Singler's Magnificent Performance Propels Duke

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Lost in the discussion of the Blue Devils 87-71 win over Maryland in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, was the performance of senior forward Kyle Singler.

The post-game discussion focused on Nolan Smith leaving the game in the second half with a toe injury and Kyrie Irving going through pre-game workouts on the Greensboro Coliseum floor for the world to see, but the magnificent performance from Singler should have been the talk of the day from the ACC Tournament.

Coach K was aware of what the senior was able to do on the court Friday night.

"Kyle had a magnificent game," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said of his senior captain.

In typical Singler fashion though, he downplayed his performance.

"Well again, I don't know if you could call it that great," Singler said. "I got a couple lay ins, a couple little 15-footers, I missed my threes, but I'm going to not worry about that and keep on shooting and I guarantee that they are going to start going in. That is the type of player that I am."

That is the type of player Singler is, one who always sees what he can do better, rather than looking at what he did accomplish.

Since he won't talk about it, I will. The Medford, Ore., native, scored a game-high 29 points to go along with nine rebounds, two assists and one steal, while shooting 10-of-15 (.667) from the floor and going a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line.

Singler got hot early, scoring six of Duke's first eight points. He scored the game's first points on a turnaround jumper on the baseline and then hit another outside jumper, before corralling a loose ball and pushing the basketball the length of the court for the transition lay in.

For the first half Singler was perfect from the floor, scoring 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting from the free throw line. His first miss from the field came with 16:33 remaining in the second half, after making his first six shots.

"I got open shots," Singler said. "I took them. I don't know if that helped me throughout the game but it was nice to see the ball go in and [I'm] just trying to win the game. That is basically my mindset."

Well winning and concern for the Blue Devils other senior captain, Smith, who left the game with 6:49 remaining because of an injury to what Krzyzewski referred to as 'his second toe'.

"I was just concerned for Nolan," Singler said. "I wasn't feeling any pressure [to perform] I was just hoping he didn't get seriously hurt. I have full confidence and the team has full confidence in the guys on the team so when Andre came in and Seth at the point I felt comfortable and the team felt comfortable."

Singler has been a thorn in the side of the Terrapins all season. He netted 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Duke's first win against Maryland this season. Then for an encore, he scored 22 points and grabbed six rebounds in another Blue Devils victory, this one coming from College Park, Md.

His performance from Greensboro, though, may have been his best. His 29 points tonight moves him up three spots on the ACC career scoring list. Singler now ranks eighth all-time as he passed N.C. State's David Thompson, Virginia's Jeff Lamp and Duke's Mike Gminski. He now ranks fourth on the Duke career list.

"A big part of the game was Kyle and how he handles the ball against the press as far as inbounding the ball. Each of the three games we have played against Maryland Kyle has been flawless, really, as far as inbounding the ball," Krzyzewski said. "He also usually doesn't have the ball at the end of the clock, with open or a drag or a ball screen and he showed me he could do that today. I guess he was telling me why don't we do that for him now."

With or without Smith tomorrow, expect Singler to have the ball in any situation.