Kyle Singler, SF

While most college basketball players will spend a season or two at their respective universities, it is very rare to see an athlete complete all four years of eligibility before venturing into the professional ranks. The Blue Devils' two co-captains, Nolan Smith and Singler have been around long enough to etch their names into the prestigious school's record books.

As for longevity, Singler tied Christian Laettner (1989-92) for the school all-time record by appearing in 148 games. The forward led the team to 125 victories during his career. Only Shane Battier (1998-2001) played in more victories (131) for Duke.

Singler closed out his collegiate career as the school's fourth-leading scorer with 2,392 points. He made 267 field goals, fifth-best in Blue Devils annals. He grabbed 1,015 rebounds, topped by only five other Duke performers. His 497 free throws made placed tenth in school history.

Singler comes from a sports-oriented family. His father, Ed, was a quarterback at Oregon State, and his mother, Kris, played basketball at Oregon State. Kurt's brother, E.J., is a sophomore basketball player at Oregon. His uncle, Rick Brosterhous, played basketball at Oregon while another uncle, Greg Brosterhous, played football at Oregon.

His uncle, B.G. Brosterhous, played basketball at Texas and his father's brother, uncle Bill Singler, played football at Stanford. His cousin, Ericka Brosterhous, played basketball at Oregon State. With all of those family links to the west coast's sports scene, it took a great recruiting job by Duke to convince the Oregon native to venture to the other part of the country in 2007.

While starring at South Medford High School, Singler became accustomed to success, leading the Panthers to a record of 110-10 over four years. He is still the sixth-leading scorer in Oregon state history with 2,207 points and was named 2007 Oregonian Class 6A Co-Player of the Year.

The two-time first team all-state selection and Southern Oregon Conference Player of the Year averaged 29.3 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game during his senior season, leading South Medford to the 2007 state championship with 18 points in the 58-54 title game. He was selected the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions MVP and first team selection after averaging 30.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in three contests and chosen an All-American by McDonalds, Parade and USA Today.

Singler was a member of the 2005 USA Basketball Youth Development Festival White Team that finished 5-0 to claim the gold medal, as he averaged 14.0 points and 3.4 rebounds, while shooting 60.0 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from three-point range. He was named to the 2006 U18 USA Junior National Team, averaging 11.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 steals as the USA captured a 4-0 mark and the gold medal at the 2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championship.

He also played in the 10th Annual 2007 Nike Hoops Summit, where he scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds in the 100-80 Junior National Select victory over the World Select Team. Last summer, Singler participated with the Men's College Select Team, as they trained with the U.S. Men's Senior National Team in Las Vegas and New York in preparation for the 2010 World Championship.

The Blue Devils' prized recruit, Singler would go on to start all but one of the 148 games he appeared in for Duke. He was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year and received Freshman All-American honors in 2008. The NABC All-District V second-team choice finished second on the team in scoring (13.3 ppg.), field goals (159), three-pointers (51) and minutes played (28.6 mpg.). He also tied for the team lead in rebounding (5.8 rpg.).

As a sophomore, Singler was an Associated Press All-American honorable mention and second-team All-ACC pick. He started 36-of-37 games, averaging 16.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. He went on to lead the team in offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds and blocks. He finished second in points, field goals, three-point field goals, three-point field goal percentage, steals and minutes played, and was also third in free throws and assists.

During the 2009-10 season, Singler was named the NCAA Final Four's Most Outstanding Player after averaging 20.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in wins over West Virginia and Butler. He claimed ACC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors after leading Duke to wins over Virginia, Miami and Georgia Tech, as he averaged 21.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, while shooting 50.0 percent (7-of-14) from three-point range for the tournament.

Singler also received first-team All-ACC accolades and All-American mention from The Sporting News. He started all 40 games, matching a Duke record for starts in a season, as he averaged 17.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.8 blocks and 1.0 steals per game. He posted a .415 field goal percentage (228-of-550), including .399 from three-point range (85-of-213), and also went 166-of-208 (.798) from the free throw line.

A National Player of the Year candidate as a senior, Singler received second-team All-America honors as the team co-captain started all 37 games. He averaged 16.9 points per game, along with coming up with 253 rebounds. He shot 43.0% from the field and made 80.6% of his free throws, finishing second on the squad with 60 assists and third with 34 steals.

