Kyrie Irving Will Play For Duke Friday Against Hampton, Coach K Confirms

Kyrie Irving Will Play For Duke In NCAA Tournament, Coach Krzyzewski Confirms

For a time, the notion of Duke's Kyrie Irving suiting up for the NCAA Tournament, especially in the early rounds, seemed like wishful thinking. On Thursday, however, coach Mike Krzyzewski has confirmed an earlier report that the freshman standout will see some action against Hampton on Friday. From The Sporting News' Matt Crossman:

Kyrie will play tomorrow, coach K says

An earlier report stated that Irving is unlikely to play more than 15 or 20 minutes against Hampton, the Blue Devils' 16-seed opponent. Irving, who turns 19 on March 23, hasn't played since Dec. 4 against Butler. He's only appeared in eight games in his brief college career. In his best game against Michigan State, he scored 31 points -- in large part thanks to 13-for-16 shooting from the free throw line -- and added six rebounds and four assists.

For more on the Blue Devils, visit Duke Basketball Report. Print your 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket, and follow all things NCAA Tournament.

Duke's Kyrie Irving Will Play In NCAA Tournament Game Against Hampton, According To Report

Duke managed to earn a top seed in the NCAA Tournament, despite losing phenom freshman Kyrie Irving to injury. On Thursday, though, a report has emerged claiming that Irving will "definitely" play Friday's Duke-Hampton game. Fox Sports' Jeff Goodman tweets:

Sources told FOXSports.com that Kyrie Irving will definitely play tomorrow against Hampton.

We don't yet know whether Irving will actually start for the Blue Devils. Goodman's next tweet indicates, unsurprisingly, that Irving isn't 100 percent yet.

I've been told that Kyrie Irving will play somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes tomorrow against Hampton. Timing a little off in practice.

One would assume that Coach Krzyzewski won't push Irving too hard, since Duke doesn't figure to need much help against a 16-seed. Irving could certainly benefit, however, from getting some minutes under his belt before their presumed match-up against the winner of Michigan-Tennessee in the next round of the tournament.

For more on the Blue Devils, visit Duke Basketball Report. Print your 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket, and follow all things NCAA Tournament.

Kyrie Irving Could Play For Duke In NCAA Tournament, According To Mike Krzyzewski

Kyrie Irving, for much of the year thought to be in danger of missing the season after injuring his toe early in his freshman year, could still play for the Duke Blue Devils this year.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski said Tuesday at a press conference, “Kyrie practiced a little bit with us today. We'll see how he feels tomorrow. There is a chance he would play.” Irving return rumors have bubbled up and down throughout the year, but that’s from Coach K himself. It was Krzyzewski who first speculated that Irving could miss the entire year, for what it’s worth.

While "chance" isn't by any means something to latch on to, it's worth comparing with what he said earlier in the week. Monday Coach K was less optimistic, saying, “We’re far away from that decision.”

With Nolan Smith also recently hobbled by a foot injury, the Blue Devils will take all the back court scoring they can get. A reasonably healthy duo of Smith and Irving on the floor would change the March Madness balance, likely making the defending champs once again the favorites they were in November.

For more on Irving and Duke, visit Duke Basketball Report.

Coack K: Kyrie Irving 'Could Be' Out For Season

Coach K and Duke aren’t taking any chances with Kyrie Irving’s toe. He’s currently under medical evaluation and his return is undertermined at this time. Unfortunately for Duke fans, the potential timetable for his return keeps getting longer and longer.

Coach K isn’t speaking in finites but he was very cautious to leave all possibilities open about the severity of the injury:

“It’s a serious injury. I can’t say anything more because we are learning information but it is serious and whatever final decision is made will obviously what’s in his best interest and his career. Not to save him for any period of time or whatever, but he could be out or a long time.”

Asked if Irving will be out the rest of the year, Krzyzewski said: “He could be, he could be.”

Keep an eye on Duke Basketball Report for updates.

Kyrie Irving Toe Injury: Duke Star Could Miss Start Of ACC Play

Fox Sports’ Jeff Goodman reports Duke Blue Devils point guard Kyrie Irving’s toe injury could sideline the point guard for four weeks or more. Missing a month of action would keep Irving out of four December auto wins, but he’d also miss a game against the UAB Blazers and Duke’s conference opener against the Miami Hurricanes, both home games.

Those games will be a step above gimmes. Miami has only lost two games so far, one of them a four-pointer against the Memphis Tigers. UAB is always dangerous, and is seven points away from being undefeated right now.

While Duke should be able to manage both of those without Irving, extending this timetable by one day would leave the Blue Devils without their point guard against the Maryland Terrapins. Their road game against the Terps should be a challenge, but a home game minus Irving could be a handful too.

Kyrie Irving Toe Injury Will Keep Duke Point Guard Out Indefinitely

Duke Blue Devils point guard Kyrie Irving has been ruled out indefinitely with a toe injury. The freshman hurt a toe on his right foot while driving to the basket during Duke's Dec. 4 game against the Butler Bulldogs. Irving played until the game's final minute, hitting a pair of free throws late in the second half.

Irving is the nation's top freshman scorer and already a three-time ACC rookie of the week. He leads Duke in assists with 5.1 and is second in scoring and third in minutes played.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski:

Our medical staff will continue to monitor the recovery process and he will return to action once it has sufficiently healed. Kyrie is an outstanding player and we are confident that he will bounce back.

The Blue Devils play the Bradley Braves tonight, with only Saint Louis, Elon, and UNC-Greensboro for the rest of the calendar year. Andre Dawkins should take over the bulk of Irving's minutes.