Duke super frosh Kyrie Irving may play in the NCAA tournament after missing months and 26 games.
Irving injured his right big toe Dec. 4 and has only recently returned to any basketball practice. If he doesn’t play in the tournament though, he may have already played his last game as a Blue Devil as he sits atop most NBA draft charts because of his potential.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski said if he does return to play against Hampton in the first round of the tournament Friday afternoon, Irving would not start and would only play a few minutes. A decision probably won’t be made until after practice on Thursday in Charlotte.
Duke certainly doesn’t need Irving to beat Hampton but the Devils have to win six games to win the national title. If Irving gets back up to speed, he could certainly help the cause. But he could also, despite what teammates are saying, mess up the chemistry and rotation that players and coaches have gotten comfortable with.
Irving was leading the Blue Devils in scoring over the first eight games of the season with a 17 points per game average. But Duke has all the shooters they need to win a championship – Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler, Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins. If Irving were a big man, then we’re talking a big difference maker. The Devils could use help inside. That being said, Irving is a point guard that could make the big men look better on offense.
The blogosphere is already burning up that, with Irving in the lineup, you can just hand the NCAA trophy to Duke again. While I’m sure Coach K will work him in gradually so that the Duke engine is roaring by the Final Four, I’m just not sure the Devils will make it to the Final Four.
They should win the first two games handily but it could take a while for Irving to work in smoothly plus all it takes for a three-point shooting team like Duke to be ousted is to have one bad shooting game. By the time Irving is about settled in again, the Devils may have bowed out.
On the other hand, if the shooters can avoid a one-game slump, by game six of the NCAA tourney, Irving (if truly healthy) and the Devils should be playing at their peak. This season, that could be enough to take it all – but I wouldn’t bet on it just yet.