Positives: Might be a better fit for a team looking for a combo forward, as he has a very nice mid-range shot and the ability to connect from the perimeter, but lacks quickness and lateral agility teams want in a three-forward … Compensates for a lack of speed by using his length and wingspan in attempts to alter shots as a defender (sixth player in school history to block 100 shots in a career) … Efficient ball handler who is always on the alert for open teammates when needed to kick the ball out … Rare to see him fooled by head fakes or pump fakes, as he plays with a high basketball IQ … Like Shane Battier, he gets by on his "court smarts" and shows a team-first attitude, looking to create shots for others … Better served in a half-court game, as he has the offensive moves to gain spacing to make his mid-range jumper and when trying to shoot off the dribble … Not fast, but is no slouch running the floor and is the type that moves well without the ball (led the team in charges in each of his four seasons) … Has a smooth, effortless release and his long arms let him get the ball over the out-stretched arms of smaller forwards and shooting guards forced out to the perimeter to defend him … One of the better passers in college at his position and has good court vision … Unselfish athlete who keeps his teammates involved in the action … Uses his long reach and wingspan to disrupt the passing lanes and while he needs to improve his overall strength, he likes to get physical under the basket, but needs to stay in front of his man more on defense … Can freelance off the dribble and likes to slide out to the perimeter to bait the big men to come out of the paint … Has instinctive basketball reflexes and excellent hands, moving the ball well at both ends of the court … Times his leaps well to block shots and his ball-handling ability is shown in the open court … Has the timing and hands to secure most offensive boards (when he is not out-muscled in the paint), using his arm length well to get back and defend in the lane … Works hard to prevent his man from gaining position down low, but will need to improve his upper body strength in order to be successful there at the next level … Shows strong right-handed drives to the basket, stopping sharply on his pivot foot to spin around and hit the fade-away jumper … When he holds his position and extends his arms, it makes it tough for the smaller guards to shoot over him … Does a good job of doubling in the post to force turnovers.

Negatives: Singler lacks the athleticism that Duke small forwards are traditionally known for (see Shane Battier, Grant Hill and Mike Dunleavy), as he struggles to generate much of a burst moving laterally and has to rely on his hand placement in order to stay in front of a perimeter shooter (opponents have success slashing on him) … Has a frame that could develop into a "four" forward type, but before he can hope to garner minutes at power forward, he needs to dedicate time in the weight room to add core strength, especially in his upper body … Does not have the burst and foot speed to cover the quicker small forwards and shooting guards (gets by more on court vision and IQ) … Very sluggish with his initial step off the dribble, which will lead to defensive deficiencies in the NBA … Has to learn how to maintain a lower position as a defender, as he gets too erect in his stance and with limited lateral mobility, this results in a "revolving door" for slashers to get by him … decent rebounder, but has to get more aggressive when boxing out, along with getting himself into the "fray" more attacking the glass for rebounds … More of a rhythm shooter and when he shoots with a slight hitch in his release, the ball tends to spray all over the place (also lacks creativity with his shot) … For a "big" man, he likes to take shots from a perimeter more than he should and you would like to see him improve his balance to be a more effective shooter inside the arc … A marginal finisher around the rim, he has problems getting his shot up vs. the more taller and athletic defenders … Very predictable driving into the lanes, as he more often than not will attack from the right side (has to build confidence in his off-hand).

Compares To: SHANE BATTIER, Toronto -- Some experts compare Singler to former NBAer Kiki Vandeweghe, but he is not fluid moving laterally and must improve his core strength if Singler hopes to garner some minutes at power forward. He has good long range shooting touch, much like Boris Diaw displays. Like Battier, Singler gets by mostly on his basketball IQ and determination. He is not strong enough to play power forward at the NBA level, but he has the perimeter shooting ability generally associated for the small forward slot. He needs to improve his quickness, but in a right system, where he can play as a combo type, he can give a team decent minutes coming off the bench.

