Duke Blue Devils: Kyrie Might Run Olympic Team

The Duke Blue Devils may be able to claim the starting point guard of the Olympic Team.

The road to Rio is very clear for former Duke Blue Devils guard Kyrie Irving. There have been a number of guards who have pulled out due to injury and suddenly Irving may be the last one standing who can actually play for Team USA Basketball.

Now let’s be fair. Irving was always likely to make the Olympic roster. He had the right connections in the form of LeBron James and Coach Mike Krzyzewski. He was the MVP of the FIBA World Championship in 2014.

Now though it is totally clear. Chris Paul broke his hand and cannot participate. John Wall, who might have challenged him for a roster spot, had knee surgery. Derrick Rose is not quite Derrick Rose. The kicker though was when NBA MVP Stephen Curry announced that he was pulling out over of his own knee concerns. So for the record, the scores is Knees 3 – USA 0.

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So now we turn to Kyrie Irving. He won’t just have to make the team, he will have to start the games and likely play significant minutes. Russell Westbrook is still undecided given the Zika outbreak in Brazil. If he decides not to go then Irving will have to step up his defense too. The last alternative the team has would be Damian Lillard.

In some ways this is a good thing. Coach K wants a point guard he knows he can work with. Irving fits that’s bill pretty well. The more minutes that Irving can spend on the court, the more advertising can be done for Duke basketball. It seems unlikely that Duke will get any other players on the Olympic team this year. On the other hand they put a large number on the Select Team (practice squad) of familiar faces.

Next: Kyrie Irving learned nothing in Game 2

With the Cavs winning Game 3, Irving has other things to think about. But there is a good chance he starts for Team USA this summer.