The Kyrie Irving Toe Rehab Vigil

[devildm]

Gotta love Nike. First the "Order has been restored" ad, now this

"He said the sesamoid bones on his right big toe were injured when he bent the toe back too far during the Butler game"..."He said Nike has constructed a special shoe for him to prevent his toe from bending back in the future, so he is not afraid of re-injuring it."

Read more: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow...#ixzz1GX07jSll

[billyj]

Gotta love Nike. First the "Order has been restored" ad, now this

"He said the sesamoid bones on his right big toe were injured when he bent the toe back too far during the Butler game"..."He said Nike has constructed a special shoe for him to prevent his toe from bending back in the future, so he is not afraid of re-injuring it."

Read more: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow...#ixzz1GX07jSll

Nah c'mon now, when he was first injured it was probably in a Nike too.

[WVDUKEFAN]

I think we have an excellent chance in advancing to the Sweet 16. Tennessee scares me more than Michigan. If we make it past this weekend, I think Kyrie comes back and plays the rest of the way. I would like to have him against Texas or Memphis.

[Andy7207]

"'I think I had a high basketball IQ when I was playing,' Irving said, 'but now it’s increased, tremendously.'"

OH MY GOODNESS FORGET TEMPERING EXPECTATIONS I'M THROWING CAUTION TO THE WIND SO EXCITED

[Dukeface88]

In that picture, the Duke players looked so serious, like they weren't having any fun at all. Must be terrible to have to play in a program like that.

I'm not sure why, but the "three-point monicle" cracks me up.

[zoroaster]

"'I think I had a high basketball IQ when I was playing,' Irving said, 'but now it’s increased, tremendously.'"

Love his enthusiasm and confidence. Can't wait to see what happens next.

[TampaDukie]

"'I think I had a high basketball IQ when I was playing,' Irving said, 'but now it’s increased, tremendously.'"

Kyrie said something I was thinking about earlier. There have been so many times that Nolan has come to the bench and we've seen Kyrie instructing him and sharing things he noticed while watching play. Given his already precocious basketball IQ earlier this season, I can't even imagine how much he's learned as a spectator. It's very exciting.

[g-money]

The news about Kyrie's toe is very promising, but I suggest that we keep our hopes and expectations in check about his potential contribution during the NCAA tournament. Here are a few notes of caution:

- Given the duration of Kyrie's injury, there will almost certainly be an adjustment period before he is in game shape. Even if there is no soreness in the toe, I'd expect fatigue and spotty outside shooting to be issues during his first few games back.

- It is a dangerous game (and one I am sure Coach K will approach with extreme caution) to thrust a freshman - and a point guard, no less! - with a grand total of eight games under his belt into the high pressure environment of the NCAA tournament. Kyrie has shown he's capable of amazing things, but to thrive instantly in this type of environment would be superhuman.

To me it would be a huge plus if Kyrie can steal a few minutes in the first and second round games. It'd be a lot better for him to get his feet wet against Hampton than Texas.

Apologies if I sound like Debbie Downer given this weekend's encouraging news. The upshot is that even if Kyrie's contribution boils down to just 5-10 minutes a game going forward, we still have a great chance to repeat as NCAA champions!

[hurley1]

i think irving will get up to game speed very quickly....my bigger concern is for him to try to overdo it...

[oldnavy]

Nah c'mon now, when he was first injured it was probably in a Nike too.

I am no Nike fan. I started boycotting them back when they had Rodman play Santa Claus in a commercial many years back. Haven't bought a pair since then, although I will admit I have several pieces of clothing...

But, I do not think the shoe had much to do with either Nolan's or Kyrie's injury. Both were just freakish things that happen.

I do like the fact that they have constructed a special shoe to prevent KI's toe from bending backwards again... I think that will give him the confidence to play hard and not worry about reinjury...

[uh_no]

I am no Nike fan.

Why?

The amount of money and support that Nike gives to college athletics (of which Duke University receives a lion's share) is enormous. As a track fan, I see the amount of money they give to athletes who otherwise could not afford to compete.

[jtelander]

Cross your fingers and, um, legs.

Simply crossing fingers is not enough, eh?

Duke freshman guard Kyrie Irving said Sunday afternoon that there is a chance he will return from a toe injury to play at some point during the NCAA tournament.

“I can’t really put a percentage on it,” Irving said. “It all depends on how I feel, and if the medical staff feels good about it.”

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was more cautious, saying Irving’s enthusiasm might have been fueled by the emotion of missing out on the Blue Devils’ 75-58 ACC tournament defeat of North Carolina.

“We’re far away from that decision,” Krzyzewski said. “But he’s doing well. He’s worked out here every day and we’re not trying to hide anything. We tried to show that first of all we do have a guy named Kyrie and secondly that he’s progressing well.”

