While Kyrie Irving was certainly a different player this weekend than he was when he first put on a Duke jersey, the Blue Devils—and their coach—were more than happy to have him back.
“A guy with his talent, him at 70 percent is better than a lot of guys at 100 percent,” Andre Dawkins said after the Hampton win.
Despite the fact that Irving showed a loss in explosiveness, the freshman’s presence in Charlotte was a crucial factor in Duke advancing to the Sweet 16. He turned in two solid performances, scoring 14 and 11 points, respectively, and helped remedy the Blue Devils’ recent depth issues.
What made Irving’s weekend a glass half-full, and not half-empty, return was not his undeniable skill set, but rather his style of play. Since the freshman’s infamous injury against Butler, Nolan Smith has been Duke’s only constant and legitimate threat as a slasher. Kyle Singler has made his living off of mid-range jumpers while secondary threats Dawkins and Seth Curry score primarily from the perimeter. Irving, though, provides another Blue Devil that can create his own offense.
Against Michigan, he only made one field goal but still finished with 11 points thanks to his ability to draw fouls while attacking the basket. His ability to penetrate and find the open man also led to more open looks for Duke’s plethora of outside shooters.
And his one field goal was the paramount basket of the game—a driving floater that gave Duke a three-point lead with under a minute to go.
“For him to be put in that position and make that floater as soft as it can be... that’s a heck of a thing for that kid,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said of Irving’s performance after the Michigan contest. “I mean, he’s nine for ten from the foul line. We wouldn’t be going forward if he didn’t play today.”
Irving also showed flashes of the player he was months ago and the player Duke fans hope he will become once again. The game-winning shot in the third round was the most conspicuous example but overshadowed his rather surprising performance against Hampton.
The point guard was clearly rusty in the opening minutes, guilty of a charge early, as well as some missed shots one would expect a player of his caliber to make. But in the second half, Irving erupted for 12 points. While his back-to-back three pointers in the closing minutes made the highlight reels, his fast-break layup earlier in the half was more reminiscent of the impact he had on this Duke team back in November and the impact he can have this March if he continues to redevelop his game.
“Once I got the butterflies out, I started to play really well,” Irving said after the game. “I was pressing a little bit instead of letting the game come to me.”
Those butterflies might have held Irving back from playing to his full potential in Charlotte, but if last weekend was the opening act to Irving’s reemergence, fans will be clamoring for what the second act might hold.
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