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DURHAM -- Charlotte senior walk-on Kyle Church totaled two minutes of playing time in the 49ers' two games at Cameron Indoor Stadium for the NIT Season Tip-Off, but he undoubtedly knows the rims better than teammates that logged many more minutes.
"Me and my dad have shot around here a ton," said Church, the son of Duke women's soccer coach Robbie Church. "When I was in high school and middle school, we'd sneak in here late at night. He has the keys to the building, so we'd come up here and I'd get some shots in and work on my game."
Church, who helped Riverside High School win 25 games as a senior, also has plenty of familiarity with Duke's players. He's spent his summers working on his game on the Duke campus, and this past summer he got plenty of playing time in pick-up games with some current Blue Devils.
Tuesday night, he got to play against Duke for real, coming in for the final two minutes of the Devils' 101-59 victory. He barely missed on a 3-pointer from the corner in his short stint.
"They've got a lot of big guys, so they needed a couple of guards to run with them," Church said of his latest summer spent at Duke. "Obviously [Jon] Scheyer and some of those other guys are hard to guard, but I think I held my own.
"It was just a great experience."
Church said he's also had a great experience at Charlotte. He hasn't gotten consistent playing time, scoring 17 points over 26 games, but he's had his share of personal highlights.
This week's return home ranks right up there.
"I've loved it here; it's been a great four years," Church said. "It's a great way to finish it out, coming back as a senior to a place where I've spent a ton of time."
Recruits make it official
Duke has received signed national letters of intent from its three commitments for the class of 2010, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski announced Thursday.
Point guard Kyrie Irving, forward Josh Hairston and guard Tyler Thornton give Duke the seventh-best recruiting class in the nation according to Scout.com, a class that still could grow.
Scout.com ranks all three as top-100 prospects: Irving at No. 5, Hairston at No. 42 and Thornton at No. 94.
"Josh, Kyrie and Tyler will be tremendous additions to our program on and off the court," Krzyzewski said in a statement released by the school. "They are outstanding young men, terrific students and talented basketball players.
"We are excited about their respective futures in our program and look forward to watching them continue to grow and develop."
Duke remains in hot pursuit of Oak Hill Academy small forward Roscoe Smith, the No. 32 prospect in Scout's rankings who is also considering Connecticut and Georgetown. And after top prospect Harrison Barnes picked UNC over Duke last week, the Blue Devils have reached out to Michigan shooting guard Trey Zeigler, the No. 34 prospect. Zeigler still has a long list of suitors and doesn't plan to pick his destination until the spring.
Devils vs. Devils
Duke learned late Tuesday night that it will face Arizona State in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.
The Sun Devils rallied from a late eight-point deficit against TCU to advance with a 52-48 victory. Arizona State is led by former N.C. State coach Herb Sendek, and the key to the victory over TCU was Duke transfer Eric Boateng, who averaged 1.8 points per game last season but scored a career-high 21 points.
Connecticut and LSU will tip off the first semifinal at 7 p.m., with Duke and Arizona State to follow sometime after 9. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Before that, Duke will welcome Radford to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday at 3 p.m.
