The Notre Dame coaching staff is expecting Kyrie Irving on campus.
“My Dad already talked to the coaches about it,” the class-of-2010 prospect said. “They discussed it, and my Dad just told me. I don’t know exactly when it’s going to be.”
Last weekend, Irving made his second and last unofficial visit before the basketball season begins to Indiana University. He also took a trip to Villanova, and has said that he is completely open with the recruiting process. Scout.com’s eighth-ranked point guard has racked up offers from places like the two schools he visited, along with Memphis, Kansas, Kansas State, Florida, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Rutgers, Seton Hall, West Virginia, USC and of course Notre Dame.
“I’m just going with the flow right now, and checking every school out, and finding out what they want,” Irving explained. “I’m getting a feel for all the schools and coaches, that’s what I’m basically doing right now.”
The ninth-ranked Irish basketball team is one of the programs Irving will be scouting. Notre Dame has been out to visit Irving at his school, and coach Mike Brey and assistant Anthony Solomon keep in regular touch with him.
“He’s a great coach,” Irving said of Brey. “I’m going to be watching them a lot this year, and just getting a feel for them and seeing how they coach. They came to our workouts, and he’s a great guy, and it seems like he knows the game.
Irving and Solomon talk on the phone once every other week or so.
“He’s a really cool guy,” Irving said. “I talk to him mostly. I talk to coach Brey via email. Coach Solomon and I talk on the phone, and we talk about basketball and how I fit into Notre Dame, and how I would fit in as a freshman and what my role would be.
“They tell me they need a guard that can step in and be ready to play right away, and put the ball in hoop.”
As a sophomore, Irving did just that, averaging roughly 28 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists at Montclair Kimberly Academy, helping lead his team to a 15-10 record. After a family decision, Irving transferred to St. Patrick, one of the best high school programs in the country.
Solomon also keeps in touch with Irving’s father Drederick, and figures to be a player in Irving’s recruitment for awhile.
“Just the coaching staff and their style of play,” Irving said of what he likes about Notre Dame. “They have the point guard Tory Jackson, and they give him a lot of freedom. They just want a guard that can put the ball in the hoop and make players around him better, and that’s my style of play.”