“We have faith that Kyrie will help St. Patrick,” Chavannes said, referring to the Cavaliers rookie point guard and the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s NBA Draft. “They have been very pro-active.”

The same is not true of St. Patrick alums Harrington, whom St. Pat’s principal Joe Picaro used to drive to school, and Dalembert, Chavannes said.

“Since they have been in the league, a number of consistent people who donate [to St. Patrick] have stopped because they all are under the assumption that these alums are giving back in a variety of ways,” Chavannes said.

Chavannes said St. Patrick — featured in the recent HBO documentary “Prayer For a Perfect Season” — is not in danger of closing but is in need of financial support.

“Our tuition is $5,500 and the cost to educate each child is $7,500,” he said. “In order to continue to give a quality education we need to raise the difference.”

After Harrington, now with the Denver Nuggets, scored 24 points Saturday night to help beat the Knicks, 119-114 in double-OT, I asked him if he or his foundation had donated anything to St. Patrick, where Harrington played under former coach Kevin Boyle.

“Not as of right now,” Harrington said. “But at the end of the day they’re part of the Archdiocese of Newark so they got more money than Al Harrington has, so they probably should step up and help those struggling schools. You know, St. Pat’s ain’t the only school struggling.”

He added: “I’m just saying it’s a Catholic school. They should help those schools out also. But I guess I heard there’s a lot of other things they’re dealing with outside of, that they’re spending their money on. So they should help them schools out because those schools really help and save a lot of kids’ lives.”

The Catholic church has had to spend money paying off sex abuse cases.

Harrington said St. Pat’s has not been in touch, but he would be willing to help fundraise for the school.

“They haven’t reached out to me yet,” he said. “I mean, I would help anything with fundraising. I think that instead of any school just asking for money, they should  come with cute ways to get us involved ot help raise money instead of just asking for a check.

“I’m not saying that’s what they’re doing, but I think that would definitely help. But if they wanted to do something like that, I would do anything they need me to do.”

Chavannes said he and other school officials did try to reach out to Harrington but to no avail.

“We are happy to hear Al is willing to help with fundraisers because we had no idea he was still interesting in helping out,” Chavannes said. “As he said, he has not been in touch, his foundation has not given, he has not given in six years. It has been impossible to get in touch. We tried through his brother on Facebook.

“So this is very good, refreshing news because we are not expecting it, based on the previous evidence.”

As for Dalembert, now with the Sacramento Kings, Chavannes said he donated $7,000 “after his first year in the league,” but nothing since.

Marc Cornstein, Dalembert’s agent, did not respond to a request for comment.

Irving, in contrast, has offered to help the school, as first reported by SNY.tv in October.

“Kyrie and his dad [Drederick] are helping with the restructuring of the school,” Chavannes said. “They have already helped with fundraising and have committed to helping St. Patrick in a variety of ways.”

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He brought some valuable lessons for the young St. Patrick players as well as a promise to donate some of his earnings to the struggling Catholic school.

“He’s very, very helpful in so many ways,” St. Patrick coach Chris Chavannes told SNY.tv. “And he’s made his promise to also help out the school financially in the very, very near future.”

Irving, the No. 1 pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2011 NBA Draft, has not yet received his first NBA paycheck because of the lockout but he is currently shooting a Nike commercial, which would allow him to donate to his alma mater.

Irving attended a dinner and fundraiser that coincided with the HBO broadcast of “Prayer For a Perfect Season,” which documents St. Patrick’s 2010-11 season that culminated in a loss to arch-rival St. Anthony in the mythical national championship game.

Chavannes said some 220 people attended the dinner at The Westwood in Garwood, N.J., and that it raised more than $8,000 for the school.

“I think it shows that there’s many ways to give back and just [Irving's] presence alone drew a lot of people there, to the point where some people didn’t have seats to enjoy the festivities,” Chavannes said.

Among other things, “Prayer” highlights the financial struggles of Catholic schools like St. Patrick, with an enrollment of 215 students.

