Kyrie Irving PG 2010 (Duke commit)

[WildcatRick]

Kyrie Irving
http://vmedia.rivals.com/IMAGES/PROSPECT/PHOTO/KYRIEIRVING7_30150.JPG
http://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/pdb05_star.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/pdb05_star.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/pdb05_star.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/pdb05_star.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/pdb05_star.gif
http://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/pdb05_camera.gifPhoto Gallery (http://javascript<b></b>:openGallery(85480))

Point guard
Elizabeth (NJ) St. Patrick
Ht: 6-foot-2
Wt: 175 lbs
Class: 2010 (High School)

Rivals.com Rating: NR
Rivals150 for class of 2010 (9) (http://kentucky.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=1909)
2010: Point guards (4) (http://kentucky.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=2183)

[WildcatRick]

http://media.scout.com/Media/Image/56/564525m.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:photos();)
Ht: 6-1
Wt: 165
Position: PG, SG
Year: Class of 2010
AAU Team: NJ Roadrunners
High School: St. Patrick HS (http://hsnewjersey.scout.com/)
(Elizabeth, NJ)

2010 Scout.com HS Basketball Rankings (full list (http://kentucky.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=9&c=4&yr=2010&cfg=bb)):
Pos: PG
Pos Rank: #2
Pos Rating: http://media.scout.com/media/site_logo/rating.gif http://media.scout.com/media/site_logo/rating.gif http://media.scout.com/media/site_logo/rating.gif http://media.scout.com/media/site_logo/rating.gif http://media.scout.com/media/site_logo/rating.gif

[ibleedblue2]

This kid has been climbing steadily the last month. I heard that Rod Strickland is a very close friend of Kyrie's family. Who knows what will happen?:shrug1:

[WildcatRick]

pWqUY96bKiY

[WildcatRick]

The dynamic guard knocked down a couple jumpers, but he was at his best when carving up the Wisconsin Playground Warriors off the dribble. A master at changing directions, Irving is comfortable playing at a fast pace. He has great body control at the rim and also finds the open man in the lane. Defensively, he was a big part of the swarming New Jersey Roadrunners pressure defense.

[crazzedcats22]

He says Indiana is at the top of his list. He doesn't even really mention UK.

How the hell is Crean getting in with this many top recruits???

http://www.zagsblog.com/2009/06/01/kyrie-irving-says-indiana-at-the-top/

[KY VOL]

How the hell is Crean getting in with this many top recruits???



He is a solid recruiter. He proved that a Marquette.

[crazzedcats22]

He is a solid recruiter. He proved that a Marquette.

Not really. Outside of Dwayne Wade (which he got lucky and struck gold on) what else did he do?

[Jazz]

Not really. Outside of Dwayne Wade (which he got lucky and struck gold on) what else did he do?
All of marquettes good players??

[WildcatRick]

When I first started doing the UK Recruiting notebook, I scanned over my list of UK recruits and basically just skipped Kyrie Irving. To be honest, I just didn’t see the point of doing a profile on a kid that (a) is so good everyone has heard of him and his game and (b) was basically locked into going elsewhere. However, I really got the chance to sit down and talk with Kyrie, as well as others “in the know,” and I’m having mixed feelings at this point.

http://photos.indystar.com/photos/2009/5/17/266992/show.jpg

Bio

Position: Point Guard (Primary Ball Handler in the DDM)
Height: 6′1″
Weight: 170 lbs
High School: St. Patrick (Elizabeth, NJ)
Rivals Ranking: #5 PG, #21 Overall
Scout Ranking: #2 PG, #6 Overall

Scouting Report

Kyrie Irving is the floor general that every team needs, but that description is only one part of his game. Kyrie has described himself as a pure point guard but adds, “I’ll have a scorer’s mentality when I need to.” At the NBA Camp, with critics a little down on his performances at that point, he needed to score and did. He poured in 26 points during game 4 with Josh Selby pestering him defensively. He added 15 more in the next game. The ambidextrous Irving can turn up the speed to blaze down the open lane and finish at the rim with either hand. He is very disciplined when it comes to defense and doesn’t slack on that end of the floor either. His outside and midrange shooting are the knocks on his game and something that Kyrie has openly said he plans on working on, along with getting his body in better shape for the college game. The three point line is sometimes a friendly spot for Irving and when it is, he can rack up huge numbers. Over the next year, adding more consistency to his jump shooting and a little more muscle to his frame will make him ready for a great college career.

