Hodge impressed with N.C. State's newest star

Since returning to the Triangle from Australia, Julius Hodge has been everywhere -- N.C. State games, the ACC tournament, sports talk radio, cable television, Twitter -- you name it.

The 2004 ACC Player of the Year has basically been the No. 1 Wolfpack basketball fan since he moved to Morrisville after finishing his third season in Australia and first with the Melbourne Tigers.

"It's good to be back around the program," Hodge said. "I love N.C. State and I feel like I have a connection with the fan base."

That was evident at the ACC tournament where Hodge received a standing ovation -- the biggest roar of the weekend -- during State's third-round loss to Georgia Tech.

It hasn't taken Hodge, who starred for the Wolfpack from 2002-2005, long to ingratiate himself with the team's current players. He has worked out at the Dail Basketball Complex on campus and got a unique look at some of the current players and future players, including McDonald's All-American C.J. Leslie.

"C.J.'s really good," Hodge said. "He's got long arms and to be able to dribble that well and shoot like a guy that's 6-1, he's going to make the Pack a real threat."

All the new options, with Leslie and guards Ryan Harrow and Lorenzo Brown, are going to help forward Tracy Smith, Hodge said.

"I know Tracy's loving it, he finally gets a chance to play one-on-one," Hodge said.

Hodge's basketball journey after helping N.C. State to the NCAA tournament four straight years, started in the NBA with Denver in 2005-06 and then Milwaukee the next season. But his NBA career was derailed when he suffered gun-shot wounds in both legs after a drive-by shooting in April 2006.

The former first-round pick tried pro ball in Italy and France before settling in Australia. Confident as always, Hodge said he'll find a spot in the upcoming NBA summer league and a veterans camp, "if there isn't a lockout."

In the meantime, he has his young daughter Michaela to take care of -- and religiously tweet about their trips to Chuck E. Cheese -- and he'll hold his first basketball camp (camp24hodge.com) in Raleigh in early June.

-- J.P. Giglio

N.C. State's Smith to test NBA draft waters

N.C. State center Tracy Smith has entered the NBA draft but has not hired an agent, the school announced this afternoon.

Smith, who completed his junior season last month, might not even be able to work out for NBA teams because of his academic schedule before the May 8 date by which underclassmen are allowed to pull out of the draft, according to a school news release. "I love playing basketball at NC State, but this would be a win-win situation for me if I am able to take advantage of it,” Smith said in a statement. “This would give me a great opportunity to see where I stack up against other NBA prospects.”

Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe said he supports Smith's decision.

“This is a great opportunity available to college players, and we support Tracy in taking advantage of it," Lowe said. "It provides a good experience for them to see what areas of their game need improvement.” Last season Smith was named to the All-ACC second-team. He led N.C. State in scoring and 16.5 points per game and rebounding at 7.3 points per game. He is field goal percentage of .654 led the ACC.

Smith had announced in late February that he would return to N.C. State as a senior. At that time, he said he wanted to graduate and then play professional basketball.

Underclassmen who have declared for the draft, but have not hired agents, can preserve their college eligibility if they withdraw their names from consideration for the draft by May 8.

Ken Tysiac

Junior center commits to Duke

Duke, which is losing 7-foot-1 banger Brian Zoubek off its 2010 NCAA championship team, has added to its low-post presence with a commitment from 6-9 junior Tyler Adams of Brandon High in Mississippi.

Adams, who was visited last week at his high school by Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, weighs 245 pounds and plays exclusively in the lane.

Tyler is a very skilled young man, especially in the low post,” said Larry Stamps, who coaches Adams with the Jackson Panthers club team. “He definitely is a low-post center, which is unusual now because a lot of the big kids like to face up. He likes to play down low and has the body to do it.”

Rivals.com ranks Adams as the No. 81 player in the Class of 2011. Adams is Duke’s second commitment in the class, joining 6-6 small forward Michael Gbinije of Richmond, Va.

Ken Tysiac

Duke's Scheyer giving back

Senior guard Jon Scheyer is capitalizing on the notoriety he achieved while leading Duke to the NCAA championship with an event designed to give back to the community.

On May 1, the Jon Scheyer Foundation will hold "May Madness: Gaming to Give" from noon to 5 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The event will feature Halo 3 and FIFA 2010 Xbox video game tournaments, as well as live music by Nautical Young, Speak of the Devil and Point Break. In addition, Scheyer and members of the 2010 NCAA championship team will sign autographs.

General admission for May Madness will be $10 at the door, and Duke students will be admitted for $5 with their student ID. Children under the age of 12 will be admitted free of charge.

Entry forms for the video game tournaments can be found on www.jonscheyer.com. Proceeds from May Madness will benefit the Jimmy V Foundation and the Emily K Center in Durham.

Ken Tysiac

Capel new coach at Appalachian State

Jason Capel is being introduced as Appalachian State's new basketball coach at a news conference later this afternoon in Boone.
Capel, 30, will be the youngest coach in NCAA Division I (three months, six days younter than Wisconsin-Green Bay's Brian Wardle).
Capel, a former North Carolina player, has been in coaching one season. He was an assistant last season for Buzz Peterson, who resigned last week to take the job at UNC Wilmington.
Capel's brother Jeff is coach at Oklahoma and his father Jeff is an assistant with the Charlotte Bobcats.
Capel takes over a Mountaineers program that was 24-13 last season and played in the Southern Conference championship game. Among the players returning to Appalachian next season are guard Donald Sims, the league's player of the year. -- David Scott