“I’m painfully aware of what’s happened to Catholic education,” Naismith Hall of Fame St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley said during the film. “I think my least concern right now as a coach here is my preparation for games. I think my biggest concern is my preparation for fund-raising.

“In the Catholic church, we are settling lawsuits throughout the diocese, all over the United States, with the religious and the sexual abuse cases, which has really taken away any reserve of money that would’ve normally been used to keep schools open.”

Irving, who left Duke after his freshman season, also served as a valuable role model for the current St. Patrick players because he is back taking four courses at Duke during the lockout.

“I love Duke,” Irving told CBS News during a recent interview. “I’m back here because I love it. You know, because Duke is the place.”

The CBS piece pointed out that Irving is one of 52 current NBA players currently taking college courses. Others include former St. Benedict’s Prep standout Tristan Thompson (Texas), Steph Curry (Davidson) and Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook (UCLA).

Irving, who along with Dexter Strickland (North Carolina) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Kentucky), helped St. Pat’s win the 2009 New Jersey Tournament of Champions title, made a promise to his father upon leaving Duke early that he would get his degree within five years.

“And he stuck to the pact and I commend him for being so young and having the fortitude to actually stick to the game plan,” Drederick Irving told CBS.

Chavannes, who took over for departed coach Kevin Boyle, now at Montverde (Fla.) Academy, says Irving’s decision to return to his alma mater can only have a positive impact on the current players.

“It showed the guys that there’s many ways [to help],” Chavannes said. “He comes back to open gyms and….gives them advice and shows them those Duke ways of doing certain things, whether it be from a basketball standpoint or from a leadership standpoint.”

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ELIZABETH, N.J. — Only a handful of onlookers were there Monday evening when Kyrie Irving drained four straight 3-pointers, two from midcourt, in the bandbox that is the St. Patrick High School gym.

“He’s shooting the shot from halfcourt like it was [nothing],” said Darrian Collins, a rising 5-foot-9 junior guard from St. Pat’s.

“It hit the rim, though,” joked another onlooker, underscoring the fact that one of Irving’s long-distance shots wasn’t a perfect midcourt swish.

The 6-foot-3 Irving (wearing blue shorts and a white T-shirt in the video) was the No. 1 pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Draft this summer, but on this night he was just another one of the guys. One of the many talented former and current Celtics playing pickup in the school’s tiny gym.

“It’s great coming back to St. Pat’s,” Irving, who, along with North Carolina guard Dexter Strickland and Kentucky wing Michael Gilchrist, helped St. Patrick win the New Jersey Tournament of Champions in 2009, told SNY.tv. “St. Pat’s gave me a lot, basket-wise, academically, so it’s always good to come back and play.

“And it’s good just to get a few shots up here with the guys and support them.”

Strickland, a two guard on the preseason No. 1-ranked team in the nation, was also at Monday’s run, and he and Irving playfully pushed and shoved one another while running on opposing teams.

The game also featured Rutgers guard Eli Carter, St. Bonaventure forward Da’Quan Cook, George Mason forward Paris Bennett and many of the current St. Pat’s players, including the team’s two most talented players, junior wings Deandre Bembry and Jared Nickens.

Few high school basketball programs in the country can produce an impromptu alumni game of this quality. And consider that St. Pat’s alums like Gilchrist, Corey Fisher, Shaheen Holloway, Sam Dalembert and Al Harrington weren’t even there on this night.

“It’s great talent, it’s great talent,” Irving said. “We’re just enjoying ourselves out here, that’s it.”

For a young guy like Collins, the run provided an opportunity to test himself against the No.1 pick in the draft. At one point, the sharp-shooting, diminutive Collins drained a 3-pointer over Irving’s head. On another play, Irving schooled the youngster by driving past Collins for a layup.

“Yeah, it is fun, to know that he is No. 1 and you get to play against him,” said Collins, a South River, N.J. native. “It’s competitive. You get to work on playing defense against top players.”

First-year St. Pat’s coach Chris Chavannes, who takes over a team that was ranked No. 1 in the nation for most of last season before losing to St. Anthony in the New Jersey state tournament, said the young players will benefit from playing against Irving and the other guys.

