Jan. 7, 2011

The Wily Freshman
D.J. Irving Hits the Court Running

By Scott Weighart - Special to GoTerriers.com

If you watch the Boston University men's basketball team in action this season, make a mental note of the fact that point guard D.J. Irving is only a freshman.

That's because you won't be able to figure it out by watching him run the Terriers' offense.

In keeping with his dazzling speed, Irving hit the court running this season and has rarely slowed down through his first 16 collegiate games. He leads the team by a wide margin with 51 assists, and he's fourth in both minutes and scoring.

"He's exceeded my expectations; he's much better than I ever thought he would be," second-year coach Patrick Chambers said. "He's handling the pressure and the rigorous schedule that we've had like a veteran--not like a freshman. He's willing to listen and get better, and that's a real challenge in today's society because with the Internet, everybody thinks that they know everything.

"He's willing to concede that he doesn't, and he wants to be coached. To me, he's a coach's dream."

Irving mulled offers from Vermont and Rider before opting to go to BU, citing his familiarity with associate head coach Brian Daly and assistant coach Ross Condon as major factors. "I felt more comfortable with them than with anyone else," Irving says. "It felt like home."

Irving made himself right at home in his very first collegiate game. His 14 points against Northeastern were the most a Terrier freshman has scored in his collegiate debut since Carlos Strong ('10) notched 19 back in 2006. "The first game against Northeastern, I surprised myself because I wasn't nervous," Irving says. "Usually the first game of every season I'm always nervous. I wasn't nervous at all, and I didn't think the game was that different. It was much faster--constantly running up and down the court--but not different."

With the exception of a few games in which he's run into foul trouble, Irving has continued to be a fixture in the lineup all season. In one recent five-game stretch, his assists-to-turnover ratio was an astonishing 21/4. Again, that reflects a level of poise that one doesn't usually see so early in a collegiate career.

"I attribute that to the coaches telling me to be more aggressive," Iriving says. "They were upset with me the last game [against New Hampshire] because I only took one shot. So I need to be aggressive--that's how we're going to be successful. I look at the stat sheet for assists after the game because I want to have a lot of assists. My goal is to have ten assists a game."

Irving, a fan of NBA point guards Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul, loves to feed the upperclassmen--particularly star forward John Holland. "I'm just trying to get the juniors and seniors--especially John--involved. If he gets hot early, we're going to win. That's my mindset."

"He's doing a great job," Chambers says. "He's a steady hand out there. He's playing solid basketball; he's not trying to do too much. He's trying to make plays for us, and he understands that we need him to do that. He's got a good IQ for the game, which is important for us moving forward."

One challenge for the Pennsylvania native is his size. Just 6'0 tall and weighing in at 165 pounds, Irving will need to continue to hit the weight room to endure a long season of physical play against improved competition. Even then, he's not likely to get much taller. "The disadvantage is that you get your shot blocked--you really can't dunk on anyone," he says. "But the advantage is you have speed. You can get around corners and see things that other people don't see."

Anyone can see that Irving is still a work in progress. Although he leads the team in free-throw percentage, he missed a late foul shot that would've tied a game that the team eventually lost to La Salle. In addition to bulking up, he wants to work on driving to the net more with his left hand, as opponents have started to realize that he favors his right hand. And Chambers has been lobbying for him to be a more vocal leader on the court.

Likewise, the Terriers are looking to improve as a team in the second half. Of the team's ten losses thus far, five of them were by a combined total of just 10 points. That included a heartbreaking 51-50 loss to Hampton, which has a 10-3 record this season. Unsurprisingly, Thursday's practice saw the team working relentlessly on last-minute game situations.

The team's ability to turn the corner and eke out more wins in those close games will hinge on a variety of factors, but often the game is in the hands of the point guard during those waning seconds. "He's a huge part of it," Chambers says. "He's got to run the late part of the game for us. He's got to make decisions, and sometimes he's not going to make the right decision. But we've got to put him in that place so he gets reps with it. Going into our league schedule with a lot of games to go, he's going to be more prepared for that than when he started the season."

During one of those last-second practice scenarios, the diminutive guard managed to box out 7'1 teammate Mat Piotrowski for a key defensive rebound. Irving acknowledged that this was an example of what the team needs to do more of in the late going. "We just have to finish games out in the last few minutes. We need to focus on rebounding at the end of the game. We need to buckle down on the little things."

Clearly, the best is yet to come for this BU team as well as for its promising point guard. That's great news for coach Chambers, who is getting much more than he bargained for from Irving when he recruited him. Usually, a team relies on its wily veterans, but here we have a program putting confidence into a wily freshman.

"I just saw a kid who really enjoyed playing basketball and who was also getting it done in the classroom, which is very much a focal point here," Chambers says. "His speed and knowledge of the game are tremendous. He's a good character kid who comes from a good family. And that's a BU kid."

Yes, we do have to keep reminding ourselves that Irving is still just a kid. But the speedy guard is growing up fast.

Irving and the Terriers will next host defending America East champion Vermont on Sunday (Jan. 9) at Case Gym with tip-off set for 1 p.m. For more information or to purchase men's basketball tickets, please visit www.AgganisArena.com, call 617-353-GOBU (4628), or visit the Agganis Arena Ticket Office, located at 925 Commonwealth Avenue, Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.