--Dave-Te' Thomas

Singler was named to the NABC All-American second-team, adding All-Atlantic Coast Conference first-team honors … Member of the ACC All-Tournament first-team for the third consecutive season … Started all 37 games, becoming just the third player in school history to score at least 600 points in three consecutive seasons … Registered 625 points (16.9 ppg), as he connected on 219-of-509 field goals (43.0%), 62-of-193 three-pointers (32.1%) and 125-of-155 free throws (80.6%) … Ranked second on the team with 253 rebounds (6.8 rpg), as he dished out 60 assists (1.6 apg) to go with 12 blocked shots and 34 steals … Finished the regular season ranked among the ACC leaders in scoring (fifth), rebounding (12th), field goal percentage (sixth), free throw percentage (seventh), three-point field goals made (10th) and minutes played (second with 1,286) … Earned his 100th win as a player vs. Michigan State (12/01), becoming the 30th player in Duke history with 100 or more wins … His final total of 125 wins during his career rank second most in ACC history … Became the 11th player in school history and 43rd ACC player with 2,000 career points vs. Alabama-Birmingham (1/05), as he became one of only nine players in ACC history to record over 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career, as he notched his 1,000th career rebound vs. Michigan … Posted 10 or more points in 34 games with 12 games of 20 or more and one 30-point contest.

Fifth-team All-American choice by The Sporting News … Added All-ACC first-team honors and was named the ACC Tournament MVP, in addition to receiving NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player accolades after averaging 20.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in wins over West Virginia and Butler … Also went 6-of-11 (.545) from three-point range at Lucas Oil Stadium … Claimed ACC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors after leading Duke to wins over Virginia, Miami and Georgia Tech, as he averaged 21.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, while shooting 50.0 percent (7-of-14) from three-point range for the tournament … NABC second-team All-District II and USBWA All-District III selection … Started all 40 games, matching a Duke record for starts in a season … Averaged 17.7 points (707 total), 7.0 rebounds (280), 2.4 assists (96), 0.8 blocks (32) and 1.0 steals (37)per game … Posted a .415 field goal percentage (228-of-550), including .399 from three-point range (85-of-213) … Also went 166-of-208 (.798) from the free throw line … Finished second on the team in scoring, rebounds, field goals, three-point field goals and minutes … Led the squad in three-point field goal percentage, blocks and double-doubles … Recorded eight or more rebounds 19 times with eight double figure rebounding games.

All-ACC second-team selection, adding ACC All-Tournament first-team honors … Named the Coaches vs. Classic MVP, Coaches vs. Classic All-Tournament Team and Coaches vs. Classic Durham Regional MVP … Received All-American honorable mention from the Associated Press … The first-team All-Tournament selection averaged 18.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game and played all 120 minutes of the tournament, becoming just the second Duke player to play three straight complete games in the tournament, as he recorded nine blocks in the ACC Tournament, the fourth-most by a Duke player … Earned 2K Sports Classic MVP honors and was also named the 2K Sports Classic Durham Regional MVP after he averaged 16.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.3 steals in the four tournament games … Played in all 37 games (36 starts), averaging 16.5 points (609), 7.7 rebounds (284), 2.4 assists (89), 1.0 blocks (37) and 1.5 steals (57) per game … Produced a .441 field goal percentage (208-of-472), including .383 from three-point range (69-of-180), as he shot .713 from the foul line (124-of-174) … Led the team in offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds and blocks … Finished second in points, field goals, three-point field goals, three-point field goal percentage, steals and minutes played … Was also third in free throws and assists … Reached double figures in scoring in the final 15 games of the season.

Named ACC Rookie of the Year … Earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors four times, as he was a third-team All-ACC selection and a Freshman All-ACC pick … Third-team Freshman All-American choice by collegehoops.net and named to the NABC All-District V second- team … Added USBWA All-District III honors, in addition to being chosen EA Sports Maui Invitational Most Valuable Player … Started all 34 games for the Blue Devils, finishing second on the team in scoring (13.3 ppg.), field goals (159), three-pointers (51) and minutes played (28.6 mpg.) … Tied for the team lead in rebounding (5.8 rpg.) … Delivered a .457 field goal percentage (159-of-348), including .340 from three-point range (51-of-150) … Also shot .774 from the foul line (82-of-106) … Led the team in scoring seven times and in rebounding 14 times … Reached double-figures in scoring 25 times, including four 20-point efforts … Took a team-best 19 charges … Made at least one three-pointer in 26 games, including 16 games with two or more treys … Led the Blue Devils with four double-doubles and four games with 10 or more rebounds.