“One thing that Jared has to learn is how to have confidence in himself and how to learn to become the man,” Chavannes said. “We as coaches can express that to them, but to hear it from Kyrie and Dexter and these other guys, it means a ton. Especially, they’re closer to their age also, so it’s been very , very helpful in so many ways.”

Irving and several other alums drove down to Allentown, N.J. on Saturday to watch the current team play in the Summer Primetime Shootout, where the Celtics went a perfect 4-0.

“Yeah, they drove all the way down there in the rain to come sit down and watch our guys play,” Chavannes said. “And he didn’t have to do that, the other guys didn’t have to do that. So it means a lot for him to come back here and give back, whether it’s playing against the guys or coming down and sitting in the stands and supporting us. It’s been tremendous.”

Even as Irving made a behind-the-back, out-of-bounds pass to Bennett for a breakaway dunk, he was treated as just another player in the gym.

Of course, everyone in the game knew he was the No. 1 pick in the draft, but on this night he was running with many of his former high school teammates as if it were a another St. Pat’s practice two years ago before his one and only season at Duke.

“I think that’s what makes St. Pat’s special,” Chavannes said. “If you ever come through the halls of St. Pat’s during the daytime, nobody cares who Kyrie or [former coach] Kevin Boyle was. Everybody’s the same. Everybody just likes each other and gets along with each other.”

Of course, Irving is not the same.

He’s the No. 1 pick in the draft, but because of the NBA lockout he’s currently without a paycheck or a team.

Asked if that was a weird feeling, he said, “Yeah, a little bit. knowing that I’m not getting paid right now and I can’t work out with teammates so it’s hard to think about.”

Irving said he plans to split time between New Jersey to Cleveland during the NBA lockout.

“Most likely I’m just going to be back and forth to Cleveland and getting acclimated there,” he said.

In the meantime, he left Wednesday for a 16-hour flight to Shanghai, China where he and Grant Hill will watch Duke participate in some exhibitions there.

Once he returns, Irving could drop in for a few more runs in his old gym, where he’ll just be another St. Patrick Celtic.

“It’s all competition,” he said. “It’s always in good fun.”

(Video courtesy Dexter Strickland’s Uncle Donny)

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The woman is identified as Jessica Jackson, a Bronx, N.Y., native also known as ‘Miss Hawaii.’

According to MontclairPatch.com,  Irving, the No. 1 pick in last month’s NBA Draft, said in the police report he received “terroristic threats” from Jackson between March 22 and May 17. He filed a harassment complaint May 17.

Irving reportedly told police that Jackson contacted him via Twitter earlier Saturday, violating the no contact order issued by West Orange Municipal Judge Margaret Padovano on Tuesday.

That was the date that Jackson also filed a police report against Irving, claiming he was harassing her.

After the two made initial contact on Twitter, Irving told police he met Jackson once in person in front of the Ritz Carlton in Charlotte, N.C., for two minutes. The two had a short conversation and then went their separate ways.

Irving maintains Jackson then posted some videos on YouTube insulting him and allegedly threatened via his Twitter account to stab him.

Jackson also claims to have a video of the former Duke and St. Patrick star masturbating, and threatened to release them the day of the NBA Draft.

BlackSportsOnline previously reported that Miss Hawaii might be a prostitute and that she created a fake Twitter account, @DukeLvr1989, to harass Irving and refer to his dead mother.

SethCurrySavesDuke, a Duke blog, reported on the alleged fake Twitter account.

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Now that the two are teammates with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Thompson will only get to dunk on Irving during practice.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Irving, the former St. Patrick and Duke star who was taken No. 1 overall by the Cavs, said of playing with the 6-9 Thompson, selected minutes later at No. 4.

“Tristan is a great friend of mine, and just having another fellow freshman being drafted to Cleveland, I’m really looking forward to it.”

Just two and a half years ago, Irving put up 21 points when St. Patrick crushed Thompson and St. Benedict’s at Rutgers in a battle of two of the Garden State’s — and the nation’s — premier teams.