Recruiting Report

Now onto the only part of this post most of you are going to read. Previously, I’ve told you how Kyrie gushed about his visit to Indiana, their campus and their academics. There has also been numerous reports saying that IU and Duke were his leaders, even some rumors about his possible commitment to Indiana following a sighting of his father (later confirmed as uncle) in IU gear. I arrived at the NBA camp thinking that Kyrie was just a player still listing UK even though he was eventually headed elsewhere. What most of you don’t know about these camps and AAU tournaments is that in between games there is a lot of downtime for the scouts and players. During this time I had the opportunity to discuss some UK recruiting with many scouts and recruiting analysts. What I was told on numerous different occasions was, “Don’t count out UK in the Kyrie race just yet.” Most cited his godfather, UK assistant coach Rod Strickland, as the reason and others cited Cal’s love for developing top point guards for the NBA. Some just got the feeling that the tide had changed a little bit recently.

I had the chance to sit down with Kyrie for awhile during the camp and came away with a very different feeling as well. As of right now, I have the feeling that he is still wavering back and forth and really hasn’t had the “gut feeling” that he has said he is looking for in order to pick his ultimate destination. When asked about how his relationship with Rod Strickland was, now that Strickland is also recruiting him, he said, “Usually when I talk to him it is really not about recruiting. When I talk to him it is just to help me with whatever I need or whatever problems I might be having. Occasionally he’ll bring up Kentucky and he’ll feel me in about Kentucky but most of our talks aren’t about Kentucky.” Kyrie has said in the past that he is looking for a good relationship with the coaching staff and a home-like feel to the school he’ll eventually attend. Rod Strickland obviously cares about Kyrie first and foremost and, oddly enough, that could possible help with Kyrie’s recruitment more than any UK pitch he could ever give him.

Kyrie has also cited academics as a main factor. IU may have the upper hand here, as they have one of the top schools in America for journalism (Kyrie’s probable major). Indiana, according to Scout, has also pitched the idea of Kyrie and Michael Gilchrist playing together. The two have discussed the idea and Kyrie has said that he really enjoys playing with Michael and having such a talented teammate to work with on his St. Patricks squad. One has to wonder whether IU is shooting themselves in the foot by pitching this idea since Michael has been rumored to be a heavy UK lean. This possible scenario, of the two possibly playing together, may be a big advantage for the UK.

The point is that if you take Kyrie’s stated three major factors for his college decision, academics, relationship with coaching staff, and a home away from home environment, UK has nailed two of three with the Rod Strickland relationship. The next question is whether UK’s journalism school is enough to satisfy Kyrie or, alternatively, how serious he is about finishing an undergraduate program before his hopeful leap to the NBA. My feeling at this point is that UK has a pretty darn good chance, based on the above assessment and from the way I’ve heard other recruiting analysts talk about the situation. To be clear, I’m not saying that UK is his leader or that IU and Duke aren’t. I’m just saying that maybe UK isn’t as completely out of it as we had originally believed. We may know the answer fairly soon. Kyrie said that he would like to make a decision by the fall, hopefully before his senior season begins. On whether or not he would visit Kentucky during the summer he said, “Probably, most likely.” On top of Duke, Kentucky and Indiana, Kyrie noted that Texas A&M, Texas, Marquette, UCONN, Seton Hall, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Florida and Maryland are still on his list but that’s subject to change.

As we all know, recruit’s minds can change on a daily basis. Sometimes for the worse and sometimes for the better, depending on which color you bleed. Maybe Kyrie’s situation is looking a little better for UK fans or maybe he’ll just commit to IU tomorrow. Just like any other recruitment, we have to hope for the best and take the wait and see approach. After the NBA camp, though, I feel like the Kyrie recruitment has gotten a little more interesting in the eyes of this UK fan.

