Singler 20?

[dukejunkie]

Reading one of DBR's cover articles I saw that Kyle will be 20 in May. Many on this board credited Hansbrough's early development to his old age. Maybe this has also helped Singler's development. Does anyone know if his age is correct? Also, was he left back a year in school or is there some other reason he is older than the average freshman?

Hope this doesn't become a topic for bad influences to push him toward the NBA. Correct age or not, he is definitely developing ahead of schedule.

[gw67]

All three of Duke's freshmen are older that your typical freshmen. King also turns 20 in May and Smith turns 20 in early summer. Not only did the three play a lot of basketball at a high level before entering college but they are older and perhaps more mature than many freshmen.

I believe that Smith's dad played as a freshman at Louisville as a 16-year old.

gw67

[Clipsfan]

All three of Duke's freshmen are older that your typical freshmen. King also turns 20 in May and Smith turns 20 in early summer. Not only did the three play a lot of basketball at a high level before entering college but they are older and perhaps more mature than many freshmen.

I believe that Smith's dad played as a freshman at Louisville as a 16-year old.

gw67

Shucks, I hope that this doesn't become common knowledge. I've been making a lot of fun of USC (SoCal) for the age of their freshmen and hope that I don't have to hear some in return (but those guys are OLD)

[Truth]

Shucks, I hope that this doesn't become common knowledge. I've been making a lot of fun of USC (SoCal) for the age of their freshmen and hope that I don't have to hear some in return (but those guys are OLD)

I've read that many child athletes are intentionally held back by parents / coaches / evil shoe agents / whomever for the purpose of gaining an advantage of their now-younger peers. The thought process is that this will lead to higher recruiting rankings and greater overall success.

Is it relatively common nowadays for scholarship D1-level college basketball players to be 19 / 20?

I was 20 senior year (turned 21 1st semester) and it seems funny to me that college basketball freshman are nearly the same age as the graduating seniors with whom they share campus...

[Oriole Way]

Is it possible this is more of a West Coast trend? I remember that Mike Dunleavy was more than a year older than his class as well.

[77devil]

I've read that many child athletes are intentionally held back by parents / coaches / evil shoe agents / whomever for the purpose of gaining an advantage of their now-younger peers. The thought process is that this will lead to higher recruiting rankings and greater overall success.

Is it relatively common nowadays for scholarship D1-level college basketball players to be 19 / 20?

I was 20 senior year (turned 21 1st semester) and it seems funny to me that college basketball freshman are nearly the same age as the graduating seniors with whom they share campus...

Athletes simply reflect a larger social phenomena. It became common for boomer parents to start boys a year later in school because of the relative maturation of boys and girls. If you take an informal survey you will find many more male freshman closer in age to Kyle than a year younger, particularly those born between May and August.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Athletes simply reflect a larger social phenomena. It became common for boomer parents to start boys a year later in school because of the relative maturation of boys and girls. If you take an informal survey you will find many more male freshman closer in age to Kyle than a year younger, particularly those born between May and August.

You are absolutely correct! It's a bit like academic red shirting and came into the mainstream at least 20-25 years ago. There are some tests or inventories which are sometimes used to help consider such a decision. Most state laws define when to start school in terms of the minimum age at which children may enroll and that is the the age at which many parents plan for their children to begin. Considering how academic the kindergarten experience has become compared to its original purpose, a late start can make good sense for many children.

[bill brill]

I don't think any of the duke frosh were held back a year. singler and king were both born in may, meaning they are playing their entire freshmen year as 18-year-olds. I think it would be more unusual if they played the whole year when they were 17. smith's birthday is not until late july, meaning he was 18 when he graduated from high school, which would certainly be normal. hansbrough turned 22 in early november before the season began. if he returns as a senior, he will be 23 before the season begins. he was held back one year. demarcus nelson is one day older than hans. the only duke player who was 17 his entire senior basketball season in high school was lance thomas. scheyer will be 21 this summer.

[TexasDevil]

Singler, King, and Smith are all 19 and will turn 20 in May and July. I grew up in Texas, where sports are very important, and almost all of my male friends in my class were born the summer before I was. Even my husband, who was in the same class as me at Duke (we were freshman w/ Maggette), is an entire year older than me. It seems to be a very common practice for parents to hold their boys back for social and athletic reasons.

