Duke Loses Kyrie Irving to NBA
College basketball programs as good as Duke’s don’t ever rebuild – they just reload. And the Blue Devils will no doubt be a national title contender again next season even after losing senior stars Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith. But they might have been the Bodog NCAA basketball betting favorites had star freshman point guard Kyrie Irving shocked the world and put off going to the NBA for another year. But no one really expected that and the news became official on Wednesday that Irving will leave.
Irving will hire an agent and thus there’s no chance now that he can change his mind. He could well be the No. 1 overall pick in this summer’s draft depending on which team wins the lottery (the Wizards, for example, would be a rare team to pass on Irving because they took their franchise point guard last year in John Wall). Irving averaged 17.5 points and 4.3 assists in 11 games this past season. He missed 26 games after severely injuring the big toe on his right foot in December. But Irving returned for the NCAA Tournament and scored 28 points in Duke’s Sweet 16 loss to Arizona. Some questioned whether it was wise for Coach Mike Krzyzewski to integrate Irving back into the lineup so late in the season.
“Our whole program is overjoyed with having Kyrie here for one year and that he has the chance now to pursue a dream of being a high draft pick and a great player in the NBA,” Krzyzewski said. “We are totally supportive of Kyrie, his family and his decision.”
Irving is just the third one-and-done player at Duke. Corey Maggette and Luol Deng were the others. Underclassmen have until April 24 to declare for the NBA draft. Provided they have not hired an agent, they have until May 8 to withdraw and return to school.
Duke will be just fine without Irving. The Blue Devils have signed Quinn Cook, a McDonald’s All-American point guard from Oak Hill (Va.) Academy. Duke also has Tyler Thornton, a point guard who played in 34 games as a freshman this season and averaged 1.6 points and 1.0 assists per game.
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