Singler started 147 of the school record (tying) 148 games that he appeared in, having a hand in 121 Duke victories, the second-highest career total by a Blue Devil … Scored at least 600 points in each of his final three seasons, joining Art Heyman (1961-63) and Christian Laettner (1989-92) as the only players in Duke history to accomplish such a feat … Ranks fourth in school history with 2,392 points scored, an average of 16.16 points per game … Made 814-of-1,879 field goals (43.3%), as his 267 successful three-pointers (736 attempts) rank fifth in school annals … Made 497-of-643 free throws (77.3%), ranking tenth in school history … Pullerd down 1,015 rebounds (6.86 rpg), finishing sixth on the Blue Devils all-time record list … Averaged 1.98 assists (293), 0.723 blocked shots (107) and 1.135 steals (168) per game … Has 129 career double-figure scoring games to rank second in Duke history … Holds the school record for minutes played in a career with 4,851 career

minutes.

USA BASKETBALL

Singler was a member member of the 2005 USA Basketball Youth Development Festival White Team that finished 5-0 to claim the gold medal, as he averaged 14.0 points and 3.4 rebounds, while shooting 60.0 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from three-point range … Named to the 2006 U18 USA Junior National Team, averaging 11.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 steals as the USA captured a 4-0 mark and the gold medal at the 2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championship … Played in the 10th Annual 2007 Nike Hoops Summit, where he scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds in the 100-80 Junior National Select victory over the World Select Team … Participated with the Men's College Select Team, as they trained with the U.S. Men's Senior National Team in Las Vegas and New York in preparation for the 2010 World Championship.

Lettered four times in basketball at South Medford (Ore.) High School … Led the Panthers to a record of 110-10 over four years, as he became the sixth-leading scorer in Oregon state history with 2,207 points … Named 2007 Oregonian Class 6A Co-Player of the Year … Two-time first team all-state selection and Southern Oregon Conference Player of the Year …

Three-time first team All-SOC and first team all-defense pick … Averaged 29.3 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game during his senior season, leading South Medford to the 2007 state championship with 18 points in the 58-54 title game, as his squad finished the year ranked 13th in USA Today's Super 25 national rankings … Scored 39 points on 16-of-26 shooting in the 99-90 loss to Oak Hill Academy and current team-mate Nolan Smith, in the Les Schwab Invitational … Selected the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions MVP and first team selection after averaging 30.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in three contests … Named a 2007 McDonald's All-American, as he went 4-of-7 from the field for 10 points in the McDonald's All-American game … Chosen to the Nike Brand All-American team … Scored 16 points to help lead the Yellow squad to a 127-119 win in the Jordan Classic … First team Parade All-America selection and first team All-USA Today pick as a senior … Second-team Parade All-American as a junior and also named to the EA Sports All-American second-team in 2006 … Averaged 20.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game, while shooting 60.6 percent from the field as a junior to lead South Medford to a 27-2 record and second place finish in the state tournament in 2006 … Guided the team to a state championship as a sophomore, averaging 19.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game … Rated the nation's fifth overall prospect and first among small forwards by Rivals.com … Also played football and baseball at South Medford, as he was an All-State selection at quarterback in 2005 … Earned 2004 All-Conference first-team honors as a tight end and as a defensive back … Was an All-Conference third-team choice at tight end and defensive back in 2003.

Visual Arts major … An avid artist, Singler designed a logo and t-shirt for teammates following Duke's 17-0 undefeated home season in 2009-10 … Has also designed covers for Blue Planet Magazine and a wall mural in the team lounge … Active in Duke's award-winning Verizon Read with the Blue Devils, a community outreach reading program in the Durham school district … Has also hosted the Kyle Singler Southern Oregon Open in Medford for the past four years with proceeds from the events benefitting Kids Unlimited …

Son of Kris and Ed Singler … Father was a quarterback at Oregon State, and his mother played basketball at Oregon State … Kurt's brother, E.J., is a sophomore basketball player at Oregon … Uncle, Rick Brosterhous, played basketball at Oregon while another uncle, Greg Brosterhous, played football at Oregon … Uncle, B.G. Brosterhous, played basketball at Texas and his father's brother, uncle Bill Singler, played football at Stanford … Cousin, Ericka Brosterhous, played basketball at Oregon State … Born Kyle Edward Singler on 5/04/88 in Medford, Oregon.