Kyrie Irving has declared for the NBA Draft and will hire an agent, head coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement Wednesday.
“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,” Krzyzewski said. “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.”
Irving gave an interview to GoDuke.com after the announcement, and when he was asked what he would miss most about leaving Duke, he said it “gave him butterflies just to think about it.”
“First, I’m going to miss the entire student body. They’ve offered me so much support,” Irving said. “Secondly, I’m going to miss the coaching staff and the players because I’ve never felt such a special bond with anybody or any group of people that I felt here.”
Irving entered Duke as a highly-touted freshman and made his mark early on the college basketball landscape. He scored 17 points and dished out nine assists against Princeton in his first game. He dropped 17 again versus Kansas State in the CBE Classic a week later. And, on Dec. 1, he delivered one of the finest performances of any Blue Devil this season—31 points against a then-top-five Michigan State team.
It would all come crashing down on Dec. 4, though, against Butler. The freshman suffered what appeared to be a relatively innocuous toe injury, only to discover later it was much more serious than anyone had originally thought.
Irving didn’t suit up again until the ACC Tournament, when he participated in pre-game drills with the team. He played for the first time in three months in the NCAA Tournament’s first round, then, a week later, he capped off his Duke career with a 28-point performance in the loss against Arizona.
Last weekend, the freshman visited his family for five days in New Jersey, coming to his decision while there.
“I want to thank the entire staff at Duke, especially the coaches,” Irving said in the statement. “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.”
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