[gw67]

bill,

According to GoDuke, Singler is 19 and will turn 20 on May 4th. See link below. I also saw the birthdate info for Singler, King and Smith on usabasketball when they had profiles of the players.

http://goduke.statsgeek.com/basketball-m/players/statlines.php?playerid=2472

gw67

[ikiru36]

As I've noted previously, at times when defense of Lance and Brian's development and potential seemed necessary, they are both relative younguns. They were each more than 18 months younger than Hans-rough was, at respective matriculation date. (McRob was on the younger side too, if I recall correctly.) One might imagine chronological age to be particularly important for a "big man" in terms of abillity to add strength/weight to their frame. If my math is correct, Lance and Zoubs are still younger than Hans-rough was when he started playing at UNC.

Personally, this thought keeps me pretty excited about their current abilities and potential!!

Go Lance!!!! Go Brian!!!!! Go Duke!!!!!!! Go Blue Devils!!!!!!! GTHCGTH!!!!!!!!!

[bhd28]

As I've noted previously, at times when defense of Lance and Brian's development and potential seemed necessary, they are both relative younguns. They were each more than 18 months younger than Hans-rough was, at respective matriculation date. (McRob was on the younger side too, if I recall correctly.) One might imagine chronological age to be particularly important for a "big man" in terms of abillity to add strength/weight to their frame. If my math is correct, Lance and Zoubs are still younger than Hans-rough was when he started playing at UNC.

Personally, this thought keeps me pretty excited about their current abilities and potential!!

Go Lance!!!! Go Brian!!!!! Go Duke!!!!!!! Go Blue Devils!!!!!!! GTHCGTH!!!!!!!!!

I believe they are both younger than Hans was when he graduated the 6th grade. ;)

[crote]

We've gone this far without a Greg Oden joke?

I'm a little disappointed.

[southgater]

Reminds me of the tag line - "and he's only 17!" Anyone remember this one?

[ikiru36]

FWIW- the other ACC player in Hans-rough's league of geri-frosh status (that I've noticed anyways when examining birthdays) is Greivis Vasquez, who was already 20 by January of his Freshman year.

Interestingly, his Senior year HS courtmate was one of the youngest matriculants I've yet noticed, but he turned out rather precociously good as a Freshman: Kevin Durant. Guess that age isn't everything? :0)

Go Duke!!!!!!!!!!!! Go Blue Devils!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GTHCGTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[merry]

Is it possible this is more of a West Coast trend? I remember that Mike Dunleavy was more than a year older than his class as well.

I think that was more a case of Boozer & JWill being younger than average. IIRC both arrived at Duke as 17 year old freshmen and turned 18 that fall.

[hc5duke]

Reminds me of the tag line - "and he's only 17!" Anyone remember this one?

It's generally considered rude to make fun of our elders.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

On the other hand, Mike Gminski graduated from HS a year early (Duke was about the only college that knew this was happening) and was only 17 as a freshman. He did pretty well at college - to borrow a line from Ronald Reagan, his youth and inexperience didn't hurt him a bit.

[Reisen]

I also wonder about how this affects foreign players. It's very common for Europeans to have a 13th grade in certain schools, so if they then came to the US for college. I would guess most European prep stars would come here during high school to get recruited, though?

I just turned 28, and am the child of baby boomers. I can tell you, if there's a trend towards older children in certain grades, it didn't start until after me, because virtually everyone I knew in high school and at Duke was of normal age (ie 18 year old college freshmen.).

[RelativeWays]

If most college freshment enter at 18 and it takes an average of 4 years to graduate, wouldn't most underclassmen graduate at 22 opposed to 21?

[bill brill]

was that the three duke freshmen were all 18 in their final year of prep play. that is not unusual. I asked a friend who is a high school counselor and he said that in general, kids born between may and august often enter school at the older end of the scale because their parents don't want them to be just barely 6 in the first grade. when kids are held back because they are athletes by their parents, it most often includes a repeat of 8th grade.

[dball]

If most college freshment enter at 18 and it takes an average of 4 years to graduate, wouldn't most underclassmen graduate at 22 opposed to 21?

If most enter at 18, most would begin their senior year at 21. And probably, since there are a number of months (where birthdays may fall) until graduation, a good number are 22 at graduation

[Indoor66]

If most enter at 18, most would begin their senior year at 21. And probably, since there are a number of months (where birthdays may fall) until graduation, a good number are 22 at graduation

Hansborough was born November 3, 1985 and was a freshman at UNC as of 9/2005 - making him 20 by the beginning of the '05-06 season. He will be 24 at the time of his class graduation in 2009.

[UrinalCake]

One thing is for sure after reading this thread: I am old :(