Kyrie Irving, PG

Irving's college career was brief -- 11 games to be exact -- thanks to a nagging right turf toe injury in early December. The point guard was twice fitted for a cast, as doctors tried to speed up his healing process, but he remained on the sideline for 26 games before returning to action during the NCAA Tournament in mid-March.

Irving got off to a sensational start for the Blue Devils, scoring in double figures in each of his first eight games before he was injured against Butler. Upon his return to the court during the NCAA Tournament, he picked up right where he left off, closing out his career with a 28-point output in an upset loss to Arizona.

His average of 17.5 points scored per game ranked second on the team, as Irving shot 52.9 percent from the field and made a team-best 90.1 percent from the foul line. His 3-point percentage of .462 also paced the Blue Devils, while his 47 assists in just one-third of a season ranked fifth on the team.

Irving's basketball pedigree was established at birth. The son of Drederick Irving, his father played at Boston University from 1984-88, where he scored 14 points in the Terriers' 85-69 loss to Duke in the opening round of the 1988 NCAA Tournament. Drederick had his jersey retired and ranks second in school history with 1,931 career points. He went on to play professionally in Australia for the Bulleen Boomers.

Irving was born in Melbourne and has dual citizenship in the United States and Australia. His basketball career began at Montclair Kimberly Academy, where he was named conference Player of the Year as a sophomore. He led the academy to its first Prep Class B state title that season, as he averaged 29.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game. In just two seasons at the school, he became just the second player to score over 1,000 points during a career.

Saint Patrick's High School would benefit from Irving's arrival as a junior. In each of his four prep seasons at both schools, the guard earned All-Conference honors. He was named Gatorade's New Jersey Player of the Year and was a consensus All-American pick as a senior, as the finalist for the Naismith Boy's High School Player of the Year averaged 24.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game, leading the Celtics to a 24-3 record overall and the No. 7 ranking in the final USA Today Poll in 2010.

The 2010 McDonald's All-America participant scored 13 points to go with two rebounds, two assists and three steals in a 107-104 loss. He was named Co-MVP of the Jordan Brand Classic All-Star game, when he scored a team-high 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, including 2-of-4 from the 3-point line, and 8-of-12 from the free throw line. He also tallied a team-high seven assists, three rebounds and one steal.

Irving was also a member of the USA Under-18 team, leading them to a 5-0 record and a gold medal at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in San Antonio. During that series, he averaged 13.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game, while shooting over 50 percent from the field and 80 percent from the foul line. A year earlier, he earned MVP honors at the 2009 Nike Global Challenge after averaging 21.3 points and 4.3 assists to lead USA East to the tournament title.

In early April, 2011, Irving announced that he would enter the 2011 NBA Draft, where he is expected to be one of the first players selected. "Our whole program is overjoyed with having Kyrie here for one year and that he has the chance now to pursue a dream of being a high draft pick and a great player in the NBA," said head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

"We are totally supportive of Kyrie, his family and his decision. We look forward to continuing to work with him during the upcoming months leading to his entry into the NBA and afterwards while he is an NBA player. He is a great young man, a terrific student, and a truly amazing representative for our program and for Duke. We love him and are very happy for him and his family."

"I want to thank the entire staff at Duke, especially the coaches," said Irving. "It was a great experience playing for Coach K. He taught me a lot about the game. Even when I was hurt, I learned a lot. Also a special thanks goes to the medical staff for getting me back on the court for the NCAA Tournament and my teammates for sticking with me throughout the entire year. Duke offered me an experience I could never have imagined."

Positives: Has a lean, angular frame, long reach and room for additional bulk without it affecting his overall quickness … Despite lacking great elevation, Irving knows how to compensate with good determination and above-average slashing ability to get to the basket and draw contact with his inside game … He plays with good balance and body control … Has a good initial step and the quickness to push the ball on the open floor … Has a great work ethic and attitude, bringing energy to the court and leadership to the locker room … Shows the balance and foot speed to run the court and can easily get by opposing guards and into the paint … Has very good ball-handling skills and excels in one-on-one match-ups … Needs to get better elevation and improve upon a low release point, but when uncontested along the perimeter, he shows good range with his jump shot … Plays at a high basketball IQ level and while he might hold on to the ball too long at times, his passes are quick and crisp … Uses his body lean and balance well when flying by defenders, especially off the dribble … Does a good job of weaving through traffic to take the ball from one end of the court to the other … Consistent form and touch on mid-range jumpers … Knows how to use a cross-over dribble to create room for his shot and is a top-notch passer with good court vision … Has good control with the ball in his hands, can slip through tight areas and finish plays … Shows the quick feet and stop-and-go agility to pull up off the dribble … Drives to his left well and consistently finishes with his off-hand … Has the large, soft hands to secure the ball and turn quickly in catch-and-shoot situations … Stays low to the ground driving to the basket and his sudden change-of-direction agility allows him to instantly pull up and launch a jumper … Thrives on the fast break and knows how to vary his speed top get defenders off-balanced … Has the valid speed to elude defenders coming off the screen on attempts to get to the rim … Scrappy defender taking on other point guards with the wing span to alter shots … Gets most of his steals because of keen anticipation skills and generally takes good angles when playing defense … Has the lateral quickness to get to the boundary quickly and uses his long reach to get around the ball-handler and knock the ball free … Shows quick spin moves that surprise a lethargic forward on his charge to the basket … Has good quickness and takes proper angles in attempts to slash towards the basket.