You-Scout

VIDEO (http://vimeo.com/4756323?pg=embed&sec=) of Irving


Kentucky Sports Radio (http://new.kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=22163)

[Ukosumu]

A look at 2010 Virginia Cavaliers basketball recruiting
http://www.examiner.com/x-15377-Virg...all-recruiting (http://www.examiner.com/x-15377-Virg...all-recruiting)

Kyrie Irving - The big fish. Probably one that'll get away. But whenever there's a guy who's got offers from the likes of Duke, Kansas, Memphis, and Pitt who also takes even a little bit of an interest in UVA, we the fans are going to start dreaming big no matter how often it hasn't worked out in the past.

[WildcatRick]

Kyrie Irving has been putting on a show thus far. In the afternoon session, with Tom Crean, Rod Strickland, and John Robic amongst the coaches surrounding the court, Irving dropped in 30 points. That type of performance has become a habit for Irving here in Orlando, and one can only hope that it continues throughout the tournament. Irving’s NJ Roadrunners should get a big time challenge tomorrow. They’ll be facing a stacked roster from the Boo Williams 17U squad.

[WildcatRick]

First I want to give credit to Zag’s Blog for getting the scoop on Kyrie cutting his list down to six. The list is now at UK, Duke, IU, Georgia Tech, UConn and Seton Hall. Check out this link (http://www.zagsblog.com/2009/08/21/boost-mobile-kyrie-irving-cuts-list/#more-20990), click on the player in the top right corner. Kyrie had initially said that he was going to cut his list down to 5 after the Boost Game but now says it will just be this cut to 6. I talked to him and specifically asked if there would be any more cuts and he says that he won’t be making anymore cuts for right now…as of right now. He’s always led me to believe that UK will be getting an official visit and had told me last week that UK fans wouldn’t be disappointed in the cut he had planned for this weekend. That leads me to believe that UK wasn’t one of the “last two” schools that Kyrie had a problem cutting, which led him to not cut it to 5. I would say that UK, Duke, Indiana and Seton Hall were the four that easily made it, while Georgia Tech and UConn were the two schools causing him problems. When the next cut comes, I would expect one of those two schools to be the odd man out. That is, of course, assuming that Kyrie plans on eventually narrowing the list to five for official visits. If not, I could see Kyrie just taking officials to the first 4 schools and, if a decision isn’t made after those, then making the tough decision on where to take his last official. I’d be pretty surprised if it came to that though. A smart bet would be placed on Kyrie committing to one of the first four.

[WildcatRick]

Kevin Boyle is one of the most successful and respected high school basketball coaches in the country. That's why his statement earlier this year turned so many heads.

The Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick's Academy coach was quoted as saying that his then-junior, Kyrie Irving, ––could end up being the best guard ever in New Jersey.

“Any guard,” Boyle told Zagsblog.com in February. “Ever. Ever. DaJuan Wagner, Bobby Hurley. You're talking about a guy who's a great shooter, a great finisher. He's going to be as good as anybody who's played in New Jersey.”

Trying to back up that statement, the 6-foot-2 Irving used his motto —– “stay hungry and humble” —– to go from under the radar to among the premier prospects in the Class of 2010.

“People laughed when he said it, but Kevin Boyle might have a chance to be right,” Scout.com national analyst Evan Daniels said. “This kid has proved himself as a top-10 player in the class over the past year, and he's proven it at a lot of big events.”

Irving, who will make official visits to Indiana and Duke and is setting up his final three visits —– one of which could be Kentucky —– stood out at several major events this summer.

Jody Demling (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090822/SPORTS11/908220381/1029/SPORTS03/Irving+tries+to+live+up+to+billing)

[WildcatRick]

Kyrie Irving will be receiving an in-home visit from the UK staff on September 15th. This could be a big opportunity for UK to further their relationship with Irving and eventually get him onto campus for an official visit.

[Bombastic Blue]

Heard on the radio today that he dropped IU. They said it was down to UK and duke.

[Tampa_Cat54]

Heard on the radio today that he dropped IU. They said it was down to UK and duke.

GREAT! Looks like Stacey Poole will be commmiting tomorrow, and we have Kyrie Irving down to UK and Duke and word is now that CJ Leslie is going to cut it down to UK and UNC! A big chance to bring in 3 huge prospects, with Adrien Payne and Brandon Knight and Doron Lamb still rumored to be UK leans.

