It was a familiar snapshot from last year: Kyle Singler looking battered and bruised after matching up with the biggest man on the court. Toward the end of the season, there was rarely a contest in which the ACC Rookie of the Year did not have facial wounds torn open and blood streaming down his face.
It was easy to spot the physical wear and tear-that was only the half of it, though. Singler was dealing with a lot of new elements-new school, new teammates, new expectations and a new role on the court-and it all combined to wear him down mentally, too. He described it as feeling like a "new fish in a new pond swimming alone," so he made a decision he hoped would benefit both his mind and body-: He went home for the first part of the summer.
After finding refuge in the familiar confines of Medford, Ore., he focused on the tools he would need to improve himself physically as a basketball player-.
That is, he picked up a knife and a fork.
"It started pretty much right after the season," Singler said of his eating training for this year's campaign. "I made a commitment of eating a lot of food. I don't want to put a number on it, but I ate as much as I could back home. I really didn't work out as much, so I just packed on the pounds. And then I came back to school and started lifting really hard, and I put on about 20 pounds.
"I gained a lot of muscle over the summer. That will just help me with the length of the season. I felt like last year, I kind of wore out. There was nothing I could do to prevent that, but I'm a lot stronger [this season]. I know what to expect now."
Those additional 20 pounds will certainly help Singler when he finds himself under the rim battling for rebounding position against the best big men in the ACC, including National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough. What will help him-and Duke-even more, though, is the return of a healthy Brian Zoubek.
Zoubek admitted that his leg strength and conditioning may not be at 100 percent yet as he continues to recover from foot surgery performed in April. A full-strength Zoubek, however, could be one of the keys to this year's success.
"We potentially are a very good basketball team because we have great guys and really good talent," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We have to figure out how to complement one another, but we can play a lot of people. We're healthy now-God forbid we have any injuries, but if we did, we probably wouldn't take a dip like you might take otherwise.
"One of the things that hurt us last year was Zoubek being out. Whether he was going to be a star or a 12- or 18-minute starter, those were minutes that Lance [Thomas] and Kyle had to stay in there and guard another big guy. The guy it took its toll on was Kyle. That's the one thing that had nothing to do with expectation. That shouldn't happen this year."
Zoubek, like Singler, came back with more muscle. And, like Singler, he did it by making sure his knife and fork were never out of arm's reach.
"It was hard putting the weight on, but I feel good about it," Zoubek said. "I have to eat all day. Every chance you get, you've got to get a meal in. That's the major thing-you eat after you lift. You can lift as much as you want, but if you don't eat the right things [and] you don't eat consistently, then you are not going to get bigger. I had to cut down on the Krispy Kremes for a little bit."
Barring any serious injuries, Zoubek will almost certainly eat up more minutes per game than the 10.5 he averaged last year. By doing this, he allows the Blue Devils the luxury of using Singler-their second-leading scorer from last year, primarily as a power forward and not as a center-leading to easier scoring opportunities.
"The great thing for Kyle is that there will be a couple of guys that can really take that five position and force him out to the perimeter more," Zoubek said. "That will allow him to do what he likes to do a little bit more. That will open him up, and it will give our team a huge boost."
Another boost for the frontcourt has come in the addition of freshman Miles Plumlee. The 6-foot-10 power forward's biggest impact is felt daily on the practice court by Zoubek in particular.
"Not only can we sub in for each other during the games and help each other out, but playing against each other every day in practice is huge," Zoubek said. "If you don't have someone like that to play against every single day, then you are not going to be used to it when you actually have to play against someone like that."
And the addition of another big man pays dividends off the court, too. After all, it gives Singler and Zoubek another eating buddy.
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