“It’s like we are reunited and Kyrie being from St. Pat’s, it’s a little Jersey rivalry so I’m happy,” said Thompson, the Texas freshman who is the first Canadian-born player selected since 1985.

He added: “Knowing that myself and Kyrie have a friendship prior to the draft, he’s almost like a brother to me so we’ll get this thing together.”

Thompson won’t dunk on Irving, but may be the recipient of some Irving passes he can turn into dunks on other players.

“Kyrie’s pushing the ball and I’m going to try to keep up with him,” Thompson said.

Cleveland, which lost 26 straight games at one stretch last season, will now have three players who competed at Jersey powerhouses since they already have power forward Samardo Samuels, who played with Thompson at St. Benedict’s during Thompson’s sophomore season.

“Samardo is like an older brother and a mentor to me,” Thompson said. “He’s went through many workouts just a year ago, so he just told me, do what you do well and everything will fall into place.”

Together, the former Jersey prep players must work to try to make Cleveland forget about the man who took his talents to South Beach.

“I’m really not looking to replace LeBron honestly,” Irving said, “just try to be Kyrie Irving and just contribute to the Cleveland organization as much as I can.”

Despite all the draft-day excitement, both players’ dreams could be put on hold with an NBA lockout looming July 1.

“I know that there are negotiations,” Irving said of the labor dispute. “And after July 1 that’s when I’ll really start worrying about what I’m going to do.

Irving could end up right back on the Duke campus — as a student, not a basketball player.

“I’ll be back down at Duke taking a couple classes and if the work stoppage continues after a certain date then I’ll be basically a regular student enrolled there again,” Irving said.

Asked what classes he might take, Irving added: “I might just broaden my horizons, just kind of go out there a little bit on the limb, try a couple different classes. But I’m open for anything.”

When the lockout does end, though, he could be right back playing with Thompson.

“Having somebody alongside you that will go through the rookie ups and downs with you,” Irving said, “it will make the transition into the NBA that much easier.”

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“Hmm,” the 6-foot-9 Thompson pondered, “I probably want to dunk on Kyrie.”

Thompson still owes one to Irving from their days as New Jersey prep stars.

In February 2009, Irving and his St. Patrick squad demolished Thompson and then-unbeaten St. Benedict’s Prep, 88-62, in front of about 4,000 fans at the Rutgers Athletic Center.

“It was actually his coming out party, you could almost call it because no one saw him play against a big-name school [before that],” Thompson, who was held to 13 points in the loss, said of Irving. “He definitely put on a show and definitely showed the world who Mr. Irving was.”

Irving was still something of an unknown quantity when he took the floor that night.

The 6-foot-3 guard had transferred from Montclair Kimberley Academy, sat out the state-mandated 30 days and was just getting accustomed to playing on a stacked team for then-head coach Kevin Boyle.

“He took me when I transferred out of Montclair Kimberley and many coaches wouldn’t do that, just how successful his team was for those past seasons,” Irving, the likely No. 1 pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, recalled on Wednesday.

“So when I came in, he didn’t know what he was getting, honestly. He’d never seen me play. He was just going by word of mouth. And when I went there, it just happened that he had the confidence in me.”

Playing alongside Dexter Strickland (North Carolina) and Michael Gilchrist (Kentucky), Irving proceeded to go out and drop 21 points in the victory.

It was then that Boyle gave me his now famous quote — since picked up by many media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal — that Irving had the potential to be the best guard to come out of New Jersey.

Ever.

“Kyrie Irving, when it’s all said and done, he will arguably be as good as any guard who’s played in New Jersey,” Boyle said then. “Any guard. Ever. Ever. DaJuan Wagner, Bobby Hurley, Shaheen Holloway. You’re talking about a guy who’s a great shooter, a great finisher. He’s going to be as good as anybody who’s played in New Jersey.”

Then-St. Ben’s coach Danny Hurley had this to say after that game.

