Part II on Kyrie Irving – His AAU coach Sandy Pyonin and Clark Francis discuss his game

This photo is courtesy and property of the NJ Star

Here is the second part of BDN’s coverage of the Pitt Jam Fest and Duke prospect Kyrie Irving by Andrew Slater.  Sandy Pyonin is the energetic head of the New Jersey Roadrunners, has taught and coached at the high school level, and trained thirty-one former and current NBA players. Some of his former players include Randy Foye and Al Harrington, as well as two former Duke players that have had their jerseys retired, Bobby Hurley and Jason Williams. One of Coach Pyonin’s current players is Kyrie Irving, the 6’2” St. Patrick’s guard and Duke recruit. He spoke with Blue Devil Nation about his star pupil and how Kyrie Irving compares to some of his former greats.

Clark Francis began publishing Hoop Scoop magazine in 1983. He has watched his scouting service grow and morph into one of the largest and most well-known in the country. Francis also chimed in with his thoughts on Duke recruit Kyrie Irving.

Blue Devil Nation: Can you talk briefly about Kyrie Irving as player and as a person?

Sandy Pyonin: First of all, he’s a great person. He comes from a great family. His family is super nice…a very bright family. His father went to BU…Boston University. He played basketball there. His father taught him most everything that he has learned. He’s played for me for the last two summers. I’ve had thirty-one NBA players. Kyrie has a great work ethic. It would be on par with an Al Harrington, who I trained. He couldn’t make lay-ups as a sophomore, but went from high school directly to the NBA. Kyrie loves to play basketball. He works at the game continuously to get better at different facets of the game. He’s going to Saint Patrick’s and so he’s getting ongoing training from Kevin Boyle. He’s still growing and so he’s 6’2” now and he could very well wind up at 6’4” or 6’5.”