CLEVELAND, Ohio — For the most part, Kyrie Irving still thinks of himself as a normal kid.
In spite of the fact that the Cavaliers could make the former Duke point guard the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft on June 23 — with the publicity and paycheck that go with it — he’d like to keep it that way.
“I was living a normal lifestyle until I got to Duke,” said Irving, 19, who played just 11 games as a freshman last year because of toe injury. “I was a normal kid, and I still feel I am a normal kid. I’m not going to change my lifestyle.”
What exactly does he consider normal? He loves to play basketball, obviously. Away from the court, he likes to hang with his close circle of friends, most of whom don’t play basketball. He likes to sing, and dance. He plays the baritone sax. He was in his high school play.
He likes to read, too, and just finished Allen Iverson’s autobiography.
“Knowledge is power,” he said during the recent NBA combine in Chicago. “I try to get a broader view of different guys’ journeys; do my homework.”
He values education. Although he left Duke after just one season, he made a pact with his father, Drederick Irving, that he would earn his degree in five years.
“I don’t want to be considered a dropout,” he said.
He has a humble way, as if uncertain why everyone is making this fuss. Asked during one of the daily press sessions what made him a No. 1 pick, he smiled and said, “I’m not sure. I guess some people see different things in me that I don’t even see in myself sometimes.”
In fact, to most questions of that sort, he replied that his main concern was just working hard every day to get better. “Hungry and humble” is his mantra.
In addition to not taking himself too seriously, he also displayed a good sense of humor.
Asked what his vertical leap was during the combine’s athletic testing, Irving said, “I think it was zero. … I didn’t do it.”
Tony Jones, his first high school coach at Montclair (N.J.) Kimberley Academy, calls him authentic.
“What you see is what you get,” Jones said.
But what you get is something special — a good shooter, a good passer with great court vision and knowledge of the game, a good rebounder and defender for his size with speed and quickness and a great first step.
The Irving file
- Name: Kyrie Irving
- Birthdate: March 23, 1992 in Melbourne, Australia
- Ht./wt. 6-3 1/2, 191
- Family: Father Drederick, stepmother Shetellia Riley Irving, older sister Asia. Kyrie’s mother died when he was 4.
- High school: Montclair (N.J.) Kimberley Academy (freshman and sophomore years), St. Patrick in Elizabeth, N.J. (junior and senior years)
- College: Duke
- Key stats: Averaged 17.5 points, 4.3 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 11 games at Duke.
- Personal: Loves to sing, dance, read. Plays the baritone sax. Godfather is former NBA player Rod Strickland.
— Mary Schmitt Boyer
Making a good first impression
“Ky can play,” Jones said. “I’m so happy for him. Not all the time do you get really, really good people who have an opportunity to achieve their dreams. Ky is so down to earth. Sometimes kids who have the kind of success he’s had at his age have this kind of prima donna attitude. He has none of that. He’s about as down to earth as you can be.”
Irving was born in Melbourne, Australia, where his father was playing basketball. His mother died when he was four, leaving Drederick with Kyrie and an older sister, Asia. Back in the U.S., young Kyrie rose through the basketball ranks, making a name for himself.
Jones first saw him as a skinny little eighth grader in an AAU game at Hoop Heaven in Whippany, N.J.
“The thing I noticed more than anything, I’ll never forget, he got the ball in transition, he was ahead of the pack, and this guy was racing to catch him and he suddenly cut in front of the player and finished a really tough layup,” Jones recalled. “As an eighth grader, he didn’t circle and try and make a layup with his strong hand. He just cut, held the guy off and finished with a layup. I just said, ‘Wow. That kid can play. He understands what’s going on.’
“I worked hard to get him here. I thought he could change our program.”
Irving started as a freshman and averaged about 16 points as his team finished a few games above .500. His sophomore year he averaged 27 points and 13 rebounds and the Montclair Kimberley Academy basketball team won its first state prep title.
What Irving — and Jones — realized was that he needed a bigger challenge.
“Kyrie’s probably the best player to ever walk through these doors,” Jones said. “Obviously, I wanted him to play for me forever if he could. We knew his sophomore year there was a chance he wasn’t going to come back, he had outgrown what we have here.”
So Irving transferred to powerhouse St. Patrick in Elizabeth, N.J., joining a nationally ranked team that included players such as Dexter Strickland, now at North Carolina.
“When he first arrived, he took the conservative approach to some of the older guys we had,” said coach Kevin Boyle, who recently left St. Pat’s after 23 years to move to Montverde (Fla.) Academy. “People heard more about them than they heard about him up to then. Sometimes he was too respectful. But it was pretty clear for me to see he was the best kid on the team. He’s a very complete player. There’s very few things he doesn’t do well.”
Briefly a Blue Devil
Irving led St. Pat’s to a state prep title, too, and in the process watched his stock rise from maybe No. 90 among top prep players to No. 10 and then the top five. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski came calling, and Irving signed on with the Blue Devils.
Kyle Singler was not part of the recruiting process, but it didn’t take long for Irving to impress him.
“The first time I remember him was in our first week of practice,” said Singler, a senior who also took part in the recent NBA combine. “I really thought the kid was special, and he is. He’s a very intelligent basketball player. He does stuff with the ball not very many people can do.
“He has a great personality and his talents speak for themselves. He’s going to have to prove himself, but he’s got the talent, he has the skills to be effective.”
Of course, Irving got hurt just eight games into the season, twisting ligaments in his right big toe. He wore a cast for three months and still wears an orthotic in his shoe. He surprised many — including Singler — by coming back to play in three NCAA tournament games, but he thought he needed to prove he was healthy enough to play in the NBA.
He clearly did that, as virtually every mock draft has him listed as the top player available. For a city still struggling to get over The Chosen One, Boyle thinks Irving can be a great replacement if he’s chosen No. 1.
“I think it’s a great ‘get’ for them,” Boyle said. “After losing LeBron, fans need something to hold on to. He’s an exciting player. He makes other guys around him better. Guys enjoy playing with him and enjoy running because they know they’ll get the ball.
“I’m excited to see him at that level.”
Cavs workouts: Although the team has not released any information about workouts of potential draft picks, Florida State’s Chris Singleton told reporters at his workout with Golden State on Tuesday that his first workout was with the Cavs.
The Cavs would not confirm reports that Turkey’s Enes Kanter is due in on June 7 and Providence’s Marshon Brooks is due on on June 10. … The Web site thehoopsreport.com reported the Cavs held a workout on Monday that included Singleton, Tobias Harris, Marcus Morris, Jordan Williams, Cory Joseph and Diante Garrett. Harris was matched up against Williams, Morris went up against Singleton, and Joseph matched up with Garrett.
According to the Web site, Morris was the most impressive player and Singleton didn’t look good at all. The site also reported that Garrett got the best of Joseph, while the Harris-Williams matchup wasn’t an ideal pairing, as Harris is more of a combo forward and Williams is a true post player.
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