Singler gives verbal commitment to sign with Duke

The future continues to look bright for the Blue Devils.

Six-foot-8 forward Kyle Singler, the fourth-ranked recruit in the Class of 2007 and the top player at his position according to scout.com, has given a verbal commitment to attend Duke. He chose Duke over his two other finalists, Kansas and Arizona.

"Duke has always been the school on top of his list," said Singler's father, Ed. "It really boiled down to where he felt most comfortable in the opportunity to grow as person and athlete. At Duke, he could get a great education and be around the people and a program that could help him become the best person he could possibly be."

After visiting Kansas on his final official visit two weekends ago, Kyle Singler took a little more than a week to evaluate his options. Duke won out in the end--in part because they didn't pull any stunts to try and impress him, his father said.

"Kansas gave him something to think about," Ed Singler said. "It wasn't a matter of a good program versus a bad program. They were all great programs."

The sweet-shooting Singler, who can play both forward positions, had been Duke's top remaining target for next season's incoming class. Point guard Nolan Smith and wing Taylor King had given verbal commitments to Duke in the spring.

"Singler has the whole package--he's the star that Duke was lacking in this class," said Jeff Goodman, who covers recruiting for scout.com and is the lead basketball writer for foxsports.com. "There are very few guys that don't have any holes in their game or character. In my mind, he's the guy in his class who will make the biggest impact in the college game."

The Blue Devils are also continuing to recruit 6-foot-8 forward Patrick Patterson out of West Virginia, even though Singler's verbal commitment would appear to fill the scholarship limit of 13 for next season.