17 Dec 2011

Singler makes mark on Euroleague

7:18 am on 17 December 2011

Kyle Singler took a road less travelled for a player with a college basketball title under his belt and his decision to swap the NBA for Europe was vindicated in an impressive Euroleague debut for Spanish club Real Madrid.

Singler, who steered Duke to their fourth NCAA title in 2010, scored eight points in 24 minutes on the court as a starter in Real Madrid's 101-83 home win over Partizan Belgrade.

The Detroit Pistons selected Singler as the third pick in the second round of the 2011 NBA draft, but the 23-year-old power forward joined Spanish side Alicante Lucentum during the July-December lockout in North America.

Unlike most NBA exiles, who returned home after the bitter labour dispute ended earlier this month, Singler opted to stay in Europe and signed for Real Madrid last week.

Real, who have won Europe's premier club competition a record eight times, dominated the match from start to finish as shooting guard Jaycee Carroll led the way with 22 points while forward Nikola Mirotic added 21 and eight rebounds.