DURHAM, N.C. - Junior Kyle Singler was chosen as a preseason first team All-America selection by FoxSports.com on Wednesday.
Singler joins senior Luke Harangody of Notre Dame, freshman Derrick Favors of Georgia Tech, freshman John Wall of Kentucky and sophomore Willie Warren of Oklahoma on the first team.
For his career Singler has tallied 1,060 points, 482 rebounds, 137 assists, 63 blocked shots and 93 steals. He is one of only six players in school history to score over 1,000 points during their sophomore season. He became the 59th player at Duke with over 1,000 career points and 70th player to score over 500 points in one season last year.
In 2008-09, Singler averaged 16.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while leading Duke to a 30-7 record, ACC Tournament Championship and NCAA Sweet 16. He reached double figures in scoring 34 times with 20 or more points in 11 contests. He also had nine double-doubles on the year.
Duke will begin the 2009-10 regular season on Friday, Nov. 13 at home against UNC Greensboro.
Coach K will lead Team USA through 2012 - Photo c/r Blue Devil Nation
The Blue Devil Nation would like to congratulate Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski for being selected to lead Team USA through the 2012 Olympics. The following is Part I of Krzyzewski's interview with the media. Simply hit play and turn the volume up. If you have a lap top, ear buds are suggested.
A.P. Duke Assistant Coach Nate James flushes a dunk during his playing days at Duke
I had the opportunity to interview Nate James for the third year in a row to talk about his basketball camp and, this year, about his first season as a coach. James spoke of the challenges that lie ahead, his role on the team, a soon-to-be child, and more. Nate strolled in still in tip-top shape, making it obvious that he still pumps iron. James has always been known for his toughness and I took the opportunity to slip in a question designed to get his "Dogg" juices flowing.
BDN greatly appreciates those who helped send the kids I work with in Roxboro, North Carolina, to last year's camp. Be sure to mention that BDN sent you if you decide to send your kids there. Enjoy the interview -
This is Mark Watson of Blue Devil Nation and I am sitting here with Duke Assistant Men's Basketball Coach, Nate James. Nate, you have a camp coming up and we worked with you last year to send some kids, thanks to donations from readers of the Blue Devil Nation. I am thankful that people stepped up to send Corey and Ridge (pictured in article) and those guys had a good time. Why don't you tell us about the James-Carrawell Camp.
It's a camp we've been doing at the Durham Academy the past four years and it's been a great thing for us and the community. It's a way for us to give back to the community and the City of Durham and surrounding areas. This is our home away from home. Of course, I am from Maryland and Carrawell is from St. Louis, but I've been in the Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill area for so long that I wanted to do this camp to give back to the kids.
If somebody wanted to send in some money for a scholarship, how would they do that? I will gladly take donations through my site as we did last year, but if they didn't want to do that and instead go directly to you, how would they do that?
We have a website - Nate James-Chris Carawell Basketball Camp - and you will find more information and the address. Any amount is welcome, for every little bit helps the kids. You can also contact us by phone and whatever you want to do, you can. The last few years we've had a lot of people sponsoring some kids and it's been a big-time help and we are grateful for the support. It's $200.00 per camper and if a kid can't afford the amount that goes to work with them, be it a full or partial scholarship. It's not just if a parent can;t afford it, it goes deeper than that. It has to be a good kid, they have to be doing well in school, they have to be deserving and we have a program where they have to submit essays to really earn that scholarship. It's been a good thing and we have had a lot of feedback and guarantee that your child will have a good time.
Let's talk about your first season as an assistant coach with Duke...
You really learn a lot and you are learning under the best coach in the business and tutored by the best associate head coaches in the business. When I first came in I didn't know what my role would be, but Coach K tells us to follow our instincts and do what you do best and I know the game so I was able to lock in with a couple of the guys and teach them the game and what I know. It was a terrific season for us. I don't want to say we overachieved, but we won a lot of ball games and did a lot of things people didn't think we could do.