“The guy’s going to be a great player,” Hurley said. “It’s not because he dominates the ball or is playing above the rim. It’s because the kid plays both ends of the court. He’s got great instincts. He doesn’t take bad shots. He carries himself well with his teammates on the court.”

Thompson said and he Irving had a chance to chuckle about the game during the Chicago Predraft Camp.

“We were both laughing about it saying, a couple of years ago we were high school kids dreaming of going to college, and now we’re dreaming of playing in the NBA,” Thompson said. “It goes by pretty fast.”

While Irving figures to be the No. 1 pick, Thompson is expected to go somewhere in the early or middle part of the first round.

A native of Brampton, Ontario, Thompson has been called by his AAU coach Ro Russell the best forward ever to come out of Canada.

Steve Nash is considered the best Canadian guard ever, and Thompson said he’s spoken to Nash but never played against him.

After Thompson gets drafted, he expects a parade of fellow Canucks to follow him, including incoming Texas point guard Myck Kabongo, his former teammate at St. Benedict’s and Findlay Prep.

“I think it’s just the beginning,” Thompson said. “I think me and Cory [Joseph] are just the pioneers of what’s more to come. We have Myck, Kevin Thomas, Anthony Bennett, Andrew Wiggins, there’s a lot of young talented guys.”

By the time any of them arrive in the NBA, Thompson plans to flush one on Irving.

To make up for the blowout Kyrie gave him two and a half years ago.

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Nearly a year after losing LeBron James to “The Decision,” the Cleveland Cavaliers got a major boost Tuesday night when they won the No. 1 pick in the June 23 NBA Draft.

The Cavs will likely choose between Duke freshman point guard Kyrie Irving and Arizona sophomore forward Derrick Williams.

“I have no idea where I’m going to end up at but where ever I go I will be grateful for the opportunity to play in the NBA!” Tweeted Irving, the West Orange, N.J. native who spent one injury-plagued season at Duke.

Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com has Irving going No. 1 to the Cavs, Williams No. 2 to the Minnesota Timberwolves and UConn star Kemba Walker of The Bronx landing with the Utah Jazz at No. 3.

“I expect Cleveland to pick Kyrie Irving because they need a point guard,” Minnesota president David Kahn told Givony.

Irving averaged 17.5 points, 4.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds on the season. He played the first eight games of the year before injuring his right toe in a win over Butler at the Izod Center.

He returned in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Hampton and later scored 28 points in a loss to Williams and Arizona in the Sweet 16.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said Monday that whoever selects Irving will be getting an impact player.

“It’s too bad he was hurt this year,” Coach K told SNY.tv. “People will see just how gifted a player he is and what a great kid.”

The Cavs already had their own pick and acquired another at the trade deadline from the Clippers in the Baron Davis deal.

The now own the No. 1 and 4 picks.

Gilbert sent his son, 14-year-old Nick Gilbert, to the podium and Nick came up with a stunning victory, as the Clippers’ pick, originally No. 8, had only a 2.8 percent chance of landing at the top.

Nick Gilbert was born with neurofibromatosis, a nerve disorder that causes tumors to grow anywhere in the body at any time. He was wearing black-rimmed glasses and a bow tie and looked serious until he showed a keen sense of humor in a television interview. His father called him his hero.

Irving was at the draft lottery and helped Gilbert celebrate the pick.

HERE’S THE COMPLETE DRAFT ORDER:

1.         Cleveland (From LA Clippers)
2.         Minnesota
3.         Utah (From New Jersey)
4.         Cleveland
5.         Toronto
6.         Washington
7.         Sacramento
8.         Detroit
9.         Charlotte
10.        Milwaukee
11.        Golden State
12.        Utah
13.        Phoenix
14.        Houston

Following is the order for the remainder of the 2011 NBA Draft:

15.        Indiana
16.        Philadelphia
17.        New York
18.        Washington (From Atlanta)
19.        Charlotte (From New Orleans via Portland)
20.        Minnesota (From Memphis via Utah)
21.        Portland
22.        Denver
23.        Houston (From Orlando via Phoenix)
24.        Oklahoma City
25.        Boston
26.        Dallas
27.        New Jersey (from LA Lakers)
28.        Chicago (From Miami via Toronto)
29.        San Antonio
30.        Chicago

