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It's hard to imagine Duke basketball without Kyle Singler.

The ultimate teammate has been the Blue Devils' second-leading scorer four years in a row. He ranks fourth on Duke's all-time scoring list behind J.J. Redick, Johnny Dawkins and Christian Laettner.

Singler and Laettner share the school record with 148 games played. Singler started 147, a school record. He played in 125 victories, second only to Shane Battier (131) in Duke — and ACC — history.

But now Singler is done.

So is ACC player of the year Nolan Smith, the voice of Duke basketball this season, whose career got off to a much slower start than Singler's but ended as a contender for national player of the year.

Singler and Smith won a national championship together as juniors last season, when Duke started three seniors around them: Jon Scheyer, Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas.

This season, Singler and Smith led a younger group 2,200 miles west to Anaheim, Calif., and fell in the Sweet 16 to Arizona.

Now it's that group's turn. At least most of that group.

Freshman phenom Kyrie Irving, who scored 28 points off the bench in the loss to Arizona, told media "I could definitely see myself wearing a Duke uniform again" after the game.

Don't count on it. Irving is a projected lottery pick in every NBA mock draft. And he called the NCAA tournament "a once-in-a-lifetime experience" when he returned to the court last week in Charlotte.

He missed more than three months this season with a toe injury, an eye-opener showing exactly how fragile an athlete's career is.

Singler came back after last season, but that was different. He was projected as a second-round pick and got advice on how to improve his NBA stock.

"It was mostly personal," Singler said Wednesday of his decision. "&ellipses; Coming back wasn't to break any records. I just wanted to come back and experience my senior year."

Even in the midst of an awful shooting slump late in the season, Singler said it was the right move.

"Once I made my decision, I never went back on it or even rethought about it," Singler said. "It's been everything that I expected. Of course you're going to have your ups and downs throughout a season, but I definitely never regretted it."

Now it's over. Now, Duke basketball belongs to guards Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins, who will be juniors next season. It belongs to 6-foot-11 Ryan Kelly and the 6-foot-10 Plumlee brothers, Mason and Miles.

The three big men fell flat against Arizona, combining for 10 points and 12 rebounds on 4-for-11 shooting. Wildcats star Derrick Williams finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds, even though all of Duke's forwards were taller.

Truth is, none of the three developed into the physical screen-setters and defenders Zoubek and Thomas gave Duke last season. Not yet, anyway. Miles Plumlee will be Duke's lone senior next season. Mason Plumlee and Kelly will be juniors.

Little-used freshman Josh Hairston could help Duke inside next season, when the Blue Devils will have nearly 21 feet worth of Plumlees. Marshall Plumlee, a true 7-footer and McDonald's All-American, will join his older brothers in the low post.

Duke's recruiting class also includes three perimeter players to make up for the three the Blue Devils will likely lose.

Point guard Quinn Cook and shooter Austin Rivers are also McDonald's All-Americans, and Rivers — the 6-4 son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers — is the Naismith high school player of the year.

Neither will match Smith's experience. And it's hard to imagine raw talent to match Irving. But, if Irving leaves, they'll blend with Curry, Dawkins and defense-first point guard Tyler Thornton to give Duke a deep backcourt.

The fourth recruit is 6-6 wing Michael Gbinije, who has a solid frame, good fundamentals and 20-foot range on his smooth jump shot.

That sounds an awful lot like Singler.

But, hard as it is to imagine, Singler won't wear a Duke jersey again.

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com