Gardner-Webb announcement Thursday

Gardner-Webb has called a news conference for Thursday morning to introduce its new basketball coach. According to Foxsports.com, it's expected to be Ohio assistant and former Bulldogs associate head coach Chris Holtmann.
Holtmann was with the Bulldogs for five seasons under former coach Rick Scruggs, who was fired.
Holtmann has been an assistant at Ohio for two seasons under coach John Groce, a former N.C. State assistant. He's also been an assistant at Taylor (Ind.) and Geneva (Pa.).
Holtmann is a defensive specialist. While he was at Gardner-Webb, the Bulldogs were among the Atlantic Sun's better defensive teams, leading the league in field-goal percentage in 2007-08.
Gardner-Webb is now in the Big South. -- David Scott

Joyner Jr. gets WSSU women's job

Steve Joyner Jr., an assistant coach at Florida A&M and son of Johnson C. Smith men's coach Steve Joyner, is Winston-Salem State's new women's basketball coach.
Joyner, 30, a former point guard at Smith, has been an assistant men's coach at Livingstone and an assistant women's coach at N.C. Central, UNC Asheville and Smith before working at Florida A&M the past two seasons. -- David Scott

Singler's return makes Duke a favorite

Forward Kyle Singler announced Monday night that he will return to Duke for his senior season, paving the way for the Blue Devils to be ranked in the national top 10 and possibly as high as No. 1 in the preseason polls.

As a junior last season, Singler was named the most outstanding player of the Final Four after scoring a game-high 19 points in Duke’s 61-59 win over Butler in the NCAA championship game on April 5 in Indianapolis.

"I love being here at Duke and am excited about next year,” Singler said in a statement released by the school. “I had two great options in front of me, but I did not want to miss out on all of the great things to come in a senior season.”

Singler averaged 17.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists last season while leading the Blue Devils to a 35-5 record and their fourth NCAA title. His return will make Duke an overwhelming favorite to win the ACC.

Duke is losing senior starters Jon Scheyer, Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas off the NCAA championship team.

"I have to think that it puts them pretty high in the pecking order,” veteran TV analyst Dan Bonner said of Singler’s return. “Definitely I would say a preseason top 10. Obviously they lost Jon Scheyer and they don’t have Zoubek [or Thomas]. . . .Those are three pretty important guys, and I don’t think you can automatically say that makes them a Final Four pick because those are significant losses and they’ll have to deal with that.”

ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said Singler’s return will make the Blue Devils a top candidate for the No. 1 spot in the preseason polls along with Michigan State and possibly Purdue if all of the Boilermakers’ underclassmen return.

Guard Nolan Smith, who averaged 17.4 points per game last season, also returns as a senior to combine with Singler to give the Blue Devils plenty of experience. Duke also has two talented post players returning in Mason and Miles Plumlee.

Highly rated point guard recruit Kyrie Irving, who’s been compared to former Duke standout Jason Williams, will join the team next season. And shooting guard Seth Curry – who led the nation’s freshmen in scoring for Liberty in 2008-09 before transferring to Duke – will become eligible in what could be a loaded backcourt.

"That makes Duke the most formidable team,” Bilas said of Singler’s return. “Even thought they lost a lot, to have Singler and Nolan Smith and a guard like Kyrie Irving coming in, that puts them near the top rung in that conversation.”

Singler is expected to holding a news conference Tuesday morning to discuss his decision. Efforts to reach his father, Ed Singler, on Monday night were unsuccessful.

Ed Singler said last week that his son’s performance in the NCAA tournament had improved his standing with NBA scouts. Information Ed Singler was getting indicated that Singler made himself a likely first-round pick, with a forecasted draft position somewhere between the teens and the 30th and final selection of the first round

One question that remains is what role Singler, who’s 6-foot-8, will fill next season. He played power forward and even some center during his first two seasons, but played mostly on the wing as a junior on a team that lacked backcourt depth.

With Smith, Irving, Curry and Andre Dawkins on the roster next season, though, Duke will be strong on the perimeter. And the departures of Thomas and Zoubek in the post leave the Blue Devils a bit thin when it comes to big men.

In a statement Monday night, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said only that he is looking forward to coaching Singler in his senior season and seeing him develop more as a player and a leader. Bilas predicted that Krzyzewski will use Singler like a queen on a chess board, using him in a multitude of roles as necessary without the constraint of naming a position for him.

However Duke uses him, it’s clear that the Blue Devils will be a lot better with Singler in the lineup.

"To have a senior of his caliber is really unusual,” Bilas said. “That’s a nice thing for any coach to have a senior with his talent level back.”

Ken Tysiac

Singler to remain at Duke

Duke's Kyle Singler announced tonight that he would forego the chance to enter the NBA draft and would stay in school for his senior year.

"I love being here at Duke and am excited about next year," he said in a statement. "I had two great options in front of me, but I did not want to miss out on all the great things to come in a senior year."

Singler was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2010 Final Four as the Blue Devils won the national championship. He averaged 17.7 points and 7.0 rebounds as a junior.

"I am looking forward to coaching Kyle in his senior year and seeing him develop more as a player and as a leader," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement.

Chip Alexander

Report: Buzz to UNC Wilmington

UNC Wilmington has hired Buzz Peterson as its new men's basketball coach, Foxsports.com is reporting.

Peterson will be introduced at a 4:30 news conference this afternoon.

Peterson has just completed one season at Appalachian State, where he led the Mountaineers to the Southern Conference tournament championship game and 23 victories. Peterson began his head coaching career at Appalachian from 1996-2000, and has since coached at Tulsa, Tennessee and Coastal Carolina, in addition to serving as director of player of personnel with the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Wilmington job had been open since Benny Moss was fired in January. The Seahawks were 9-22 last season. -- David Scott