The Kyrie Irving Toe Rehab Vigil

[dukebluesincebirth]

Well at least we now know Kyrie won't be playing Wednesday night, and probably not the rest of the season... but a little hypothetical scenario- IF he is able to play around Elite 8, Final 4 time, and we're still alive, is there anyway bringing him back can disrupt the team? I read an article by Jay Bilas yesterday saying there is no way Duke would go right back to playing as they were the 1st 8 games... he doesn't even think Kyrie will be the same player right away... his jumpshot could easily be rusty, defense not quite there, or many other differences.
So, if you were Coach K in this scenario and the team had been flowing through the tournament, would you still bring Kyrie back this late in the season????

[nocilla]

Well at least we now know Kyrie won't be playing Wednesday night, and probably not the rest of the season... but a little hypothetical scenario- IF he is able to play around Elite 8, Final 4 time, and we're still alive, is there anyway bringing him back can disrupt the team? I read an article by Jay Bilas yesterday saying there is no way Duke would go right back to playing as they were the 1st 8 games... he doesn't even think Kyrie will be the same player right away... his jumpshot could easily be rusty, defense not quite there, or many other differences.
So, if you were Coach K in this scenario and the team had been flowing through the tournament, would you still bring Kyrie back this late in the season????

I'm sure it would depend on how practice was going. Coach K wouldn't just throw him into a game just to see what happens. He would probably be eased back in, while the team continues to play the way they have for the last 3 months. IIRC, Boozer came back for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games but he didn't play very many minutes. Then with another few days of practice, he was able to play more in the Final Four. It's a little different because Boozer was not out nearly as long, but even then I think the team continued to play the way they did after he was hurt.

[uh_no]

his jumpshot could easily be rusty

Judging by what we saw with the rubber band/dribbling, he could easily have been taking jump shots for a week now.

[MChambers]

I'm sure it would depend on how practice was going. Coach K wouldn't just throw him into a game just to see what happens. He would probably be eased back in, while the team continues to play the way they have for the last 3 months. IIRC, Boozer came back for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games but he didn't play very many minutes. Then with another few days of practice, he was able to play more in the Final Four. It's a little different because Boozer was not out nearly as long, but even then I think the team continued to play the way they did after he was hurt.

Would depend on practice.

[DukeGirl4ever]

I think K thinks he can win it without Kyrie this year so he is saving him for next year.

If Kyrie comes back and he plays his tale off and Duke wins it, he has to go pro.. But, if they can win it this year without him, he will be back playing for Duke with Rivers going for the 3peat.

I also can't believe I just read this.

I thought this was a Tar Heel posting this comment. Their whole motto is that K makes kids stay all 4 years for his own personal gain. That's ridiculous!

This 3peat nonsense also needs to stop. We've won exactly one in a row...

I hope this doesn't sound harsh...

[sdotbarbee]

Judging by what we saw with the rubber band/dribbling, he could easily have been taking jump shots for a week now.

I would have to agree with you here, I would take it a step further and say he could easily by jogging up and down the court by now. That exercise puts a lot more stain on the toe then simply jogging on a hard surface.

[Delaware]

DavidGlennShow David Glenn Show
@coach_collins says that there is no timetable for Kyrie to return and that he hasn't practiced with the team yet.

[ChicagoCrazy84]

I also can't believe I just read this.

I thought this was a Tar Heel posting this comment. Their whole motto is that K makes kids stay all 4 years for his own personal gain. That's ridiculous!

This 3peat nonsense also needs to stop. We've won exactly one in a row...

I hope this doesn't sound harsh...

Thank you! I hated that post...and to be honest, I think it is quite the contrary what Coach K thinks about our team without Kyrie. He knows were good, but we're very vulnerable and probably a longshot to win it all without him!

And 3peat? We are a loooooong way away from talking about this. Even if we win it all this year, keep in mind were losing 2 All American seniors! That's not easy to come back from, even if Austin Rivers is the greatest scorer in the country.

[uh_no]

DavidGlennShow David Glenn Show
@coach_collins says that there is no timetable for Kyrie to return and that he hasn't practiced with the team yet.

It's also likely that he'll only need a couple practices before seeing game time. When he is fully healed, he'll be able to play in games just as well as he's able to practice. This also implies that he WILL be practicing with the team in due course. I don't expect preparation to be too much of an issue...I would highly suspect that the coaches are prepping kyrie on what he needs to do when he does get in there (not to mention kyrie undoubtedly still goes to practice and watches film).

I'm still holding firm with a week from now in the acc tournament.