[midnightnavyz28]

GREAT! Looks like Stacey Poole will be commmiting tomorrow, and we have Kyrie Irving down to UK and Duke and word is now that CJ Leslie is going to cut it down to UK and UNC! A big chance to bring in 3 huge prospects, with Adrien Payne and Brandon Knight and Doron Lamb still rumored to be UK leans.


really??? i heard UNC wasnt even recruiting him...

anyway, goodluck w/ Irving....hes been labeled a Blue Devil for awhile.....i hope u guys can steal him......

that would really help UNC's chances of landing Barnes :icon_smile:

[Blue_N_White]

really??? i heard UNC wasnt even recruiting him...

anyway, goodluck w/ Irving....hes been labeled a Blue Devil for awhile.....i hope u guys can steal him......

that would really help UNC's chances of landing Barnes :icon_smile:

I have a feeling the 2010 class will be pretty good, but maybe not great. Seems like there are about 6 or 7 players who are really good that are considering UK....but it seems that the ones at the bottom of my "preferred" list are the ones who are considered leans and who might commit the soonest. How that will affect the others, though, is anybody's guess. Barnes would be a dream for Kentucky....but I don't think he's seriously considering UK. At least, I know the Cats aren't the frontrunner at the moment. Brandon Knight, Doron Lamb and Adreine Payne are the three who are seriously considering Kentucky that I'd like to see commit...and if Leslie (or Harris), Poole and Irving were to follow, then great! But as of right now, the dominoes haven't started falling yet.....

[midnightnavyz28]

I have a feeling the 2010 class will be pretty good, but maybe not great. Seems like there are about 6 or 7 players who are really good that are considering UK....but it seems that the ones at the bottom of my "preferred" list are the ones who are considered leans and who might commit the soonest. How that will affect the others, though, is anybody's guess. Barnes would be a dream for Kentucky....but I don't think he's seriously considering UK. At least, I know the Cats aren't the frontrunner at the moment. Brandon Knight, Doron Lamb and Adreine Payne are the three who are seriously considering Kentucky that I'd like to see commit...and if Leslie (or Harris), Poole and Irving were to follow, then great! But as of right now, the dominoes haven't started falling yet.....

he isnt :icon_smile:

i suggested that if UK can pull Irving away from Duke it would greatly help North Carolina's chances of getting Barnes because there friends & he initially liked duke because of the idea of playing together w/ Irving......u guys have a ridiculous class this year.....but u cant get em every year :icon_mrgreen:

Their saying its between Duke, Kansas, North Carolina

i think the next few years North Carolina, Kentucky, & Kansas are gonna dominate the recruiting battle

Roys already got big time recruits commited for '10 & '11

...& it seems all the top guys have Kentucky & Kansas on their wish list

[WildcatRick]

The other major piece of news doesnt look good for the Cats. Justin Young (who at one time worked for Rivals.com but I am now told does not) is reporting that he hears that Kyrie Irving will commit to Duke within 24 hours. Irving’s visit by all accounts went tremendously and unlike Patrick Patterson, he must have been feeling those guys. Duke fans held up signs and he liked the atmosphere of the campus. Kentucky had hoped to get Irving on campus for Midnight Madness and if Young’s news is correct then that likely will not take place. If the commitment doesnt happen in 24 hours, then UK may still be in play, but things do look good for the Blue Devils right now.

[WildcatRick]

If you’ve been too busy this weekend to check in on things around the KSR camp, you might not be fully aware of just how school-girlishly giddy Matt Jones is today. Between UK’s epic road win last night, Big Blue Madness on Friday and the Beisnerization of Louisville last night, our boss man is in the rarest of moods.

However, if we were to hold a KSR version of “Best Week Ever,” Jones certainly wouldn’t be a lock to win it all. Kyrie Irving could probably give him a run for his money. Irving left Lexington yesterday afternoon as the first of the Madness visitors to depart (his early departure was based on the fact that he was the first recruit to arrive in Lexington, touching down on Thursday).

