How good can Kyrie Irving be?

Adulation of a star recruit is far from an uncommon occurrence. In fact, I'd go as far as to say its an anomaly when a coach doesn't turn up the hype machine for an incoming freshman, especially one that is a consensus top five recruit.

That's why it should come as no surprise that Kyrie Irving, seemingly the next great Duke guard, is getting shown quite a bit of love from those around the Duke program.

Steve Wojciechowski, the former Duke point guard and current Duke assistant coach, compared Irving to Bobby Hurley and Jay Williams. That's pretty good company to share a sentence with.

Is Kyrie Irving the next great Duke guard?
(photo credit: NJ High School Hoops)

Williams himself weighed in, saying that he thought that Irving was better than John Wall. Yes, that John Wall, the soon-to-be No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft.

Howard Garfinkel, the legendary recruiting guru, did both of them one better. "He can pass the ball with either hand brilliantly," Garfinkel told Adam Zagoria. "He's got great moves to the basket. He's very unselfish. He's an outstanding 3-point shooter. And he's lightning quick. What's left? Irving could make them back-to-back champions, he's that good."

Not just one national title, but back-to-back?

That, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call the hype machine.

Having said that, isn't it possible that Irving is actually this good? Could it be that Irving isn't just on the receiving end of the typical Duke recruit love-fest (Josh McRoberts, Shavlik Randolph, DeMarcus Nelson, Ryan Kelly, need I go on?), that he may end up being the best point guard in the country next season?

Before you answer that, digest this quote from Coach K, pulled from the same Zagoria article:

"We'll change our whole offense, the way we play because of Kyrie. Just like we did when we had Jason Williams. He'll make a big impact right away. He's going to be very, very good."

Jay Williams had a big impact as a freshman. I'm talking 14.5 ppg, 6.2 apg, and the national freshman of the year award.

But Irving is walking into a much different situation than Williams.

You see, Williams' freshman season was the 1999-2000 campaign. That team had to replace their top four scorers -- Elton Brand, Trajon Langdon, Corey Maggette, and William Avery -- all of who ended up in the lottery in the 1999 draft.

Duke is the reigning national champion. They bring back all-american and reigning Final Four MOP Kyle Singler. They still have the Plumlees anchoring what should be a big, athletic, and versatile front line. Lest we forget that their back court already consists of Nolan Smith (who will make an appearance on quite a few all-american lists), Seth Curry (Steph's little brother that spent a year working on his game after averaging 20 at Liberty as a freshman), and Andre Dawkins.

Jay Williams joined a team that was looking to retool and that needed a star.

Kyrie Irving is joining a team that would be a Final Four and national title favorite if he had gone elsewhere.

And Coach K is still going to build his offense around Irving.

Maybe it isn't just 'hype' after all.

(Just because I love youtube videos, here are some clips of Irving for your viewing pleasure. Make your own decision on Irving.)