One and Doners in the Class of 2010 – Kyrie Irving

There are many talented players in next season’s recruiting class. In this series, I will give a closer look at some of the best players who are probably one year and done college players in the Class of 2010.

 

One of the top point guards in the Class of 2010 is Kyrie Irving.  Irving has regularly impressed since transfering a year ago from Montclair Kimberley Academy(NJ) to national powerhouse  St. Patrick’s HS in New Jersey.  That’s an impressive feat considering that the annual HS power school has steadily produced Division 1 and NBA talent like Al Harrington, Quintrell Thomas, who is a sophomore at Kansas, and Dexter Strickland, a top 50 freshman recruit for UNC.

Irving is 6′2 and 175 lbs and is ranked #7 by Scout and in the top 10 by both ESPN and Rivals.  He has good basketball genes since his father Dedrick, played at Boston University and his godfather, Rod Strickland was a good NBA player and current Kentucky assistant coach.

Irving could turn out to be the most polished  guard out of the top tier “big three” of  Josh Selby, Brandon Knight, and Irving.  Irving has the ferfect blend of flash and substance.  He seemingly never takes a bad shot and is a consumate floor general who always makes the right play and is rarely out of control.  Posessing a high hoops IQ helps  Irving run an offense smoothly by passing to  open teammates in a scoring position and scoring when the opportunity presents itself.    He impressed recently, at the Nike Global Summit in Portland and was the best point guard in attendance.  I have personally seen Irving in action at numerous HS Hoops Showcases and he somehow emerges as his team’s best player once the game is over, never forcing the ball, taking what the defense gives him.

  The widespread belief is that Irving has the skills to be a major weapon in the open court at the next level. But he also has the instinct and decision making to pick teams apart in the half-court as well.  Most major Division 1 schools have interest but it seems that Irving has narrowed his focus to three schools, namely Duke, Kentucky, and Indiana.  Most scouts are in love with Irving’s savvy and decision making. At the AAU Nationals a few weeks ago in Orlando, Irving, with his NJ Roadrunners team, turned in the best performance of any player,  a 39-point explosion in a loss to the Baltimore Stars, earning him MVP.  He has pledged to narrow his college choices after the Elite 24 Hoops Classic on August 22nd at Rucker Park, in NY.

Offensively, Kyrie Irving can do it all. He can get to the cup with ease, dunk the ball, hit shots beyond the arc, and distribute the rock. He has already identified the fact that he needs to work on his mid-range game, so expect that to improve.

At the NBA level he compares to Chris Paul on the high end to Deron Williams, or Randy Foye, since he doesn’t play with the flash of some other high recruits.  One thing is for sure, this will not be the last time you read about Kyrie Irving.