Oh No! Does The Kyrie Irving Injury Mean Duke’s Not Going Undefeated?
Pictured above is Duke point guard Kyrie Irving, the best freshman in America and a serious contender for the number one pick in next year's NBA Draft. He also has a Twitter account:
Indeed, after news of his “indefinite absence” broke yesterday, Duke’s most talented player suddenly looks like his entire season’s in doubt. As Coach K explained it, “It’s a serious injury. ... he could be out or a long time.” It’s still too early to make any definite claims, but at least one reporter said there’s a 55 percent chance his season is over.
And if it’s true, not to smile at misfortune, but it is Duke, so... Well, wait a second. Maybe there’s a way everyone can win.
Yes. Everyone can win—except Duke, of course.
Because without Kyrie Irving, the Blue Devils powerhouse becomes a lot more pedestrian. It’s one thing to have a collection of very good players that work well within a system—that’s been true of the Blue Devils for almost a decade now—but adding Irving to the mix is what made the Blue Devils so terrifying to the rest of college basketball this year. Not only did they return the core from last year’s title team, but they had the next Chris Paul floating around the perimeter. ... Had. That’s the operative word there.
Potentially losing Irving means Duke might be without their best weapon of all. Kyle Singler, Mason Plumlee, Nolan Smith, Seth Curry... That's a good team, but they won't be invincible, and if Coach K's track record is any indicator, they'll be as ripe for upset as any of the other fundamentally sound, athletically inferior Duke teams that have crumbled in March.
(Yeah, they won last year. But still...)
As for Irving? It's sad that he may miss the rest of the year, especially since he seems like a pretty great kid. On the other hand, he's still shown more than enough to earn himself a spot in the top 5 of next year's NBA Draft, and barring an insane year from Kansas' Josh Selby (he debuts at KU Dec. 18th), Irving will almost certainly be the first point guard off the board.
So is it possible that Duke’s most talented player in years could derail the most talented team Coach K’s had in a decade, and then leave for the NBA before he ever fulfills his potential in college?
We’re getting ahead of ourselves, but... That would be kind of great, right?
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