Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus #7 UConn on March 29, 2026 , Loss , 72, to, 73
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Final
Men's Basketball
72
vs #7 UConn
73
Featherston: Singler Continues To Support Youth Hoops With Hometown Tournament
5/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. ? Kyle Singler won considerable acclaim last season as a freshman at Duke, earning ACC rookie of the year honors for the Blue Devils.
But the young Blue Devil basketball standout was already a hero in his southern Oregon hometown of Medford. And a year ago, as Singler was completing his senior season at South Medford High School, he decided to put his notoriety to work. He used his name to create a youth basketball tournament to benefit basketball for youngsters in his area.
Singler was back home last week for the Second Annual Kyle Singler Southern Oregon Open Tournament ? an event that attracted more than 60 teams from three states and may have raised as much as $10,000 for youth basketball.
“We've got teams from California, Washington and all over Oregon,” Singler said. “We had boys and girls from fifth grade to eighth grade. This is a good thing for Medford and a good thing for youth basketball.”
The idea for the tournament came to Singler last year as he was contemplating a senior project ? students at South Medford are required to participate in some kind of community based volunteer project in order to graduate.
“A lot of kids don't take it that seriously,” Singler said. “I thought, ?Why don't I do something I can sustain?' I started thinking about a tournament for kids that don't always have the best chance to play.”
Singler connected with Tom Cole, the executive director of Kids Unlimited, an after-school program for disadvantaged kids, through his sister. Cole helped the young basketball star bring his plan together. They lined up courts at local high school and middle schools, lined up officials and game managers and sent out flyers to youth and AAU teams along the West Coast.
The first Kyle Singler Tournament drew almost 30 teams and more than 250 participants.
“We doubled that this year,” Singler said.
The tournament has become something of a Singler family project. His parents took over a lot of the planning that Kyle did on his own last year, allowing him more time to interact with the kids.
“I'm friends with a lot of the little kids, which is cool,” he told the Medford Mail Tribune. “They definitely look up to me. It makes me happy that kids see me as a role model. Sometimes you have kids who will just stop and stare at you, but it's always fun.”
Singler spent the three days of the tournament at a variety of tasks. Sometimes he kept the scorebook for games and sometimes he worked the clock. Mostly, he just mixed with the kids.
“Luckily, I didn't have to officiate,” he laughed. “My role was mostly to be around for the kids. I talked with them. I signed a lot of autographs. I bounced around from gym to gym.”
Singler spoke at a tournament-sponsored breakfast meeting, telling the kids “about how hard work helped me accomplish what I did in basketball.”
The Duke standout also participated in a charity auction dinner. Singler joined former NFL safety Chad Cota in the affair, held to raise money for Kids Unlimited and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. In the past, Cota had sponsored the tournament with former NFL star Ronnie Lott, but with Lott unable to participate, he asked Singler to help.
“Kyle is the perfect candidate,” Cota told the Mail Tribune. “He's had an incredible career so far, and I'm sure he has a big future. People can relate to and get behind a guy from our area. It was a no-brainer. He has such a presence on the basketball court, and he's such a great individual off the court. With his presence and influence, he can do some good things.”
Singler is hoping to build on his youth tournament. Now that the “Second Annual” event is completed, he's already looking ahead to the Third Annual ... and beyond that the Fifth Annual ... the 15th Annual ...
“That would be great,” he said. “I hope it does go on and on.”
Singler's more short-term goal is to great ready for next season at Duke. He's planning to return to Durham in late June for some summer school.
“With the Olympics this summer, there are no USA Basketball events,” he said. “I will be participating in two camps, as a counselor. Plus, we'll have a lot of pickup games.”
Singler doesn't have any one aspect of his game to focus on this summer. He wants to get a bit stronger and to “add a few pounds” but his main focus is just polishing a game that was pretty effective last season.
“I do want to work on a lot of things,” he said. “I learned a lot playing a year of college basketball. Basically, I just need to refine my skills.”
