NBA Draft 2011: What the Experts Are Saying About Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving may be the most intriguing prospect coming out of the NCAA. The current Duke basketball star is in the midst of deciding on his playing future and contemplating on whether or not he will enter the 2011 NBA Draft.

Irving only played in 11 games in during the 2010 regular season but that was enough to get nearly every basketball writer in the country's attention. Irving averaged 17.5 points per game and shot over 50 percent from the field while draining over half of his attempts behind the three-point arc as well.

But after playing limited minutes during his freshman year, does Irving have what it takes to take his game to the NBA and be a star among the game's elite?

According to Doug Mead of Sports Session, Irving "no doubt possesses the raw talent and skills to move on to the next level, (but) he has yet to conquer the level he’s playing at now. Durability issues aside, Irving could elevate his status even more by playing a full season at the college level and working under the tutelage of Coach Krzyzewski."

Tim Keown of ESPN.com seems to agree with Mead and even went as far as to place quite a bit of blame on Irving for Duke's early departure in the NCAA tournament. In his article, Keown posted "Irving is another fabulous freshman talent, but his play against Arizona is the main reason the Blue Devils' season ended before most people thought it would."

Irving will likely make his decision in the coming weeks regarding whether or not he will come to the NBA next season. If Irving does decide to enter the NBA draft, many sites including Yahoo! Sports and DraftExpress.com have him ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect and mocked him to be the first overall selection.

NBA teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers are waiting impatiently on Irving's decision as members of the media are already pressuring the team to take a look at the young star. In an article found here, Sean Sweeney of Dime Magazine explains what kind of impact Irving could have on the city of Cleveland and the NBA in general.

Irving has not personally indicated whether or not he intends to remain in school or join the NBA but new reports are being published daily regarding speculation and rumors.