Zoubek gives Singler break from post

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski appears to be committed to keeping sophomore forward Kyle Singler from having to take a lot of punishment in the post this season.

Singler got worn down and became less effective in the late stages of last season because he had to play center. This season, Brian Zoubek is in the starting lineup at center after being limited by injuries in 2007-08.

That allows Singler to play facing the basket on offense and defend away from the low post on defense.

“There’s no question about that, (Zoubek) is something we really missed last year,” Krzyzewski said during Monday’s ACC teleconference.

Lance Thomas also is getting playing time off the bench in the post for Duke, and freshman Miles Plumlee played three minutes in the ACC opener against Virginia Tech.

“I do believe that Lance and Miles Plumlee also can help us,” Krzyzewski said. Miles as a freshman is just learning the physicality of the college game. We do have some guys there this year, and that’s a big help for us.”

– Ken Tysiac