americas championship.

The team included Michael Beasley, now a standout at Kansas State; point guard Jarryd Bayless, now a star at Arizona; and future Duke teammates Lance Thomas, Taylor King and Nolan Smith. Singler averaged 11.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 steals and gained a fan in Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt, an assistant on that team.

"Both he and Jarryd Bayless are the two guys I thought were most college-ready, from a mental standpoint," Hewitt said. "(They were) the two most intelligent players we had, especially on the defensive end of the floor."

That kind of experience led to Singler being ready to make an immediate impact as a freshman.

"He was more ready than the top percentile of kids coming in being ready to play," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "One, he was a champion in Oregon and really well-coached, but he also had a chance to play for the United States a couple times.

"It has helped all of our players throughout the years whenever they've had an opportunity to try out and then, if they make the team, play for one of our country's teams. Kyle's been able to do that and I think that has helped him immensely."

For Singler it wasn't a matter of gaining confidence from the experience - he already had plenty of that. Rather, it reaffirmed his belief that he could play with elite players.

"Just playing against good competition, being a part of a team that has good talent on it, being part of a championship team, those are things that helped me prepare for the college level," he said. "What it boils down to is having confidence in yourself and just knowing that you can play against the caliber of players like that."

With Josh McRoberts having left for the NBA, there was an opening for Singler in the lineup. He has more than filled it. He has been a steady scorer at 14 points a game (second only to DeMarcus Nelson), a solid rebounder at 6.0, a 3-point shooter and someone who also contributes an occasional steal and blocked shot.

His offense has been steady - only seven games in 28 out of double figures, with highs of 26 against Maryland, 25 against Marquette and 24 against Boston College. The State game was his 10th straight in double figures, during which he has averaged 16.7 points.

Defensively, Singler has spent much of the season guarding the opposing team's center, a role Krzyzewski would like to change. The coach believes a return to health of 7-footer Brian Zoubek will help.

"With Brian inside, (Kyle) is able to go outside a little bit more," Krzyzewski said. "That still is really where he should play; he should really be more of a trailer on the break, like how (Shane) Battier played, and not be guarding the five as much. He's had to do that the whole season and now, for at least some minutes of the game, Brian can do that. Some things will just open up, maybe he'll be a little bit fresher as the game goes along."

Singler shrugs off the effects of playing low post defense this season.

"It's definitely not just myself guarding the five position," he said. "We pride ourselves in team defense, so we do a lot of doubling down in the post, and our guards do a good job of putting on a lot of ball pressure, which makes it tougher to get the ball in the post. So I don't necessarily look at it as me guarding the post. It's team defense and I just happen to be matched up at the center position. Having Brian back is definitely a help, he's improving each week, which is a good sign."

Singler's game is not perfect. He said the coaches have asked him to improve his communication, both on offense and defense, something he continues to work on. Beyond that, the quibbles are few.

Sometimes a player's choice of admired athletes can reveal something about him. Singler's choices are particularly interesting and a nod to basketball history - Pete Maravich and Larry Bird. Maravich, who died four months before Singler was born, combined a scoring knack with an unmatched flair for the game. Bird, whose last season came when Singler was 4, used all-around skills to become one of the best players in the game.

"Maravich kind of revolutionized the game a little bit," Singler said. "I like how he did that and how he just loved the game so much. Really, no one has been able to accomplish what he's done as a basketball player. It would have been a blast to see him play in person.

"Larry Bird was a winner and I think that's one of the characteristics I try to model my game after, just being a winner on the court. If that means winning championships, that's what you've got to do."

So far, Singler has taken the first steady steps along that road.

Bill Hass is a long-time observer of ACC sports. His career at the Greensboro News & Record spanned 36 years, from 1969 until his retirement in March, 2006. He is now writing "Bill Hass on the ACC" for theACC.com. His weekly columns will keep fans plugged in to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

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