Duke obviously lost two very athletic and talented players in Elliot Williams and new Charlotte Bobcat, Gerald Henderson. What are your thoughts on the team this upcoming season? I mean, I know you guys never despair and Coach K always works on what he has and builds upon that. Can you give me your thoughts on the coming season?
Obviously, when you lose two of your best athletes and your best player in Gerald Henderson going in the lottery at 12th, which is a good thing because he stays close to home and we can check some of his games out, but whenever you lose two good players it's tough. Losing Elliot Williams due to some family issues where he wanted to go back home is tough. We had hoped he would come in and fill some of that void Gerald left, but I spoke to the team and told them that it reminded me of the season everybody left for the NBA and people didn't think we were going to be very good. Shane, Chris Carawell and myself took advantage of that possibility. I took that as a chance to let the world know who I was, going from a 4 ppg scorer to 12 or 13 that year. A lot for the players for this year's team ... I told them this is an opportunity to come in and let the world know who you are. If you didn't get as much playing time as you wanted last year or your scoring average wasn't what you wanted it to be, you can now step up. I think a lot of our players can step up and we look at this as a challenge just like that year we were predicted not to do so well and we ended up winning the ACC regular season and tournament championship.
A lot of people forget that Nate James was the three point shooting contest winner at the McDonald's All American game. What happened to that shot? [in jest]
What happened to my shot? [competitive nature came out]
Yeah, did Coach K say, "I'm not going to let Nate take the three at Duke?"
[Nate was like, "what are you talking about," with forehead crinkled and a serious look on his face] I took a lot of threes. That was my thing, you watch the film, you are going to see me shoot a lot of threes in that corner, we ran that patented LA offense. With Jason coming off that top screen with Shane Battier and he'd either penetrate or kick it up top and if the draw wasn't there he would hit me in the corner, so it was definitely there.
Okay, I'm just kidding with you and wanted to see the juices flow. [smiling]
[smiling] Yeah, yeah. Hey, thinking back on it I should have shot a lot more. Anyway, I try to pass that on to the other guys. We are going to need Kyle and Jon to shoot a lot of threes and our big guys need to step up. I think it's going to be a great season and a great opportunity for all those guys and we'll win a lot of ball games.
I know you can't talk about recruiting, but the future looks bright and you've been a part of that. You will be out on the trail this week, right?
Yes, I will be leaving July 6th to hit the recruiting trail. I will hit the LeBron James Camp up where I will get a chance to see who we are recruiting, but I won't be on the road too long this year. My wife and I are expecting a child, so I definitely cannot miss that because that would be the end of Nate James. [smiling] But I'm excited about everything that is going on this summer ... my camp, the recruiting trail, the birth of my first child. It's been a great June and it's carrying over into July.
Congratulations from the Blue Devil Nation on the soon to be birth. Boy or a girl?
A boy. [obvious glee of accomplishment on his face]
Okay, Nate junior! So, will he be wearing the royal blue one day?
Well, I told my wife I won't push the game on him but if that is something he wants to pursue, I am going to give him all the tools he needs to be successful - only if he wants to play. But if he does, I know he's going to be a bad boy, I already know. [wide grin]. His Dad wasn't a slouch and he's got the James name so he will not be a slouch either. It's an exciting thing as anybody with kids knows out there. I'm already a proud father-to-be and looking forward to seeing him in a couple of weeks.
Now [pause], how long before he's call the little dogg? [Nate's nickname in college was Nate "Dogg"]
[laughs] Well, we are still trying to figure out what we'll call him. You know, I'm a junior so my family always called me little Nate and my wife is not a big fan of the third. So, any suggestions out there, send them my way.
The hard nosed Nate James! Thanks for your time and best of luck in all that you do.
Thanks.
BDN will have an article up later this week on two of the campers BDN supporters sent to the camp last season.
Mason Plumlee, Kyle Singler and Miles Plumlee - copyright BDN Photo
The 2009 NC Pro Am kicked off tonight at North Carolina Central and Duke was represented by the Plumlee brothers, Kyle Singler and Ryan Kelly. Players from all over the state compete in the event. Those players could be in high school, college, retired or the pro's. For instance, the Charlotte Bobcat's Sean May played tonight and Jerry Stackhouse and others will hit the floor before the event is over.
