DURHAM
Kyrie Irving hasn't had to wait long to find out how he stacks up in a loaded freshman class in the Triangle.
Duke, the defending NCAA champion, won't start formal preseason practice for another three months, and there won't be any games that matter at Cameron Indoor Stadium until mid-November.
But in a tiny gym across town, in a summer league packed with big-name freshmen and established players, Irving has shown flashes of what he hopes to give the Blue Devils. From ankle-twisting moves off the dribble to smooth pull-up jumpers to leaping alley-oops in transition, Irving, a highly regarded point guard, has shown he very well could live up to the hype.
Watching YouTube videos of John Wall tearing up the S.J.G. Greater NC Pro Am league last summer gave Irving ideas. He scored 35 points in his debut last week against a team led by Kansas State transfer Dominique Sutton.
"There are a lot of great players out here.... You saw Dominique Sutton pick me up full-court, and I need that," Irving said. "Especially in the league that I'm playing in this year."
Irving has plenty of company here this summer, because the collection of high-profile freshmen in entering the ACC reads like a ballot for next season's rookie-of-the-year award.
Harrison Barnes and Reggie Bullock of North Carolina are playing, and so are C.J. Leslie and Lorenzo Brown of N.C. State and Josh Hairston of Duke.
They've combined to create such a must-see spectacle that a recent session of games, headlined by one matching a team with Barnes and Bullock against one with Leslie and Brown, drew a crowd of about 3,100 to N.C. Central's cramped gym -- with hundreds more turned away at the door to comply with fire regulations.
"It's a tough league. It's a really fast-paced game, and a lot more physical than I thought it would be," Irving said.
And although all of the incoming freshmen will face their own unique challenges in the coming months, none will have to deal with what Irving does: The pressure of taking over at point guard for a defending national champion and serious contender to repeat.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke had high praise for Irving during his annual summertime meeting with reporters, even comparing him to NBA All-Star Chris Paul because of his toughness and ability to change direction on the dribble.
He said that with Irving, the Blue Devils can afford to pick up the pace, as opposed to relying on a rebounding-and-defending formula that blossomed when it counted, complemented their always-strong outside shooting and led them to their fourth national title.
"We'll play a style that will use the fact that we have more perimeter players ... pick up how fast we play, pushing the ball up," Krzyzewski said. "We just have more depth, so we'll press more, we'll run more. We didn't have a guard that could kind of make things happen for other people. Kyrie can do that. Kyrie's really good."
The way Irving sees it, before the New Jersey high school star starts practicing under Krzyzewski's guidance, there's still some time to get his game ready for what he expects to face in the ACC.
"I'm dedicated to being better," Irving said. "We have access to our gym (at Duke), 24-7, and it's a great experience to come out here and play. It's going to get me ready for the season also."
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