[dukebluesincebirth]

DavidGlennShow David Glenn Show
@coach_collins says that there is no timetable for Kyrie to return and that he hasn't practiced with the team yet.

Thanks for the most current info. That's why I come to this board to get the most updated info that you guys find somehow... I've never even heard of the David Glenn show. I guess now the biggest speculation of CC's comments will be that he said Kyrie hasn't practiced "with the team." Does this imply he's been practicing on his own? YES! More speculation! This is getting crazy. I'm going to have to cut myself off soon.

[ChicagoHeel]

Well at least we now know Kyrie won't be playing Wednesday night, and probably not the rest of the season... but a little hypothetical scenario- IF he is able to play around Elite 8, Final 4 time, and we're still alive, is there anyway bringing him back can disrupt the team? I read an article by Jay Bilas yesterday saying there is no way Duke would go right back to playing as they were the 1st 8 games... he doesn't even think Kyrie will be the same player right away... his jumpshot could easily be rusty, defense not quite there, or many other differences.
So, if you were Coach K in this scenario and the team had been flowing through the tournament, would you still bring Kyrie back this late in the season????

I have been having similar thoughts and was wondering if the topic had been discussed on DBR (couldn't bring myself to read through 30+ pages of Irving toe vigil posts). I will admit that I have not followed the issue that closely, but it seems to me that at this point it is debatable that Irving could even add much if he did come back. That is not to denigrate him at all- he is clearly a superior talent and I hope/ pray he has a successful career starting next year in Cleveland. It's just that:

(1) Duke has played almost a whole season without him and would likely take some time to readjust. Wouldn't he throw off your rhythm?
(2) Irving could be out of shape and be off in terms of his timing/ speed/ shooting. Has he ever gone this long without playing ball in his life?
(3) teams/ players have improved since Irving last played. He obviously was extremely impressive in his first eight games, but everyone is a little rusty early in the season and now basically all the teams and players he would face are much improved- with the exception of the first round of the two tournaments. If he could have come back and played a bit against lesser competition for lower stakes, that would be different.

If he came back during the NCAA tournament, perhaps it would be something like Zeller during our '09 championship run. He provided some useful minutes, but no one would really say he was integral to the championship.

[oldnavy]

I think I have been looking at this from the wrong perspective.

There absolutely HAS to be a chance that KI will return this year.

Why, because there is no way that Coach K keep answering questions about this if he knew that KI was done.

Think about it, K has to answer these questions every time there is a microphone in front of him. Why on earth would he not say that KI is finished and put it to rest if in fact that were the case?

So, by that reasoning, there must be a chance that KI is coming back. And I would say there must be a fairly reasonable chance that he is coming back. You know that K has to down play it so the team will stay focused on the task at hand, but if he knew that KI was done, there would be NO reason to not say it and move on... you know he must hate having to talk about it...

Saying that he doesn't expect him to play gives him an out for when he does come back. It also covers him in the event that KI's rehab stalls or he hurts himself again and he cannot return.

[oldnavy]

I have been having similar thoughts and was wondering if the topic had been discussed on DBR (couldn't bring myself to read through 30+ pages of Irving toe vigil posts). I will admit that I have not followed the issue that closely, but it seems to me that at this point it is debatable that Irving could even add much if he did come back. That is not to denigrate him at all- he is clearly a superior talent and I hope/ pray he has a successful career starting next year in Cleveland. It's just that:

(1) Duke has played almost a whole season without him and would likely take some time to readjust. Wouldn't he throw off your rhythm?
(2) Irving could be out of shape and be off in terms of his timing/ speed/ shooting. Has he ever gone this long without playing ball in his life?
(3) teams/ players have improved since Irving last played. He obviously was extremely impressive in his first eight games, but everyone is a little rusty early in the season and now basically all the teams and players he would face are much improved- with the exception of the first round of the two tournaments. If he could have come back and played a bit against lesser competition for lower stakes, that would be different.

If he came back during the NCAA tournament, perhaps it would be something like Zeller during our '09 championship run. He provided some useful minutes, but no one would really say he was integral to the championship.

I have to disagree. I think you would be right on the money if KI were an average player or slightly better player, but he is not. I think that with the exception of perhaps some conditioning issues, he could jump right back in and be a big difference maker. I do not think that having him in the line up would hurt at all. He is special and he makes others around him better. If he were a player that was selfish and looking to score a lot etc... then you would be correct, but again, he is not that type of player.

I really hope we get a chance to find out!!