Ryan Kelly played in the first game and his team squeaked out a win in double overtime. Kelly ended the night with 14 points. Kelly set a lot of high picks, but he seldom got the ball back on the roll. He had one key block to help send the game to overtime. There was one sequence where Kelly had his shot blocked but recovered the ball to put in a jump shot. On the next possession, Kelly threw down a dunk.
In a bit of irony, Mason Plumlee faced off against brother Miles Plumlee and his teammate Kyle Singler. Much like last year, the refs seemed to have quick whistles on the Dukies, with all three collecting nine combined fouls in the first nine minutes of the game. Most of those calls came late or from perceived contact.
Ryan Kelly - BDN Photo
The refs let the teams play in the second half and that made for an entertaining game where the lead exchanged hands several times. Singler was his usual steady self in that he did pretty much everything on his way to 14 points. As our premium members know, Singler will now head to the LeBron James Skills Academy to finish out the week.
His teammate Miles Plumlee scored 6 points and showed a good handle with the ball. Both Singler and [Miles] Plumlee had a bushel of rebounds in the contest. They were also assisted by ex-UNC star Jawad Williams who scored 18 second half points, but despite their efforts, they came up short.
On the other hand, Mason Plumlee showed that he will be a force this season by leading his winning team in scoring with 16 points, several of those coming on solid dunks. There was one play where a driving guard bounced the ball high and Mason ran behind him on that break to catch it for a dunk which drew a good crowd response. He later threw down another reverse dunk as the PA announcer said, "Mason Plumlee has arrived and is in the house." But the dunk which brought the most oohs from the fans was when he went down the baseline and crammed an authoritative power dunk on his brother.
The action will continue and if you are in the Triangle area, admission is absolutely free. Here is the web site for more details -Link to NC Pro Am
We'll discuss the Duke players more thoroughly on the BDNP Message Board.
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke sophomore Olek Czyz had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last week to remove loose cartilage. The surgery was successfully performed by Dr. Dean Taylor and Czyz is expected to be out of action for the next four weeks.
"Olek had a minor knee surgery last week and is expected to make a full recovery," said head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "We are looking forward to Olek getting back out on the court to continue his development in our program."
Czyz, a Reno, Nevada, product, played in 13 games as a true freshman. He scored eight points and grabbed 12 rebounds in 51 minutes. Czyz helped the Blue Devils to a 30-7 record, the ACC Championship and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2008-09.
Hurley and his assistants led his team to the title during the recent Coach K Academy
It's always good to see former Duke All American Bobby Hurley for he brings back nothing but great memories from his playing days at Duke University. Hurley remains the NCAA's All Time Assist leader to this day and he of course quarterbacked Duke to back to back national championships in 1991 and 1992 and participated three final fours and three national championship games.
His roots at basketball crazy St. Anthony's in New Jersey are worn on his sleeve where he is quick to talk about his Dad Bob and his brother, Danny. Hurley was a first team All American as a senior in 1993 and was named to numerous AA teams during his successful career. He still holds the Blue Devils single game assist record and his jersey number 11 hangs in the rafters of Cameron Indoor Stadium.
It's worth noting that Hurley was named the Final Four MVP in 92 and that he was the 7th pick in the NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings. Hurley's pro career was cut short after a car hit his automobile after a Kings practice. Hurley's knee injury kept him from doing the things he is accustomed to on the court and his fabulous career on the court came to an end shortly thereafter.
Hurley know lives in Florida where he enjoys raising his sons and partaking in horse racing. The following audio interview was conducted by Brian Strickland of the Herald Sun and myself with a few other questions from others towards the end. We hope you enjoy hearing from this ACC legend as much as we did during our chat. For more interviews with former players and Duke basketball prospects, join our subscription service Blue Devil Nation Premium.
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