Tag Archives: Kyrie Irving

Duke basketball Mason Plumlee flashback: Plumlee leads Duke past Marquette

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Over the past two weeks, The Blue Zone has been counting down the top five performances from each of Duke’s graduating seniors during their collegiate careers. This week, we conclude with forward Mason Plumlee.

No. 4: Plumlee sets career highs in points and blocks against Marquette

The first breakout performance of Mason Plumlee's career came on a night where Duke's stars struggled.

The first breakout performance of Mason Plumlee’s career came on a night where Duke’s stars struggled.

The date: November 22, 2010

The game: Duke 82, Marquette 77

Plumlee statline: 25 points on 12-for-16 shooting, 12 rebounds—including six on the offensive glass—and five blocks.

The breakdown: Duke’s shots from 3-point land were simply not falling. And for a team that often lives and dies by its long-range shooting, a 6-of-18 performance normally is a recipe for disaster.

But as the Blue Devils struggled, they looked inside to a sophomore Mason Plumlee to carry the load—he did more than just answer the call. Plumlee led the Blue Devils with 25 points, 12 boards and five blocks—setting career highs in scoring and swats—but more importantly, helped his team surge past the Golden Eagles after Duke had squandered a 12-point second-half lead.

Marquette had fought back to tie the game at 55-55 with 11 minutes remaining in the contest, but Plumlee made a layup in traffic to give the Blue Devils back the lead. Plumlee scored 14 of his 25 points in the final 11 minutes of the game.

After Jae Crowder scored to tie the game again, Plumlee helped spark Duke on a 9-0 run when he pulled down an offensive rebound and kicked the ball out to Nolan Smith for a 3-pointer, giving the Blue Devils a lead it would never relinquish.

Plumlee capped off the Duke run with a dunk in transition after a Kyrie Irving steal and an easy lay-in on his team’s next trip down the floor.

It was just the spark the Blue Devils needed to surge past the upset-minded Golden Eagles.

The quote: “Mason obviously was outstanding,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “We got him the ball and he made some great moves down there, just simply great moves.”

Previous Plumlee performances:

No. 5: Plumlee records double-double in Maui win against Kansas

Kyrie Irving dominates at Montclair State

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Kyrie Irving can toy with people in pick-up games, even when he’s not Uncle Draw

The former Duke basketball guard and current Cleveland Cavalier dominated with some youngsters at Montclair State University in New Jersey Monday, showing off his quick handles and deadly 3-point shooting. Irving grew up in West Orange, N.J.

Watch:

Irving is coming off an All-Star season in which he averaged 22.5 points and 5.9 assists per game.

Oh, and if you don’t remember Uncle Drew, here’s the original:

Steve Aoki, Kendrick Lamar rock Duke basketball jerseys

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Steve Aoki and Kendrick Lamar make a pretty fresh 1-2 combo.

Duke celebrated its Last Day of Classes for the 2012-13 academic year Wednesday with a concert on the main quad, headlined by Lamar, a rapper, and Aoki, a DJ.

Aoki donned a #1 jersey, last worn by Kyrie Irving:

This is what Durham North Carolina at Duke University show looks like! #steveaokixkendricklamartour

Lamar, who performed before Aoki, rocked a Duke basketball Quinn Cook #2 jersey:

Salute to the big homie @kendricklamar! RiP DAD!

 

Duke basketball Ryan Kelly flashback: 20 points against Wake Forest

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Over the next three weeks, The Blue Zone will be counting down the top five performances from each of Duke’s graduating seniors during their collegiate careers. This week, we start with forward Ryan Kelly.

 

Ryan Kelly burst onto the scene as a sophomore with 20 points against Wake Forest (Photo by Elysia Su/The Chronicle)

Ryan Kelly burst onto the scene as a sophomore with 20 points against Wake Forest (Photo by Elysia Su/The Chronicle)

No. 5: Kelly scores 20 points against Wake Forest

The date: Jan. 22, 2011

The game: Duke 83, Wake Forest 59

Kelly statline: 20 points on 6-of-6 from the field, including 4-for-4 from 3-point range, 6 rebounds

The breakdown: Just two weeks after star point guard Kyrie Irving went down with a toe injury that would keep him sidelined for the remained of the regular season, Duke desperately needed a player to pick up the scoring load alongside seniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith.

It was a lanky and unproven Ryan Kelly who would answer the call during his sophomore season.

Kelly had the first breakout game of his young career, pouring in 20 points—then a career-high—on perfect shooting from the floor in a blowout victory against Wake Forest. Singler said after the contest that Kelly “played an almost perfect game.”

In addition to a perfect 6-for-6 shooting from the floor, Kelly demonstrated his range and hit all four of his 3-point attempts and knocked down all four of his free throw attempts.

Kelly’s versatility was on display throughout the contest, a sign of things to come during the remainder of his career at Duke. His ability to stretch the floor at the power forward position was one of the keys for the Blue Devils to recover from the loss of Irving.

The Raleigh native’s performance was the spark Duke needed on a night where Smith and Singler both struggled from the floor and Mason Plumlee managed just one field goal attempt.

