awesome....congrats KI!!!!
Marc Stein of ESPN reports:
LINK:http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/79...ording-sources
Great job Kyrie!!!
awesome....congrats KI!!!!
"One POSSIBLE future. From your point of view... I don't know tech stuff.".... Kyle Reese
Congrats, Kyrie!
This had to have been a fairly easy choice, he was awesome this year. I think we knew it would be him all along.
-Son of Jarhead
The Duke fan formerly known as BuschDevil
Great article on Kyrie from my hometown paper:
http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index...legacy_bi.html
If his body holds up this will be the first of many awards in his basketball career... I had him to win ROY at 9 to 2 odds. If only he could've been healthy his entire freshman year... His jersey might be in the rafters... NPOY and national champion would've sealed it IMO
This sounds a lot like the comments made about Elton Brand when he was a rookie. I remember back then sitting on an airplane next to the General Manager of the Chicago radio station that carried the Bulls games. They absolutely LOVED Elton's character and demeanor. Grant Hill received similar accolades. Duke fans justifiably can be proud of the fine role models that have gone from Duke to the NBA.
As Duke fans we have followed Kyrie far more than others and know what he is capable of. Barring injury the rest of the world will soon know that he is a superstar. I pray his pleasant demeanor, work ethic, and integrity are genuine because our sports world is in dire need of good role models. As much as we were disappointed with his injury it was a blessing to see Kyrie cheering on others from the bench, giving advice, and keeping spirits up. In some way that is an even greater legacy that he has left at Duke.
According to so-called clutch stats - what a player does in the last five minutes of games or overtime when the score margin is within 5 points - Kyrie Irving was the most clutch player (not rookie!) in the NBA. Awesome.
Without the injury he would have received numerous POY awards and a national championship ring a year ago (and we would have enjoyed every minute), but this helps make up for lost time.
And to think that he was supposed to be the second-best ACC recruit in 2010...
No surprise here at all. Kyrie is a star. If they pull in a little more talent for him to not have to handle the whole load in Cleavland, look for him to be an All-Star sooner than later. Congratulations Mr. Irving!
the question now is, will the cavs actually make the moves to help him out and make the TEAM competitive?
"One POSSIBLE future. From your point of view... I don't know tech stuff.".... Kyle Reese
Well, based on their record, they can pick no lower than sixth, and have a shot at the #1 pick, but they will most likely be picking in the 2-4 range. Antwan Jamison was their second leading scorer, and he is a free agent. So they really need someone who can score if they dont get the #1 for Davis. Kidd-Gilchrist would be a great pick, or someone like Bradley Beal who projects to be a strong backcourt scoring tandem with Irving.
I would say they are probably a season away from making the playoffs if they play their cards right. They have a lot of solid role players on the team already, they just need to get a little more starting firepower. It's not a high profile free agent class, but its solid enough to find value -- unfortunately its a great class for PGs, a spot at which the Cavs are set.
It's official:
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/79...er-rookie-year
What I want to know is:
Which three fools voted for Shumpert, Faried, and Leonard over Irving???
Wojo's Twitter Feed directed me to the 10 minute video of the press conference:
http://www.nba.com/video/channels/aw...kie_kyrie.nba/
He does a nice job thanking K and Duke, and lists Josh Hairston among his closest inner-circle of friends.
We can all be really proud to be associated via our fandom with this classy kid. It got a little dusty here in the home office, I have to admit.
It was an easy, logical choice. He was consistent all throughout the year, making the Cavs worthy of talks once again.
Congratulations!