I was lucky enough to get to talk to Kyrie during his trip back to New Jersey and am now able to write up a bit about our discussion. But first I want to preface this post by saying that at the time when I was able to get in contact with Kyrie, I was running late to one of my closest friend’s weddings and the tweets I sent out last night (http://twitter.com/dustinrumbaugh) about Kyrie were literally done just as the first of the wedding party was walking down the aisle. So from my perspective, this weekend was both a glorious time and complete whirlwind of rushing to and fro, making phone calls during any bit of free time. I was able to go from watching Madness on Friday night to spending the latter part of a wedding reception on Saturday night watching Kentucky get a hard fought road win against Auburn (which, by the way, had about 20-30 UK fans in attendance do C-A-T-S Cats Cats Cats right in the middle of the reception dining room).

What that all boils down to is me asking for your forgiveness when I tell you that I’m able to pass along the crux of my conversation with Kyrie but, because I was recorder-less at the time, I won’t be able to give you guys any direct quotes from young Mr. Irving. That said, here’s the basics of how Kyrie’s trip went:

- Kyrie arrived in Lexington on Thursday and his visit was “hosted” by John Wall. Wall took Kyrie to class with him on Thursday and Irving seemed to get along quite nicely with John.

- Irving said that he was able to get a few good looks at how the team was functioning and practicing together and was impressed by how good they looked.

- Kyrie also got to spend some time with Tobias Harris during the trip and those two got along quite nicely as well. Late on Friday night Kyrie (http://twitter.com/kyrieirving) and Tobias (http://twitter.com/tobias31) both tweeted about hanging out together, cracking jokes and having a great time just hanging out. If Kentucky’s wish list is fulfilled and both Harris and Irving end up in Lexington, those two would probably be very close friends during their time together at Kentucky. They do know each other from both being top prospects from the Northeast and UK being able to have both together during their official visits to Lexington, along with another close friend in Gilchrist, seemed to provide an extra comfort level that Irving, as well as Harris and Gilchrist, probably gained from.

- Irving’s much publicized trip to Duke, which went great from the Blue Devils’ perspective, begged me to ask Kyrie some questions comparing the two. Irving told me that his Kentucky trip was “right up there” with the trip to Durham. He said that both provided a great experience for him and not a lot about the Duke visit seemed to completely overshadow anything about his Kentucky visit. The lone point that did seem to favor Duke was the “homey” or “home-like” feeling that Kyrie felt while he was on Duke’s campus. When I asked Kyrie if he had that same feeling in Lexington, it was the only time that he wasn’t quite as quick to say that Kentucky had matched Duke. In my own opinion, I feel like this point may be the one thing that gives Duke some edge when it comes down to decision time.

- While Duke probably leads in the category of giving Kyrie that “home away from home” feeling, I did get the impression that Kentucky had wowed Kyrie with the sheer amount of excitement and buzz that is surrouding the program at this time. I think that Kyrie saw how Kentucky’s players and coaches were given the rock star treatment on Friday night and the thought of getting the chance to join in on that party is something that aids Kentucky’s chances greatly.

- Also, Calipari’s speech on becoming a “player-first” program probably spoke volumes to a kid like Kyrie. Remember that Kyrie also has the dream of graduating with a degree in Journalism. I’m sure that Kyrie enjoyed hearing Cal speak about his belief in the education of his players and how he would like players that leave early to be given the opportunity to graduate.

- Finally, I asked Kyrie about his last two visits and whether he plans on taking those two or if he had enough information at this point to make a decision. His answer was that he now plans on taking it day to day and hadn’t decided yet on whether he would make any more visits.

So, at this point, I would say that it’s definitely not as easy to give the edge to Duke. They still seem to lead in giving Kyrie the “home-like” atmosphere, but Kentucky also wowed Kyrie on some levels as well. It remains to be seen whether any more schools will get the opportunity that Duke, Kentucky and Texas A&M have received and I’m not confident in saying that he will for sure take all five of his official visits. As he has been saying all summer, Kyrie again confirmed that his Twitter followers will be the first to know when he makes the call, so make sure that you’re following Kyrie (http://twitter.com/kyrieirving) over the next few weeks.

*Also make sure that you’re following along with my twitter (http://twitter.com/dustinrumbaugh) as well.

Dustin Rumbaugh (http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=31482)

[freethrow]

Zagsblog is saying Irving to Duke and will be announced soon?

http://www.zagsblog.com/2009/10/20/kyrie-irving-to-duke/