Olympic Fan
11-19-2009, 01:39 PM
Duke announced in a release this morning that Kyrie Irving, Tyler Thornton and Josh Hairston have all signed LOIs. According to NCAA rules the announcement means that Duke has their signed LOI in hand, so it's official.
I know there were some crazy rumors out there -- a couple of weeks ago, some message boards suggested that Thornton would reneg and sign with Virginia (total Internet BS -- he never waivered). I just wanted to let everybody know that Irving, Thornton and Hairston are officially Dukies now.
Alos, the fact that Duke released its fall signing class means that they don't expect anybody else to sign this fall -- meaning that if Roscoe Smith does end up picking Duke, it won't be the early signing period.
Below is a copy of the release (it's probably up on goduke. com by now):
Duke Basketball Inks Three During Early Signing Period
Durham, N.C. – Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced on Thursday the signing of Josh Hairston, Kyrie Irving and Tyler Thornton to national letters of intent to play basketball for the Blue Devils beginning in the fall of 2010. The trio is ranked as the No. 5 signing class in the nation by Rivals.com and No. 7 by Scout.com
“Josh, Kyrie and Tyler will be tremendous additions to our program on and off the court,” said Krzyzewski. “They are outstanding young men, terrific students and talented basketball players. We are excited about their respective futures in our program and look forward to watching them continue to grow and develop.”
Hairston, a 6’8” power forward from Spotsylvania, Va., averaged 23.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game while leading Courtland to the Group AA, Division 4 state championship a year ago. He earned state player of the year by the Virginia High School Coaches Association and the Associated Press. Hairston is ranked No. 27 overall and the No. 8 power forward by ESPN.com and is the No. 10 power forward according to Scout.com. He is also ranked No. 49 (No. 12 among power forward) by Rivals.com. Hairston transferred to Montrose Christian in Rockville, Md., for the 2009-10 season.
Irving, a 6’2” point guard from Elizabeth, N.J., is among the top rated players in the country. He averaged 16.6 points per game in 20 contests last season at national powerhouse St. Patrick High, earning all-state honors. Irving had a season-high 29 points to help St. Patrick beat Elizabeth, 89-72, in the Union County Tournament final and had 26 in a 73-57 victory over Science Park of Newark in the Tournament of Champions final. He scored over 1,000 points in his first two years of high school at Montclair Kimberley before transferring to St. Patrick High. Irving is ranked No. 6 overall and second among point guards by ESPN.com. He is also ranked No. 2 among point guards by Scout.com and No. 9 overall by Rivals.com. Irving’s dad, Drederick, played at Boston University in the late 1980s.
Thornton comes to Duke from Washington D.C. where he goes to Gonzaga College High School. A 6’2” point guard, Thornton is ranked No. 129 on the Rivals150 list and is ranked as the No. 29 player at his position. He is also ranked No. 20 by scout.com and No. 21 by ESPN.com among the nation’s top point guards. Last season, he averaged 14.4 points per game while leading Gonzaga to the WCAC Championship game, a one-point loss to DeMatha. Thornton was named to the All-WCAC first team and to the Washington D.C. All-Beltway second team as a junior.
I know there were some crazy rumors out there -- a couple of weeks ago, some message boards suggested that Thornton would reneg and sign with Virginia (total Internet BS -- he never waivered). I just wanted to let everybody know that Irving, Thornton and Hairston are officially Dukies now.
Alos, the fact that Duke released its fall signing class means that they don't expect anybody else to sign this fall -- meaning that if Roscoe Smith does end up picking Duke, it won't be the early signing period.
Below is a copy of the release (it's probably up on goduke. com by now):
Duke Basketball Inks Three During Early Signing Period
Durham, N.C. – Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced on Thursday the signing of Josh Hairston, Kyrie Irving and Tyler Thornton to national letters of intent to play basketball for the Blue Devils beginning in the fall of 2010. The trio is ranked as the No. 5 signing class in the nation by Rivals.com and No. 7 by Scout.com
“Josh, Kyrie and Tyler will be tremendous additions to our program on and off the court,” said Krzyzewski. “They are outstanding young men, terrific students and talented basketball players. We are excited about their respective futures in our program and look forward to watching them continue to grow and develop.”
Hairston, a 6’8” power forward from Spotsylvania, Va., averaged 23.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game while leading Courtland to the Group AA, Division 4 state championship a year ago. He earned state player of the year by the Virginia High School Coaches Association and the Associated Press. Hairston is ranked No. 27 overall and the No. 8 power forward by ESPN.com and is the No. 10 power forward according to Scout.com. He is also ranked No. 49 (No. 12 among power forward) by Rivals.com. Hairston transferred to Montrose Christian in Rockville, Md., for the 2009-10 season.
Irving, a 6’2” point guard from Elizabeth, N.J., is among the top rated players in the country. He averaged 16.6 points per game in 20 contests last season at national powerhouse St. Patrick High, earning all-state honors. Irving had a season-high 29 points to help St. Patrick beat Elizabeth, 89-72, in the Union County Tournament final and had 26 in a 73-57 victory over Science Park of Newark in the Tournament of Champions final. He scored over 1,000 points in his first two years of high school at Montclair Kimberley before transferring to St. Patrick High. Irving is ranked No. 6 overall and second among point guards by ESPN.com. He is also ranked No. 2 among point guards by Scout.com and No. 9 overall by Rivals.com. Irving’s dad, Drederick, played at Boston University in the late 1980s.
Thornton comes to Duke from Washington D.C. where he goes to Gonzaga College High School. A 6’2” point guard, Thornton is ranked No. 129 on the Rivals150 list and is ranked as the No. 29 player at his position. He is also ranked No. 20 by scout.com and No. 21 by ESPN.com among the nation’s top point guards. Last season, he averaged 14.4 points per game while leading Gonzaga to the WCAC Championship game, a one-point loss to DeMatha. Thornton was named to the All-WCAC first team and to the Washington D.C. All-Beltway second team as a junior.