Filed under: Duke
DURHAM, N.C. -- For a player with better advance billing than a Scorsese film, Kyrie Irving set his expectations for his first few moments as a player inside Cameron Indoor Stadium surprisingly low.
"I was thinking," Irving said, beaming like a kid that woke up in a candy store following the Blue Devils Countdown to Craziness season tipoff, "just don't fall."
Irving didn't disappoint.
Neither did his Duke teammates.
On the night the Blue Devils did their latest bit of interior decorating at Cameron, unveiling its fourth national championship banner in the stadium rafters, Irving made himself right at home.
And he did it faster than a 15-year-old can tweet.
Just seconds into Duke's intrasquad scrimmage, Irving stole the ball from Seth Curry near midcourt and dashed to the opposite end of the court for a layup. With 2010 stars Jon Scheyer and Lance Thomas on hand to receive their rings for last year's championship, he made sure parting with last year's victors would be as much sweet as sorrow.
"That's the way to break the jitters," Irving said. "I was nervous, even in the layup line, trying to get the jitters out. But once I got the steal and scored the first two points, I knew it was going to be alright."
Irving scored 11 points and handed out 10 assists, many to fellow freshman Josh Hairston, in 24 minutes of Duke's intrasquad scrimmages. Both Irving-led squads -- the Blue Devils changed lineups at the half -- posted wins.
His Blue team even shot 70 percent despite facing a lineup that included Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler, due in large part to Irving serving up layups to Hairston.
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Source: http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2010/10/15/kyrie-irving-stars-on-dukes-banner-night/
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