Tonight I had a chance to have a little chat with 2010 6'2" guard Kyrie Irving (#82 overall in Rivals 2010 Top 100 and #22 Shooting Guard) from Elizabeth, NJ.

Despite the #82 ranking, Irving has established himself as one of the top guards in his class with his play over the summer, especially in Las Vegas. Irving is described by ESPN.com as"silky smooth with a strong handle and is absolutely tremendous in transition".

B'Ham: What has been your most memorable moment so far in your high school and AAU career up to this point?
KI: "Probably last year in the Prep B Championship at Montclair. I hit the game winner... I hit a fadeaway three to win the game."

B'Ham: If you had to compare yourself to one college player and one NBA player, who would it be?
KI: "College...OJ Mayo. In the NBA...probably Chris Paul with a little Kobe mixed in because I can play both positions and score."

B'Ham: In describing your game, what is the best part of how you play at this point?
KI: "Probably my bball IQ and understanding of the game."

B'Ham: I know it's early, but what teams are recruiting you so far?
KI: "Basically every Big East team; in the ACC I have Duke, UNC, Maryland, and VTech, Memphis, Indiana, a whole bunch."

B'Ham: Got any favorites at this point?
KI: "I don't really have a favorite. I just wanna find a school that fits me, that I can make an impact at and has a family type of environment."

B'Ham: When you say you want to find a school that "fits", what are you looking for?
KI: "I like the up and down because that's where I am my best, in transition; but I can play the half court as well."

B'Ham: I know you are being recruited by both Kansas and Memphis...I know you watched that game, so who were you rooting for?
KI: "I wasn't really rooting for one team. I just wanted to see a good game, but my uncle Rod Strickland is an assistant at Memphis, so I was pulling for them...I was cheering for Kansas too.

B'Ham: What is the biggest thing you need to work on this next season?
KI: "Not taking off possessions (defense and offense)...and stamina.

B'Ham: Do you have that one dream school that you always dreamed about playing for?
KI: "No, I don't have that one dream school. In the area I grew up in, the only college I knew was my dad's, Boston U...so I don't really have that team."

Kyrie was a very humble kid for someone being courted by almost every major program in the country who scorched the summer AAU scene. Be looking for big things from this young man over the next few years. Irving, an upcoming sophomore, will be playing his first year at Saint Patrick's High School in New Jersey.

* Special thanks to Kyrie's dad who let the strange guy calling speak to his high school son.

• John Wall


• Levi Beckwith


• Cal and staff


• Memphis fans


• college coaches across the country

There are two sets of people I could see not being happy:

• Baylor's staff


• the Clifton brothers

*image from i95ballez.com

Within the next week, I will post interviews with:

Noel Johnson, c/o 2009 and
Nigel Jamar Ramsey, c/o 2009

The remainder of the previous entries will be updated as the weekend goes on. I will also add a blog on the new Memphis commit, Will Coleman.

Rob Petrone from Eyewitness News 24 in Memphis, TN has reported that the recent rumors of Angel Garcia to Wabash Valley College in Illinois are merely a backup plan for Garcia if he does not meet the NCAA eligibility requirements:

A Backup Plan For Angel Garcia?
Reported by: Rob Petrone Email: rpetrone@myeyewitnessnews.com

Memphis, TN - If Tigers' signee Angel Garcia fails to qualify academically, he already has another suitor. A staff member at Wabash Valley College, a junior college in Illinois, tells Eyewitness Sports Everywhere that Garcia has been in contact with the school as recently as last week.

The staff member said it looks like it's about "90 percent" that Garcia will get into Memphis. But if Garcia doesn't, the staff member added that Wabash would love to have him.

The rumors of Garcia heading to Wabash began with Reg Tisdale, a local Chicago guy who teaches at East Chicago High School and runs inbnews.com. According to a source, he passed his tests and some of his grades have been improved, so the likelihood of gaining eligibility is looking much greater for Garcia.

UAB's staff is still scrambling to try to find a big man to come in and play for 2008. Who cares though...because UAB has, by far, the most offensively talented big man in his class slated to enter into their program in 2009, resurrecting the Blazer's from the ashes. Demarcus Cousins (the hope of UAB basketball) is currently in Orlando, FL playing in the AAU Nationals.

Wednesday, Cousins matched up against UConn commit Alex Oriakhi, the #21 overall prospect and #3 rated center in the '09 class (per Rivals.com). Despite a loss for Cousins' Birmingham Storm team, Cousins dominated the battle of the big-men in this game. He finished with 26 points (including a couple threes) and some dazzling passes that wowed the crowd. In the words Justin Young from Rivals, "trying to defend Cousins is almost laughable at this level."

Eric Bledoe (center) at Chris Paul's Camp

Another UAB target for 2009, Eric Bledsoe, is playing in Orlando as well with the Birmingham ICE. Bledsoe suffered an ankle injury earlier in the event but still managed to score 8 points and make big plays down the stretch for his team. Bledsoe has shown throughout the summer that he is just a winner, plain and simple. Watching this kid a few times myself, I truly feel as though he's highly underrated and a potential top 50 prospect for 2009.

Mike Davis was in the stands watching all of this. Don't think he wasn't there checking up on Cousins (with all of the recent speculation about a possible decommitment). I think Davis liked what he saw.

* On a negative side note (relatively speaking) for UAB recruiting: Tamir Jackson '09 of St. Benedict's (NJ), who recently de-committed from UAB, is unsure of where he will be headed but he did recently say that UAB would still be considered along with a baker's dozen of other schools including Harvard, Miami, Davidson, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Arizona, Rice, Seton Hall, St. John's, Clemson, NC State, Providence and Rhode Island.

Many Memphis fans have been prodding for answers on whether or not incoming freshmen Angel Garcia and Matt Simpkins will clear the NCAA Clearinghouse for quite some time. With the deadline for submission of paperwork looming Friday, August 1st, many people expect the answers to begin leaking soon.

One such speculation was posted today on a blog called Northwest Indiana Basketball, which is the region in which Angel Garcia played his high school basketball at East Chicago.

Angel Garcia to Wabash Valley

That's the word out nowadays. Apparently he didn't meet the eligibilty requirements to get into Memphis so he has to take the juco route before he goes big time. I personally doubt he'll end up at Memphis but I don't doubt he'll make serious money playing ball one day. Whether that means NBA or overseas is all up to him.

On the other hand, the Memphis basketball beat-writer for The Commericial Appeal, Dan Wolken, wrote this morning:

- Angel Garcia’s high school coach was there (at the Finch). The rumblings on Garcia’s eligibility are more hopeful, but we’ll see. He’s in Puerto Rico right now.
Dan Wolken Blog

Also, Jerry Meyer of Rivals.com said he spoke with Angel Garcia's travel team coach and he said that they are still waiting to hear back from the Clearinghouse (all paperwork has been submitted).

Finally, Adam Zagoria recently contacted a source close to the Memphis program and they say that this report is "not true".

The opinions vary. It appears as though the speculation will go on.

First of all, for those of you who graciously come here to read my ramblings, I have to apologize for suddenly taking down the blog. I felt that it was important to take care of a few issues before I continued with what I was doing. Those issues have now been taken care of. I can now continue my blog and stay true to it's original intent.

Thanks for being patient with me. I will try to have all of the old posts back up and some new entries by the end of the weekend.

P.S. All comments were deleted when I took down the entries, so don't think I'm skirting the issue if you posted a comment challenging something I wrote. Just post your comment again. :)