2011 SECOND ROUND DRAFT CHOICE ORDER

31.        Miami (From Minnesota)
32.        Cleveland
33.        Detroit (From Toronto)
34.        Washington
35.        Sacramento
36.        New Jersey
37.        LA Clippers (From Detroit)
38.        Houston (From LA Clippers)
39.        Charlotte
40.        Milwaukee
41.        LA Lakers (From Golden State via New Jersey)
42.        Indiana
43.        Chicago (From Utah)
44.        Golden State (From Phoenix via Chicago)
45.        New Orleans (From Philadelphia)
46.        LA Lakers (From New York)
47.        LA Clippers (From Houston)
48.        Atlanta
49.        Memphis
50.        Philadelphia (From New Orleans)
51.        Portland (1)
52.        Denver (2)
53.        Orlando
54.        Cleveland (From Oklahoma City via Miami)
55.        Boston
56.        LA Lakers
57.        Dallas
58.        LA Lakers (From Miami)
59.        San Antonio
60.        Sacramento (From Chicago via Milwaukee)

# # #

(1) -  This pick may be conveyed to Detroit via Denver.
(2) -  This pick may be conveyed to Portland or to Detroit.

(The AP contributed; Video courtesy DraftExpress.com)

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DraftExpress.com projects the 6-foot-2 West Orange, N.J. native as the No. 1 overall pick in the June 23 draft in Newark.

One veteran NBA scout, however, told SNY.tv he would choose Arizona’s Derrick Williams with the No. 1 pick.

“Our whole program is overjoyed with having Kyrie here for one year and that he has the chance now to pursue a dream of being a high draft pick and a great player in the NBA,” Krzyzewski said in a statement.

“We are totally supportive of Kyrie, his family and his decision. We look forward to continuing to work with him during the upcoming months leading to his entry into the NBA and afterwards while he is an NBA player.  He is a great young man, a terrific student, and a truly amazing representative for our program and for Duke.  We love him and are very happy for him and his family.”

Irving played in just 11 games this season, sitting out 26 games with a toe injury after injuring his right foot in a Dec. 4 win over Butler.

He averaged 17.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists a game while shooting .529 (55-of-104) from the field, .462 (18-of-39) from behind the three-point line and .901 (64-of-71) from the free throw line.

Irving started the first eight games of the year, averaging 17.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game during that time frame. He returned to action in the NCAA Tournament and averaged 17.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in Duke’s three games.

“I want to thank the entire staff at Duke, especially the coaches,” Irving said. “It was a great experience playing for Coach K. He taught me a lot about the game. Even when I was hurt, I learned a lot. Also a special thanks goes to the medical staff for getting me back on the court for the NCAA Tournament and my teammates for sticking with me throughout the entire year. Duke offered me an experience I could never have imagined.”

He scored a game-high 31 points to go with six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals against No. 6 Michigan State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. It was just the fourth time in school history a freshman scored 30 or more in a game. He was selected the CBE Classic MVP after averaging 14.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.5 steals in the four games.

He had 17 points, five rebounds, six assists and two steals in the finals against No. 4 Kansas State. Irving also dished out nine assists against both Princeton and Colgate. In the NCAA Tournament, he scored team highs of 14 points against Hampton and 28 points against Arizona in the Sweet 16.

“This was a special year for me. I love everything about Duke and I’m going to miss it,” added Irving. ”Duke has a special place in my heart. Even though I’m leaving this year, Duke will always be in my mind and my heart. I’m going to miss putting on that No. 1 jersey.”

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(Release, photo courtesy Duke)

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NEWARK

Yet in their short time together on the court, they made a historic impact.

The duo led the Celtics to the New Jersey Tournament of Champions title in 2009, the school’s third in four years under head coach Kevin Boyle.

Strickland, a natural shooting guard, then went off to North Carolina to play point guard.