Negatives: A solid technician, but lacks the explosive feet demonstrated by last year's top pick, John Wall (Washington) and can be turnover prone when he tries to play too fast … Has good quickness to get into the open, but since he will be relegated to point guard duty, he has to be more aware of the team concept in half-court sets and keep his teammates involved even when he has the chance to take over games … Severe toe injury limited him to just 11 games as a freshman and though he showed good scoring ability in high school, he can be easily challenged by more physical defenders and must work hard to improve his core strength to be more effective in transition or when driving to the basket … Has a good wing span and active feet, but is not a leaper and could struggle to get perimeter shots over bigger defenders … Exciting scorer, but gets too points focused, is prone for playing out of control and tries to drive into tight areas when he should be kicking the ball out … Has a good handle on the ball early in games, but will over-dribble and turn the ball over when he hesitates in attempts to feed the sphere … Is improving, but still has just adequate 3-point range and can get in a bad rhythm when his jump shot is misfiring … Coming off the dribble, his jumper is lacking and he is not a great defensive presence … With just adequate leaping ability, he won't force opponents to change shots … Has the game of a shooting guard but lacks the size and height to go up and get his shot.

Compares To: CHRIS PAUL, New Orleans Hornets -- Irving is by far the elite point guard in the 2011 draft, but lacks the explosive quickness of the premier point men taken in recent drafts -- Derrick Rose (Chicago) and John Wall (Washington). He played well within the Duke's system and is at his best in the open floor. A point guard in size, he yearns to let the shooting guard mentality take over his game. As a defender, he plays true to his undersized frame. His position requires a few years to develop the skills for leading an offense, but he has a very high basketball IQ. He still needs to work on his outside jump shot and could be more selective from the 3-point range.

--Dave Te' Thomas

Irving played in the team's first eight games and final three contests, as the point guard suffered a right turf toe injury on December 4th vs. Butler that forced him to sit out 26 consecutive games … Started his first eight appearances, ranking second on the team with a 17.5-point average (192 points), as he connected on 55-of-104 field goals (52.9 percent), including 18-of-39 (46.2 percent) from 3-point range … Made 90.1 percent of his free throws (64-of-71) while logging 303 minutes of action … Collected 37 rebounds (3.4 rpg) with 47 assists, six blocked shots and 16 steals … Turned the ball over 27 times and charged with 23 personal fouls.

Irving played in just 11 games at Duke due to a severe toe injury, but scored in double figures in each contest … Finished with 192 points (17.5 points per game), as he made 52.9 percent of his field goals and 90.1 percent of his free throws.

Irving began his prep career at Montclair (N.J.) Kimberly Academy, lettering twice at the school before transferring to Saint Patrick's (West Orange, N.J.) High School, where he played basketball for coach Kevin Boyle … At Montclair Academy, he became the second player in school history to score at least 1,000 points … Scored 15.0 points to go along with 5.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 4.0 blocks per game as a freshman … The Conference Player of the Year as a sophomore, he led the academy to its first Prep Class B state title, as he averaged 29.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game for the season … Guided St. Patrick's to the New Jersey state championship and a 30-3 record as a junior, averaging 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game … Named first team Parade Magazine All-America, Irving added USA Today All-USA first team and Slam Magazine All-American honors, in addition to being named the New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior … Finalist for the Naismith Boy's High School Player of the Year and chosen New Jersey Player of the Year by The Star-Ledger in 2010, as he averaged 24.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game … Led the Celtics to a 24-3 record overall and the No. 7 ranking in the final USA Today Poll … Scored 30 points in an 82-45 rout of Plain-field to lead St. Patrick's to the 2010 Union County Tournament championship win … Also finished with a game-high 24 points and added six assists in a 91-64 win over Taft at the Nike Extravaganza … Scored 22 points as St. Patrick captured the MaxPreps Holiday Invitational with a 66-43 win over Newark (Calif.) Memorial, as he was named MVP of the National Division portion of the tournament.

Journalism major … Son of Drederick and the late Elizabeth Irving … Father played at Boston University from 1984-88 and scored 14 points in the Terriers' 85-69 loss to Duke in the opening round of the 1988 NCAA Tournament. Drederick had his jersey retired and ranks second in BU history with 1,931 career points. He went on to play professionally in Australia for the Bulleen Boomers … Born Kyrie Andrew Irving on 3/23/92 in Melbourne, Australia (dual citizenship in the United States and Australia) … Resides in Elizabeth, New Jersey.