Ohio Huddle Dukies, the Blue Devils' next big thing will be playing on ESPNU today at 3:00 when his St. Patrick's (NJ) club takes on high school powerhouse Findlay Prep (NV) in the legendary Hoop Hall Classic in Springfield, Mass.

Irving, who has drawn comparisons to former Blue Devils standout Jason Williams for his superb ball handing ability and quickness and ability to score in nasty spurts, is the number two rated point guard in the 2010 class and the number six rated player overall. He chose Duke in October over super recruiter John Calipari and Kentucky.

Looks like K still has some tricks up his sleeve. He is, after all, one of the great recruiters the game has ever seen. He's missed some recently, but this is the future we're talking about. And it is looking good.

Set your DVRs Duke fans or tune in. I have yet to see him play a full game, so I'm excited to really see what Duke has coming next fall.

http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news/article/4126970620522322205/nj-boys-basketball-live-coverage-of-the-hoophall-tourney-from-massachusetts-on-monday/

Also, I meant commit in the header, not recruit.

Salt in the wound. Kyrie Irving at #6 in the class is UNDERRATED. Guy is a beast. BTW, he choose Duke over Indiana, not Kentucky. Not that it really matters.

Laley, you would be happy to know that after the Duke BC game last week I got to meet Coach Knight.

Pretty big guy, I could see how he ruled through fear 20 years ago.

Also, I took a look at the Devils schedule and found an interesting trend.

Win first six games, then lose to Wisconsin
Win next seven games, then lose to Georgia Tech

if trends continue,
Duke wins next eight games, then loses Feb 10 to Carolina

Then wins next 9 games and loses in the ACC championship game.

From there, only 6 games would remain.

Game's on now.

Laley, yeah, you're right. It was Indiana and then Kentucky and A&M that Duke beat out for Irving's services.

As a side note, Kyrie scored 34 in front of Coach K on December 22. Reminds me of the notorious senior night J.J. Redick had at Cave Spring High School in Virginia with Coach K and Wojo in attendance in 2002. J.J. went for over 40 that night, including hitting eight threes, several from near half-court. I have the game on DVD somewhere.

swamisez wrote:Also, I took a look at the Devils schedule and found an interesting trend.

Win first six games, then lose to Wisconsin
Win next seven games, then lose to Georgia Tech

if trends continue,
Duke wins next eight games, then loses Feb 10 to Carolina

Then wins next 9 games and loses in the ACC championship game.

From there, only 6 games would remain

Interesting trend. I hope it continues, too.

However, I'd just as easily substitute a win in that last 10-game win streak for an ACC championship game victory. I'd be fine with winning only nine in a row after winning the ACC title, as opposed to 10

Before you get too excited. Findley Prep didnt look all the impressive back in December against Northland.

Irving not looking overly impressive in this contest, but his athletic presence and strong physique are definitely evident. He will be that classic Duke point guard we've been lacking since Chris Duhon.

I do love this kid's demeanor and extremely well-spoken mannerisms and personality. He's a great young kid. I like that he noted he's playing for K because of K's "honestly and integrity." Despite the erroneous things often thrown K's way, he's as tremendous an individual as you'll find in college basketball. And soon to be the winningest in all of the game's history

St. Patrick's wasn't going through Irving much early, but now he's back to playing the point, and he just drained a 22-footer on the pull-up. He has such great control with his handle and it is clear that he can do as he pleases against anyone in the high school game. Even when he makes a move and misses, it's impressive because of his excellent maneuverability through traffic.

Gillchrist, meanwhile, continues to shoot sway for the St. Patrick's Celtics. Why he's still in the game when his ankle injury is clearly a problem is beyond me. I know St. Patrick's wants to win, but the kid is literally hopping on one leg down the court each trip.

Irving willing his team back against Findlay Prep in the final minute. St. Patrick's trails three now, 68-65, after a couple of free throws and a wicked crossover to free himself for a double reverse lay-up.

46 seconds left. Irving with 27

The Celtics at the line shooting two, down 69-65. 35.8 left. (Yes, I'm that bored.)

Irving with the Duke Defense there, rising and blocking Findlay Prep's Okonji's attempt in the lane with under 25 left. Okonji did get the rebound and got to the line on the put back attempt and foul. He missed his first; has one more left.

St. Patrick's will have a chance to tie or win this game if the Celtics box out and board.

Irving drive for two. Then almost got the steal!

Prep shooting two now with 11.8 seconds left. 70-69, Prep.

Irving going Reggie here in the final seconds.

Kyrie Irving at the line with the chance to tie the game and send it into overtime. He hits the first. Timeout Findlay Prep.

As I said, he has just taken over this final minute, bringing the Celtics all the way back after nearly trailing doubles in the final quarter.

And Kyrie's Jason Williams comparisons might be too similar for comfort. Irving misses the last free throw with a second left, and Findlay Prep wins

Damn you, Tom Coverdale.

Gilchrist got fouled. Thought we were gonna see another coach punch an ump/ref(happened in baseball yesterday by a former ML player) after the no foul call. I too wondered why Gilchrist was out there late in the game. I guess his 75% is better than the rest of the players on the bench.

Yes, I too thought he was fouled. Would have been nice to see Irving play an extra four minutes (I believe that's still the official HS time for OT). Oh well.

Kyrie finished with 30 points in the loss, including seven or eight in the final minute as he valiantly tried to lead St. Patrick's back to victory Rodney Rogers style.

Fun game to watch.

Irving was by far IMO the best player I watched yesterday. Watched 3 of the 4 games and would also have to say that I think Ohio should experiment next year with the shot clock.

lhs2ndbase wrote:Irving was by far IMO the best player I watched yesterday. Watched 3 of the 4 games and would also have to say that I think Ohio should experiment next year with the shot clock.

You do know this would encourage scoring the basketball? I'm going to pretend I didn't hear such a thing.

-Paul Wayne with a handgun

lhs2ndbase wrote:Irving was by far IMO the best player I watched yesterday. Watched 3 of the 4 games and would also have to say that I think Ohio should experiment next year with the shot clock.

The town of Holgate laughs at your proposition!

That's funny that Laley and I thought of the exact same thing (for those who don't know, Paul Wayne is Holgate's long time head coach, who once led the Tigers to the lowest scoring total in a quarter ever recorded at the Boy's State Basketball Tournament, zero.)

I was there, and I wanted to slit my wrist.

haha, that was the team I thought of while making that post. I watched them play Tiffin Calvert two years in a row in Regionals at BGSU a few years back and have followed their scores ever since.

Rec, as a referee I want to slit my wrists when I get their games.

I will say, the ONE good thing about doing their games is it is VERY easy. Clock never stops and fouls are rarely needed to be called, so the game goes fast. But my god....WORST basketball ever.