Singler to return to national champs

[BigBensAngel7]

DURHAM, N.C. -- Kyle Singler, voted the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, announced Monday that he will return to national champion Duke for his senior season.

Singler scored 19 points as Duke beat Butler 61-59 to win its fourth national championship and finish 35-5. He averaged 17.7 points, seven rebounds and 2.4 assists in his junior season, and had 17 games with 20 or more points while posting seven double-doubles.

"I love being here at Duke and am excited about next year," Singler said in a statement released by the university. "I had two great options in front of me, but I did not want to miss out on all of the great things to come in a senior season."

A first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, Singler's 1,767 career points rank as third most by a junior in school history. In three seasons in Durham, his averages are 15.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He is a three-time All-ACC selection.
"I am looking forward to coaching Kyle in his senior year and seeing him develop more as a player and as a leader," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement.

Singler became one of 18 players in Duke history to score more than 700 points in a season, finishing with 707.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5115934

[AFCEastFan]

Great news. Thanks for posting.

[Johnny Drama]

Great news for Duke fans.

Will have the most explosive back court in the country, bring in a top recruiting class, consensus #1

Should and will be favorites to repeat.

[BigBensAngel7]

i can definately see duke repeating as National Champions. its very rare that players from duke leave early. they may have had what 10 at the most leave school early for the NBA. that has to say something about the duke program, and everyone hates them... oh well, keep it up boys!!!

[AFCEastFan]

Originally Posted by BigBensAngel7

i can definately see duke repeating as National Champions. its very rare that players from duke leave early. they may have had what 10 at the most leave school early for the NBA. that has to say something about the duke program, and everyone hates them... oh well, keep it up boys!!!

Actually, Duke has had a lot of early departures. One of the big reasons UNC has been so much more successful than Duke over the last few years (until this year) is that UNC has actually done a much better job retaining their players for longer. Take two equally regarded star high school forwards from the same class: Tyler Hansbrough and Josh McRoberts. One left for the NBA way before he was ready, the other stayed for 4 years and the rest is history. Here are some relatively recent early Duke departures that come to mind off the top of my head.

Shaun Livingston (zero and done)
Corey Maggette (one and done)
Luol Deng (one and done)
Will Avery (two and done)
Elton Brand (two and done)
McRoberts (two and done)

Plus, they have had a whole bunch of 3 and dones, e.g. Shav Randolph, Boozer, Dunleavy, J. Williams, Gerald Henderson and probably others that I am forgetting. Not to mention, probably because of the short rotation K typically uses, Duke has historically had a rash of transfers out, significantly more than any top program I can think of. To wit:

Eric Boateng
Olek Czyz
Jamal Boykin
Elliot Williams
Taylor King
Mike Chappell
Chris Burgess
Christian Ast
Joey Beard
Kris Humprhies (backed out of his scholarship/commitment to attend Minnesota)

All that said, Singler staying, getting two transfers IN (Curry and Felix) and not letting any go out (other than Czyz) and the national championship this season obviously show that things are headed in the right direction for Duke again.

[AFCEastFan]

More good news for Duke (and bad news for UNC):


http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angele...ory?id=5167323