Irving Declares for NBA Draft

[loran16]

Kyrie just declared for the draft on twitter:

RealKyrieIrving Kyrie Irving
I will be entering the 2011 NBA draft.Thank you fans out there for your support throughout the year and hopefully you stick around!thank you

[h8tarheels]

"I will be entering the 2011 NBA draft. Thank you fans out there for your support throughout the year and hopefully you stick around. Thank you" - RealKyrieIrving....

[dubldvman]

Disappointing but expected. Delight to watch. Wish him all the best. Next play next season.

[moonpie23]

thank you kyrie, for everything....proud to have you in a duke uni...even for a little while...

[weezie]

Kind of surprised he didn't wait until after the banquet next week.

[A-Tex Devil]

Kind of surprised he didn't wait until after the banquet next week.

Nah. It's better this way. His teammates and coaches certainly understand, and it is probably more enjoyable and comfortable at the banquet with everything out in the open.

[Kewlswim]

Hi,

This was expected, though really disappointing (only because we only got to see him play 11 games in a Duke Uniform). Nevertheless, I hope my fellow Blue Devil fans will join me in thinking of Kyrie as a Blue Devil for life.

Kyrie, nothing wrong with coming back when you have a chance to finish your degree. Education isn't a race and you will most likely always be welcome back.

GO BACK!

[superdave]

Good luck to Kyrie. He will always be a Dukie. I think he's going to be a great pro!

Thanks for stopping by.

[DukeDevilDeb]

from Bleacher Report saying that Coach K announced that Kyrie is gone to the NBA and will hire an agent.

Read all about it: http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b8R6m

Mods: Feel free to move or remove. Didn't see the news on the other thread.

[yancem]

Here's a link to GoDuke's annoucement: http://www.goduke.com//ViewArticle.d...CLID=205131514

[loran16]

Kyrie, nothing wrong with coming back when you have a chance to finish your degree. Education isn't a race and you will most likely always be welcome back.

GO BACK!

This. If there's a lockout (and he has money), he could do this right away for a semester.

Have a great NBA career. But you should think about the option of coming back every now and then to put in time toward your degree. It can only help post-NBA (in 15-20 years, hopefully)

[Cell-R]

I love this kid. I'm sad that he's leaving, but I am even happier that we got the chance to see him in a Duke uniform! Maybe I should walk two dorms down and congratulate him...

[pfrduke]

Here's the official word from GoDuke:

http://www.goduke.com//ViewArticle.d...CLID=205131514

Nice words from Coach K (not that I would have expected anything else).

[wilko]

Hi,Kyrie, nothing wrong with coming back when you have a chance to finish your degree. Education isn't a race and you will most likely always be welcome back. GO BACK!

Heck yeah!
Take the guaranteed money while its on the table. If the pros dont work out for whatever reason he can come back to college and live it like Thornton Melon. I would.

Thanks Kyrie, good luck and God Bless!

[TheRose77]

Kyrie just tweeted that he's entering the draft. Best of luck to you!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Thanks Kyrie. Best of luck going forward. We appreciate all you did at Duke and marvel at what you showed us. We wish, as do you, that nature hadn't been so unkind health-wise but that is life.

Here's to #1, and to being #1 in the draft. May it bring you a long and fruitful career and all the happiness you hope for!

Come back to Duke often. You'll always be welcome. You can come home again!

[flyingdutchdevil]

Kyrie,

Best of luck to you. You'll always be a Blue Devil and come back and visit!

Btw - fingers crossed the Cavs don't select first!

[phaedrus]

Best wishes to KI. Wish we could have seen him play a few more games in a Duke uniform, but I look forward to seeing another Duke success story in the League.

[J4Kop99]

I want so badly to be mad at this... but I just can't get myself to do it. Kyrie is such a great all-around person/player, I hope he has great success in the future.

It would have been great to see him for one more year but I think he's doing the right thing here... it was fun while it lasted, Kyrie.

[cspan37421]

Boy, he will be missed. At least he got some NCAAT burn. But to have never suited up against UNC? That's gotta be tough to pass on, though not as tough as passing on $xx,xxx,xxx.

Out of curiosity, what advantage is there to players to sign with an agent before the draft? I know Kyrie isn't even close to borderline about whether he'll be drafted, but my understanding is that once you hire an agent, you can't go back. Since you don't have to sign with a team until after the draft, what are the advantages of having an agent before the draft? Seems like if he changed his mind ... not that he would. But why would anyone hire an agent prior to the draft?