Cracks me up to read the leap that folks here are willing to take from "a chance" to certainty he'll play next weekend.

I hope everyone's hopes are fulfilled, but my expectations are tempered by the cautionary tones of Mike Corey (above) and those of Coach K.

I will be pleasantly surprised if KI is able to make a meaningful contribution in the weeks ahead.

I did get a chuckle out of Coach K's comment that

He’s done a lot in water. If we were a water polo team, he would be playing today

[DukeBlueHeart4]

Why?

The amount of money and support that Nike gives to college athletics (of which Duke University receives a lion's share) is enormous. As a track fan, I see the amount of money they give to athletes who otherwise could not afford to compete.

Nike does give great amounts of money to college athletics but that does not mean they are the best shoes for the players. I was training for a 10k about a year ago and started experiencing some foot/knee problems. My small town doc sent me to an orthopedic specialist in Charlotte who told me that I should immediately throw away the shoes I had been training in (Nike) and buy some New Balances. One of my college roommates was told the same thing by Dr. Nunny (if I am recalling correctly) at Duke.

On a Kyrie-related note: I AM SO EXCITED!!! I know that I need to temper that excitement with realism but that is so hard when we've all waited so long for anything even close the kind of statements he made after the game. Add the ACC Championship on top of that...it just feels like that things are falling into place. Whether he actually plays or not, I've enjoyed having Kyrie as part of our team. That young man clearly wants to be back on the court and, as I'm learning as a first year teacher, not much can dissuade a determined teenager.

[mrscarlett]

After watching Kyrie work out about an 1.5 hrs before tip off Sunday, I would be shocked if he didn't play in the ncaa's. While he was not going 100% during workouts he was still cutting on his foot without any signs of pain or discomfort.

Also to note from the left side of the floor he missed very few shots, the right side of the floor was not so kind lol.

[dukebluesincebirth]

You guys are getting me too excited with all this info. I can't believe after all of this endless speculation we're finally getting to the heart of this situation and it's looking more and more positive. This is unbelievable and my March Madness excitement level is through the roof! It's hard to concentrate at work TODAY, I can't imagine Thursday and Friday!

[Lord Ash]

Simply crossing fingers is not enough, eh?



Cracks me up to read the leap that folks here are willing to take from "a chance" to certainty he'll play next weekend.

I hope everyone's hopes are fulfilled, but my expectations are tempered by the cautionary tones of Mike Corey (above) and those of Coach K.

I will be pleasantly surprised if KI is able to make a meaningful contribution in the weeks ahead.

I did get a chuckle out of Coach K's comment that

While I am doing my best to keep my expectations realistic, I can't help but think that "far away" for K could, indeed, mean "We don't play until Thursday or Friday, so we are in some ways far away, if far away means four or five days, or far away means emotionally far away."

Fingers crossed.

[dukelifer]

i think irving will get up to game speed very quickly....my bigger concern is for him to try to overdo it...

Let's put it this way- I was worried about his health when he was 100%. The kid only knows how to play one way and that is with abandon- like Nolan did this year. It is possible he can play another way but his nature is to attack and doing that at game speed is always a big adjustment for anyone coming off an injury.

[devildeac]

While I am doing my best to keep my expectations realistic, I can't help but think that "far away" for K could, indeed, mean "We don't play until Thursday or Friday, so we are in some ways far away, if far away means four or five days, or far away means emotionally far away."

Fingers crossed.

Trying to be logical in this, I'd be thinking along these lines: Practices Monday through Thursday and limited action Friday as a reserve (8-10 minutes) and then a few more minutes Sunday (if we win Friday), perhaps 10-15 minutes. This would be similar to the way K has done things in the past with the injuries to Hurley, Hill and Boozer. Putting them in reserve roles and then working them back into the rotation as re-conditioning occured, assuming there is no pain and recovery is near or at 100%. Let's see/hear what Kyrie, his father, K and the orthopedic guys have to say first.

Then again, there's always water polo. Oh, wait a minute, I don't think we have a water polo team.

[Lord Ash]

Then again, there's always water polo. Oh, wait a minute, I don't think we have a water polo team.

But if we DID, we all know who would be the starting center (or hole set, if you want to sound cool!)

[diveonthefloor]

I understand Kyrie's dad has a huge role in this and will no doubt overrule Kyrie is he thinks it is in Kyrie's best interests.

But I wish he'd remember this:

1) Assuming Kyrie declares, he will never, ever have a chance to play on this stage again, and never have a chance to share completely in the experience that no college player would ever give back. (Maybe not even Chris Webber.)

2) The odds are very large that the NBA will either not play at all next year, or play a very shortened season. Kyrie will likely have more than 6 or 7 months to very gently get into the kind of shape he wants to be in for the NBA.

3) The physicians will only allow Kyrie to play if they think his risk of reinjury is very low