[uh_no]

I have to disagree. I think you would be right on the money if KI were an average player or slightly better player, but he is not. I think that with the exception of perhaps some conditioning issues, he could jump right back in and be a big difference maker. I do not think that having him in the line up would hurt at all. He is special and he makes others around him better. If he were a player that was selfish and looking to score a lot etc... then you would be correct, but again, he is not that type of player.

I really hope we get a chance to find out!!

Especially when we've shown that we have troubles scoring for long periods of time...Who doesn't think he couldn't have found an open man at the end of the game last weekend?

[sdotbarbee]

I think I have been looking at this from the wrong perspective.

There absolutely HAS to be a chance that KI will return this year.

Why, because there is no way that Coach K keep answering questions about this if he knew that KI was done.

Think about it, K has to answer these questions every time there is a microphone in front of him. Why on earth would he not say that KI is finished and put it to rest if in fact that were the case?

So, by that reasoning, there must be a chance that KI is coming back. And I would say there must be a fairly reasonable chance that he is coming back. You know that K has to down play it so the team will stay focused on the task at hand, but if he knew that KI was done, there would be NO reason to not say it and move on... you know he must hate having to talk about it...

Saying that he doesn't expect him to play gives him an out for when he does come back. It also covers him in the event that KI's rehab stalls or he hurts himself again and he cannot return.

Where is CDu to tell you that this is not logical? At least that is what he said to me when I made a similar statement.

[PADukeMom]

Okay how exactly can we 3pete when there is no such thing as a repeat???

I agree with the notion of enjoying the team we have right now. I know I will be bawling my eyes out when Kyle & Nolan come out of the game on Wednesday.

I'll be happy if Kyrie come back, I'll be happy for my team if Kyrie is unable to come back, I'll be happy for Kyrie if he goes to the NBA, I'll be thrilled if he is back at Duke next year.

All I know it is March & it is time to tighten up those shoelaces boys & boggity, boogity, boogity!!! Geeze I really do hate Nascar.

[Jeff Frosh]

It's also likely that he'll only need a couple practices before seeing game time. When he is fully healed, he'll be able to play in games just as well as he's able to practice. This also implies that he WILL be practicing with the team in due course. I don't expect preparation to be too much of an issue...I would highly suspect that the coaches are prepping kyrie on what he needs to do when he does get in there (not to mention kyrie undoubtedly still goes to practice and watches film).

I'm still holding firm with a week from now in the acc tournament.

The question is when Kyrie is healed enough to play without risking a re-injury. If he is ready to play, then he will be ready to practice and after only a short amount of practice time ready to play in games. Of course he may be rusty, but he can work out the kinks first in practices and then in practices and games simultaneously. I am hoping for an acc tournament return, which gives him an extra 9 days as compared to playing tomorrow night. He can play limited minutes during the tourney (I trust in Coach K to know how to integrate him), then get some more rest and practice time until the easy first round NCAA tourney game and (hopefully) fairly easy second round game. Then he will be good to go for the Sweet 16 a la Boozer (yes, I know it is different because of the length of the inactivity, but it also can be similar as far as the timing of the return).

Of course like everything else on this thread this is all speculation, but I want to visualize a reasonable scenario that leads to Kyrie's return in order to not go insane.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Aside from Jumbo... was there any one who truly believed that Duke was going to the Final Four last year? Really... truly believed it?

I'm surprised you had to ask this question...

[PADukeMom]

I'm surprised you had to ask this question...

I did! I predicted nets in Indy after the Georgetown loss.

[ChicagoHeel]

I have to disagree. I think you would be right on the money if KI were an average player or slightly better player, but he is not. I think that with the exception of perhaps some conditioning issues, he could jump right back in and be a big difference maker. I do not think that having him in the line up would hurt at all. He is special and he makes others around him better. If he were a player that was selfish and looking to score a lot etc... then you would be correct, but again, he is not that type of player.

I really hope we get a chance to find out!!

At some level, I kind of hope we get a chance to find out too. On the other hand, I am perfectly fine with him never playing another game in a Duke uniform.

I agree that he is a rare talent, but it just seems that expectations for him have grown awfully high. He is still a freshman that has missed months of games and practice and I think it is unrealistic to expect him to have anything approaching the impact he had early in the year or even a significant impact on what is already a very good team that is playing well (despite the VaTech loss).

One other minor point of disagreement- Irving does shoot a fair amount. He averaged about 10 shots a game, which is about what Zeller averages for us. It is not an insignificant number of shots and so if his shot is off- or his shot selection not as sharp- there is the potential for a negative impact.