Don’t panic—this isn’t that column. Re-read the headline. Take a deep breath.
Yes, a year ago one of my Chronicle colleagues wrote a now-infamous column advocating that Mike Krzyzewski should bench Kyle Singler. A firestorm ensued. And Singler ended up being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
Funny how things turn out.
But although no one will admit it today, last season there actually was a growing group of Duke fans that were fed up with Singler’s slump, and the Chronicle column did fairly represent those frustrations. Like it or not, there are similar rumblings now.
It’s time to calm those fans down.
Yes, the similarities between Singler’s slump last season and his current one are jarring. Last season Singler was coming off a dismal 2-for-13 shooting performance in a loss to Georgia Tech when the column was written. That poor shooting has come back in the senior’s current slump, during which he has averaged only 11 points per game in his last five contests while making less than a third of his shots.
Like last season, though, Singler has continued to play big minutes during his slump, and Duke has continued to be successful.
That is because Singler isn’t a player that can be judged solely by his scoring output. Despite Nolan Smith’s rapid maturation into one of the college game’s best players, fans often forget that opponents’ game plans still revolve around Singler more often than not. The 6-foot-8 perimeter player presents matchup problems for opponents whether he’s pulling up from 3-point range or battling in the post, something teams must design their defenses around. Singler is often guarded, then, by the opponent’s best defender, if not two of them.
An occasional slump is understandable when one has to face the opposing team’s elite defender every night.
Even when he struggles offensively, though, Singler remains one of the best defenders and rebounders in the ACC. He averages 6.3 rebounds per game, second only to Mason Plumlee for the Blue Devils, and consistently finds himself matched up against the most talented scorers in the nation—the senior held Harrison Barnes to nine points on 3-for-8 shooting against North Carolina, and he shut down Michigan State’s Draymond Green for a majority of that early season non-conference battle.
And while it’s hard to quantify one’s defensive presence statistically, consider this—Singler leads the nation in plus/minus, a statistic measuring how many more points a player’s team scores than its opponent while said player is on the floor. Yes, he’s even above Duke’s newly anointed savior in Smith, who is second on the list, and Singler’s plus/minus is 55 points higher than Jon Diebler of Ohio State’s third place total.
So despite the fact that Singler is struggling with his shot, there’s little doubt he’s still helping this team win, something that his coach firmly believes.
“We won’t win a really important game unless Kyle is playing with that spirit,” Krzyzewski said after Sunday’s game. “And if he hits his shots, then we’re a lot better. It’s kind of a phase during a season, kind of like a hitter who is a .320 hitter but is hitting .250. We think he will hit .320 and balance out for the season.”
Even if Krzyzewski’s math doesn’t quite add up (unless Singler metaphorically starts hitting above .400), don’t forget we’ve seen all this before. Singler struggled midway through conference play last season before blossoming in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments. As a senior, there’s little reason to doubt he can do so again. And even if he doesn’t, the senior will still positively impact the Blue Devils’ chances with his intensity, defense and leadership.
So, to the chagrin of trolling message-board posters everywhere, my message is this—please, don’t bench Kyle Singler.
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