Kinston's Ingram commits to Duke

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on April 28, 2015 1:48 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

KINSTON -- Dorsey Tyndall will finally know the answer to the question he's constantly asked when he goes to the hospital to work out in the wellness center.

But, so will everyone else.

On Monday, Kinston forward Brandon Ingram -- dressed in a black tuxedo on a stage in the Kinston gymnasium -- put all the speculation to rest and committed to Duke University to play for coach Mike Krzyzewski and the defending national champion Blue Devils.

"I love everything about Coach K," Ingram said after the announcement.

The only person who might not know where Ingram is heading is the man he'll be playing for next season: Krzyzewski.

Ingram, who led Kinston to four straight state titles, had yet to inform the coach of his decision.

"I guess he will find out soon," Ingram's father, Donald Ingram said. "If he wasn't watching."

Ingram's year-long recruitment by some of the top basketball programs in the country became the talk of a small town. Everyone wanted to know where Ingram was going to go.

"It's funny, my dad goes over to the hospital to work out and he said he was asked about it three or four times today," Kinston coach Perry Tyndall said of his father Dorsey. "You can go anywhere in this town and if they feel like you know anything about Kinston basketball, they're going to ask you."

Two former Vikings, Jerry Stackhouse and Reggie Bullock each went to University of North Carolina which led many to speculate Ingram might follow in their footsteps.

But as Ingram stated as he put on the new Duke hat his mother bought him for the event, he wanted to choose his own path.

"I wanted to do something different and I knew where I was going so I just got right to it. I chose my own path,"he said later.

Ingram said he made the decision late Saturday night when he was alone in his room weighing out the pros and cons -- advice given to him by his father. He later notified his dad, who was in his bedroom, via text message.

Ingram informed very few people of his choice, not even his best friends and teammates knew about the decision before the announcement.

"We had no idea, we really haven't asked him all that much about it," teammate Mykel Hart said. "But as best friends growing up playing together he was always a Duke fan, so it's exciting seeing him go to his favorite school."

Coach Tyndall didn't find out until that morning, after Dorsey had been to the hospital for his workout.

But now, he finally has an answer to the question.

As do the rest of us.