Singler shining at ISI

Small forward Kyle Singler may not ooze with off the charts athleticism like his International Sports Invitational teammate and fellow small forward Bill Walker, but Singler is an above average athlete with a complete game. Always in the right position and constantly making an impact on the game, Singler, 6-foot-8, 199-pounds from South Medford (Ore.) High School, has been one of the top performers at the ISI in San Diego, Calif. Right now he has a list of five schools, but one of those schools stands above the rest.

"My top five is Arizona, Kansas, Duke, Oregon and North Carolina," said Singler, the No. 4 ranked player in the class of 2007. "All of them have offered except for Duke."

The fact that Duke has not yet offered has in no way diminished Singler's view of the Blue Devils.

"That doesn't matter to me," said Singler about not having an offer from Duke. "I love them. It is a childhood thing. I grew up watching them and have always dreamed of playing for them. You can say they are my favorite school."

Singler did note that he was open to expanding his list before he takes his official visits in the spring of his junior year. After the spring visits, he wants to cut his list to three and then make a decision some time during next summer.

One thing Singler will not be doing is taking any visits during the fall. Instead, he will be on the gridiron taking snaps under center and roaming the defensive secondary.

"I will be the starting quarterback this season," said Singler, who played tight end on the offensive side of the ball last season. "I'm really excited about it. I haven't played quarterback since middle school. My dad was a quarterback at Oregon State, and he has taught me a lot of little things about the position."

So is there any chance Singler will play football in college?

"No way," he said. "I'd get killed out there."

So far Singler has been the efficient sharp shooter at the ISI, shooting 7 of 13 from three. His 54 percent shooting from the arc is fifth best for the event. Of the USA players, he is second only behind O.J. Mayo, who has hit 10 out of 17 for 59 percent.

Singler has been the perfect outside compliment for the inside game of Greg Oden and the slashing game of Paul Harris and [/db]Bill Walker[/db]. He has done more, however, than just hit three-pointers. He is averaging a total of 16 points per game, while averaging only 17 minutes of play per game. He also is averaging 3.8 rebounds per game.

Another testament to his efficiency is his amazingly low total of only 2 turnovers for the event. He has also been a very solid defender.

As good as Singler is now, he also has a very high upside. The basketball IQ and the skills are in place, now Singler just needs to get stronger.

"I'm definitely working to get stronger," he said. "Football really helps me in that area. I lift very hard when I am home, and when I'm traveling, I am always doing push ups and things like that.

"Football also helps me because I am competing year round. If you are not doing anything but playing basketball year round, you get burned out. Playing football helps keep my intensity up."

Although the competitive level of the foreign teams at the ISI has been sub par, the very bright Singler had a very good observation about the way the foreign teams have played.

"I've really enjoyed playing in this event," he said. "I've been disappointed in how good these teams have been, but they always play hard the entire game even when they are down a lot. I really like that because it makes you keep playing. A lot of times teams in AAU quit playing when they get down."