It's exciting to imagine how good Singler can be at Duke. Just keep in mind the stature he's already achieved back in his hometown in Oregon.
But the young Blue Devil basketball standout was already a hero in his southern Oregon hometown of Medford. And a year ago, as Singler was completing his senior season at South Medford High School, he decided to put his notoriety to work. He used his name to create a youth basketball tournament to benefit basketball for youngsters in his area.
Singler was back home last week for the Second Annual Kyle Singler Southern Oregon Open Tournament ? an event that attracted more than 60 teams from three states and may have raised as much as $10,000 for youth basketball.
“We've got teams from California, Washington and all over Oregon,” Singler said. “We had boys and girls from fifth grade to eighth grade. This is a good thing for Medford and a good thing for youth basketball.”
The idea for the tournament came to Singler last year as he was contemplating a senior project ? students at South Medford are required to participate in some kind of community based volunteer project in order to graduate.
“A lot of kids don't take it that seriously,” Singler said. “I thought, ?Why don't I do something I can sustain?' I started thinking about a tournament for kids that don't always have the best chance to play.”
Singler connected with Tom Cole, the executive director of Kids Unlimited, an after-school program for disadvantaged kids, through his sister. Cole helped the young basketball star bring his plan together. They lined up courts at local high school and middle schools, lined up officials and game managers and sent out flyers to youth and AAU teams along the West Coast.
The first Kyle Singler Tournament drew almost 30 teams and more than 250 participants.
“We doubled that this year,” Singler said.
The tournament has become something of a Singler family project. His parents took over a lot of the planning that Kyle did on his own last year, allowing him more time to interact with the kids.
“I'm friends with a lot of the little kids, which is cool,” he told the Medford Mail Tribune. “They definitely look up to me. It makes me happy that kids see me as a role model. Sometimes you have kids who will just stop and stare at you, but it's always fun.”
Singler spent the three days of the tournament at a variety of tasks. Sometimes he kept the scorebook for games and sometimes he worked the clock. Mostly, he just mixed with the kids.
“Luckily, I didn't have to officiate,” he laughed. “My role was mostly to be around for the kids. I talked with them. I signed a lot of autographs. I bounced around from gym to gym.”
Singler spoke at a tournament-sponsored breakfast meeting, telling the kids “about how hard work helped me accomplish what I did in basketball.”
The Duke standout also participated in a charity auction dinner. Singler joined former NFL safety Chad Cota in the affair, held to raise money for Kids Unlimited and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. In the past, Cota had sponsored the tournament with former NFL star Ronnie Lott, but with Lott unable to participate, he asked Singler to help.
“Kyle is the perfect candidate,” Cota told the Mail Tribune. “He's had an incredible career so far, and I'm sure he has a big future. People can relate to and get behind a guy from our area. It was a no-brainer. He has such a presence on the basketball court, and he's such a great individual off the court. With his presence and influence, he can do some good things.”
Singler is hoping to build on his youth tournament. Now that the “Second Annual” event is completed, he's already looking ahead to the Third Annual ... and beyond that the Fifth Annual ... the 15th Annual ...
“That would be great,” he said. “I hope it does go on and on.”
Singler's more short-term goal is to great ready for next season at Duke. He's planning to return to Durham in late June for some summer school.
“With the Olympics this summer, there are no USA Basketball events,” he said. “I will be participating in two camps, as a counselor. Plus, we'll have a lot of pickup games.”
Singler doesn't have any one aspect of his game to focus on this summer. He wants to get a bit stronger and to “add a few pounds” but his main focus is just polishing a game that was pretty effective last season.
“I do want to work on a lot of things,” he said. “I learned a lot playing a year of college basketball. Basically, I just need to refine my skills.”
It's exciting to imagine how good Singler can be at Duke. Just keep in mind the stature he's already achieved back in his hometown in Oregon.
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