Kyrie Irving's Potential Impact with the Blue Devils

Duke’s 2010 recruiting class has the potential to be the best class the Blue Devils have secured in nearly a decade.

Much of that potential rests on the decision of Kyrie Irving, the nation’s second-highest rated point guard and a consensus top-five recruit according to most of the top recruiting sites.

Widely considered to be a Duke lean after his elimination of Indiana from the recruiting race, Irving visited Duke for his first official visit last weekend.

He raved about the visit, twittering that “everything there fits me and is right for me” shortly after returning home to New Jersey.

That statement, combined with previous statements from Irving and his family that he would be willing to commit to a team on a visit if it felt right to him, had many predicting a commitment within the first 24 hours after his visit.

A commitment to Duke hasn’t happened yet (he’s confirmed that he will at least visit Texas A&M and then determine if he needs to see more schools), but it is certainly expected in the upcoming weeks by most recruiting experts.

While Blue Devil fans eagerly await Irving’s decision, here’s a quick look at what his commitment would mean for Duke.

To put it simply, a commitment from Irving could spell the end of coach Mike Krzyzewski’s recent recruiting troubles.

Most schools would view the Blue Devils’ last five years of recruiting as momentous, but Duke is not most schools.

The Blue Devils have been without several key pieces to the Final Four puzzle in recent years, specifically an offensive-minded big man and an elite, athletic point guard.

If Irving sets foot on campus in 2010, the point guard piece of that puzzle can officially be considered found.

Reminiscent of former Duke star Jason Williams, he is a lightning quick, big-time scoring point guard.

His addition to the Blue Devils squad could be the beginning of Duke’s return to former glory—the days in which Duke could outrun any team in the nation and put up nightly scoring totals closer to 100 points than 80.

Speaking of scoring, Irving can do it in bunches.

At some of this summer’s biggest AAU events, Irving turned in near 40-point performances on a regular basis, impressing scouts and coaches while sending his national ranking soaring.

Irving will be one of the fastest guards in the nation and would give the Blue Devils a dimension to their offense they haven’t had since Chris Duhon graduated in 2004 (consequently the last time Duke made it to the Final Four).

Unlike recent graduate Greg Paulus, Irving’s bread and butter is less about pulling up from behind the arc and more about getting into the lane and collapsing defenses.

His scoring ability really can’t be overstated, and he will force defenses to pay constant attention to him no matter where he plays.

Irving would bring a level of play to Duke’s backcourt that has been missing for a while, but he could be bringing more than just his own abilities to Durham should he commit.

Aside from his quickness, smooth handle, and scoring ability, Irving also has close connections to a few other high-priority Duke recruits, particularly Harrison Barnes, the nation’s top-rated player.

Barnes has been Duke top target for nearly two years now, and he and Irving have openly talked about the possibility of playing in Durham together. In fact, Barnes has said that he views Irving more like a sibling than just a friend.

Whether or not his closeness to Irving will influence Barnes’ decision should Irving choose to play at Duke, it can’t hurt that Barnes will know he’ll be playing with potentially the best point guard in the ACC should he follow Irving’s lead.

Top talent, especially point guard talent, tends to attract more top talent in college basketball, and there aren’t many players who can top Irving as far as talent goes.

But regardless of the impact on Duke recruiting, Irving would instantly make Duke a Final Four contender (especially when considering how deep and loaded both Duke’s backcourt and frontcourt could be in 2010-2011, with or without Barnes).

Some say he will be the best guard ever to come out of New Jersey, which is saying a lot in terms of Duke Blue Devils basketball.

All three of Coach K’s championships have come with a New Jersey point guard running the show as both Bobby Hurley and Jason Williams were from the Garden State.

If Irving ends up being more successful than those two…

Maybe, we shouldn’t go down that path in consideration for the well-being of Duke fans’ collective mental health. Just think of the widespread light-headedness and fainting that would occur—not good.

But even if he comes close to Hurley and Williams’ level while playing at Duke (that is, if he plays at Duke), the Blue Devils will be playing a lot more basketball in March for the next few seasons.

To say that a lot rides on Irving’s decision is an understatement.

It’s been a long time since the Blue Devils had an All-American caliber point guard—something that used to be a right of passage in Durham—but if Duke fans get the commitment they are expecting within the next few weeks, that wait will be over.