The quote: “I think he’s gotten better every game, and he’s a very reliable player,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He doesn’t get flustered, he knows where he’s supposed to be all the time and I think he’s become more aggressive and ready to take his shot.”

Additional quotes from Telep, Strickland and Hairston on Irving

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In light of former Duke point guard Kyrie Irving’s meteoric rise to an elite NBA player in just his second year, The Chronicle ran a story on Tuesday about the 6-foot-3 floor general’s journey to stardom. Here are some additional quotes from ESPN recruiting analyst Dave Telep, former high school teammate and current North Carolina guard Dexter Strickland and former Duke teammate, as well as current Blue Devil forward Josh Hairston on Irving.

Strickland on the St. Patrick high school team (N.J.) with him, Irving and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist:

“My senior year I had meniscus problems, and I did not play every game. But the games I played in it was like an All-Star game with me, Kyrie and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. It was fun.”

Strickland on Irving’s ability to finish:

“I first noticed it in practice [during high school]. To this day, I still think he’s one of the best at finishing around the rim, and if you foul him he’s still able to get the ball to go in. I remember one time we were doing a drill in practice he went up for a layup, I tried to block it and end up fouling him. He did this crazy shot and it went in. He would do that in games, and it was a consistent.  He’s a great finisher in the NBA, and he was a great finisher in high school.”

Strickland on his relationship with Irving off the court during high school and now:

“Oh, we were really close. There were nights were he spent the night at my house, and I’d kick it as his house. We hung out together all the time, went out to the movies, went on double dates with our girlfriends, just little stuff. We were best friends on the team…We stay in close contact now. I talked to him the other day.”

Telep on Irving’s development through high school:

“I think that if everyone developed the way Kyrie had, we’d probably have a better product on the floor. Kyrie is a guy that ran his own race. He wasn’t caught up in rankings, camps or AAU tournaments. His father had his finger on him and he was just dedicated to working hard and getting better.”

Telep on Duke’s recruitment of Irving:

“I think Duke was there from the very start…I just kind of always had that feeling. I felt that his family behind the scenes had connected with Mike Krzyzewski, and I kind of always thought they were going to get him.”

Telep on seeing Irving play during a Duke practice prior to the start of the 2010-11 season:

“I remember going to a Duke practice a year after they won the national championship. Afterwards, Noland Smith and Kyle Singler came up and we were talking, and they are like, ‘[Kyrie] is the best player on our team.’ Again, these are two guys months off playing in the national championship, and they deferred to Kyrie. You talk about the best you’ve ever seen a guy play. This was a scrimmage and literally your jaw dropped. He was throwing alley-oops from just across halfcourt to Mason Plumlee. I remember a reverse finish he had. This was an 18-year old kid on the floor with the defending national champs.  That was just one of those moments were you sat there shaking your head like, ‘this is a joke how good this guy is.’”

Hairston on what could have been if Irving had stayed healthy at Duke:

“I’m right there along with [the fans wondering what could have been]. Obviously, I’m always in [Irving's] corner. He made the best decision for him. It’s really like he has never left. He’s down here all the time in the summer…Obviously, you think about if he did not get hurt against Butler and what could’ve happened that year. So many people say different things—could’ve went undefeated or could’ve won a national championship or things like that. But that’s all we can do is just wonder. I’m just as hurt as everyone else because I would love for him to still be in school and still hanging out with us.”

Hairston on his relationship with Irving at Duke and now:

“You would’ve thought that Kyrie and I had known each other for years and grown up together. I think that’s just the chemistry we had from day one… Right away the bond that we had was great. Even today, we are best friends… I try to stay in constant communication with him. I visit him all the time in the summer. He was here for almost a couple weeks before his preseason time.”

Hairston on watching Irving dominate in the NBA:

“I am just as amazed as anyone else. I almost feel like a fan talking to him. It’s crazy the stuff he is doing. We always knew it.”

Kyrie Irving wins the NBA 3-point crown

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Former Duke basketball guard Kyrie Irving is making waves during All Star Weekend 2013.

First, the Cleveland Cavalier sophomore broke ankles and dropped 32 points in the Rising Stars game. Now Irving will play in his first All Star Game wearing the league’s 3-point crown.

Irving outdueled Matt Bonner, scoring 23 in the championship round, to win this year’s NBA 3-point contest. Irving fell just two points shy of the record of 25 shared by Jason Kopono and Craig Hodges.

Irving was on the Eastern Conference team with Paul George of the Indiana Pacers and Steve Novak of the New York Knicks. Stephen Curry—the Golden State Warrior guard and brother of Duke guard Seth Curry—was on the Western Conference team along with the Toronto Raptors’ Bonner and the New Orleans Hornets’ Ryan Anderson.

Irving was selected No. 1 overall by the Cavaliers in the 2011 NBA Draft after one season at Duke in which he played only 11 games due to a toe injury. The Blue Devils lost to Arizona in the Sweet 16 in the 2011 NCAA Tournament with Irving.

This season, Irving is averaging 2.0 3-pointers per game this season on a 42.5% clip, ranking 13th in the league. In his one season with the Blue Devils, he hit 46.2% of his shots from deep.