Four years ago, Kyrie Irving was incredibly close to representing Australia at international level. At the time, it seemed that breaking into Team USA would be incredibly difficult, considering everyone that was ahead of him. Irving was born in Melbourne, meaning that he’d be immediately eligible to represent the Boomers, as they’re called. But someone changed his mind.
“(Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski) was a huge part of the decision. I mean, he’s Coach K. As a young fella, he definitely did tell me I had a chance to be a part of something bigger than myself and ultimately being the starting point guard on the US Olympic team. I never thought it would happen as soon as it has.
“It’s crazy to see how it has worked out.”
Of course, Irving played for Coach K at Duke during the 2010-11 season, meaning that he had the inside track at changing his mind, despite who would be playing ahead of him in London and potentially beyond. So Coach K changed Irving’s mind, as he’ll now represent the country of his heritage rather than the country of his berth. But just how close he was is worth mentioning.
Four years ago, Australia offered Irving, who was then 19, a chance to represent them in London. Irving was born in Melbourne when his father was playing in the country.
Here are some of his quotes from then:
“It was a great opportunity and 2016 is a while away, that’s all I’m going to say,” Irving said at the time.
“It would have been great to go play with guys like Andrew (Bogut), if he was healthy, and Patty (Mills) in London.
“I’d like to be part of the culture here, do something special for Australian basketball.”
In a separate interview, Irving said: “I’m Aussie born and I consider myself an Aussie.”
Oddly enough, Sixers head coach Brett Brown helped try to recruit Irving to play for Australia, as he coached Kyrie’s dad in Australia when he was born. Australia believed that they had a legitimate shot at convincing Irving to play for them, but the timing was odd considering Irving’s draft status and college season at the time. And then there was Coach K, who turned out to be the swing vote.
“The fact he went to Duke where Coach K was coaching didn’t help,” Wayne Carroll, at the time GM of high performance at Basketball Australia, told foxsports.com.au. “Coach K obviously has a strong association with the USA national program. Many college coaches don’t.
“It was also going to be a complicated process after he represented the USA at junior level. But it was a discussion we thought was worth having and we did our best to bring him to Australia.”
“He had a choice,” Krzyzewski said this week. “I just wanted him to always think of the very best that could happen for him and obviously playing for the United States and maybe being the starting guard on the Olympic team, that’s the highest. And he had the capability of doing that. I knew that at a young age.
“But it wasn’t like you had to put any pressure on him. I think he just needed to know that once you make the decision, then that’s the country you’re going to play for.”
Irving, to his credit, says that he will play in Australia when his NBA career ends, owing a debt of gratitude to the country where he was born.
“I feel that when I’m done playing in the NBA the first place to come would be Australia,” Irving said at the time.
“Just to experience it and have more people come to the game and have an NBA player just be here, I think it would help the sport a lot.
“I would probably just play a few games if anything but the end of my career is a while away but Australia would be the first place I would play if I played overseas.”
Irving will be a bit conflicted tomorrow when his US team meets the team he almost played for in Rio, and they could be the toughest competition the team sees at any point during the Olympic tournament.
[News AU]