WRAL Sports Fan

Duke

Duke's Singler to return for junior season, Henderson will wait to make decision

By Jake Lloyd

Mar 27, 2009

Kyle Singler said he’s definitely coming back. Duke fans will have to wait longer to find out Gerald Henderson’s fate.

Singler, a sophomore forward, said after Duke’s season-ending 77-54 loss to Villanova Thursday night that he plans on returning to the Blue Devils for his junior season.

“Well, I’m coming back next year,” Singler said when asked about his future. “So that’s all that’s to that.”

ESPN.com draft expert Chad Ford has Singler listed as an early second-round pick if he comes out, but that doesn’t look to be the case.

The future of Henderson, a junior, appears more up in the air. If he declared for the draft, he’d almost definitely be a first-round selection and maybe even a lottery pick.

Outside of his Sweet 16 performance against the Wildcats, he certainly helped his case down the stretch this season, playing the best basketball of his career during the conference season and parts of the postseason.

He was mum on the topic in the immediate aftermath of Duke’s season-ending loss Thursday night.

“Now is really not the time for that,” Henderson said. “I’ll make a decision on that, but just not now.”

Ford lists Henderson as his 19th best prospect.

Entering the game against the Wildcats, Henderson led Duke in scoring (16.8 ppg) and also averaged 4.8 rebounds per game.

Singler was Duke’s second-best scorer (16.5 ppg) and best rebounder (7.7 rpg).