A year later, Irving landed at arch-rival Duke, where he has ascended to become the potential No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.

Their short careers have already taken several intriguing twists and turns. Yet with both teams in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, their friendship still runs deep, even as both play on opposite sides of Tobacco Road.

“Dexter and I speak all the time,” Irving said Wednesday in Anaheim, Calif., where Duke meets Arizona in a West Regional semifinal Thursday night.

“In fact, I spoke to him [Tuesday] night. [Being on Carolina and Duke], it’s been fine. Away from the court, he still is a good friend of mine. But when we’re on the court, we’re also competing. That rivalry is another thing … but our friendship, I don’t want to say it’s bigger than the rivalry, but I cherish it.”

POINT GUARD OR SHOOTING GUARD?

In the summer of 2007, prior to his junior season at St. Patrick, the 6-foot-3 Strickland attended both the Steve Nash and LeBron James Skills Academies.

A natural wing guard, he had played alongside Villanova-bound Corey Fisher as a sophomore. But with Fisher headed to Villanova that season, Strickland endeavored to improve his point guard skills.

“He was at the LeBron Camp in Ohio and he had some tremendous games, off just either getting the rebound or getting the ball in the backcourt and pushing the ball up the floor,” St. Patrick assistant Rae Miller recalled.

“And for that several schools, including North Carolina, got the idea that he may be able to converted to a point guard in college, which he still he has a chance to do over time.”

Even though Strickland was ranked among the top five point guards nationally in his class, Miller said he was always more of a natural off guard.

“Dexter is one of the best athletes we’ve ever had at St. Patrick, by far,” he said. “But what he does naturally is score the ball.

“If you’ve watched him in the AAU, you watched him in any one of his all-star teams, he’s always been a wing scorer. He’s tremendously athletic. He can get to the basket very quickly, can shoot open shots. That is clearly what he’s very, very comfortable doing all the time.”

When Strickland chose North Carolina over Michigan State and Florida in January 2008, he did so as a point guard because he was the lead guard at St. Patrick in between the Fisher and Irving Eras. Still, Boyle said he would evolve into a “combo guard” at Carolina.

North Carolina coach Roy Williams, having seen Strickland in the summer of 2007, clearly thought Strickland was coming to the Tar Heels as a point guard.

But Miller said Williams and the St. Patrick staff never talked specifically about playing Strickland more at the point.

“At no point did that discussion ever occur,” Miller said. “We’ve never had a coach come to us and ask us to play a guy at particular position to get him ready for college.”

IRVING CHANGES THE DYNAMIC

In May 2008, Irving announced that he would transfer to St. Patrick from Montclair (N.J.) Kimberley Academy, a small, lesser-known private school.

An under-the-radar star who had dropped 47 and 48 points, respectively, in two games, Irving would have to sit out 30 days, as per state regulations.

Once he did suit up, there wasn’t much question who would play the point.

Irving was a natural playmaker, and Strickland was able to slide to his natural wing position. Kevin Boyle Jr. also shared point guard duties.

“In my high school career, I played the one and the two and Dexter would move to the three or the two,” Irving said. “When I was out of the game, Dexter would sometimes move to the one. It was just a weird situation
that when I came to St. Pat’s at the time that Coach Williams wanted to play Dexter at the one, preparing him for the next level., But really, we shared time with that.”

The team jelled and was firing on all cylinders by the time it beat Science Park of Newark, 73-57, to win the Tournament of Champions. Irving had a coming out party with 26 points and Strickland 14.

It was in the wake of that game that Boyle made his now famous remark that Irving would eventually become the best guard ever to come out of New Jersey — better than Bobby Hurley, Dajuan Wagner, Shaheen Holloway or Randy Foye.

But Strickland also excelled.

“Dexter had a tremendous year that year,” Miller said. “He never had to worry about passing the ball to other people. What he did was score. He played as well as he possibly could.”

MOVING TO THE NEXT LEVEL

While Strickland had excelled as a shooting guard alongside Irving his senior year, he was expected to play the point when he arrived at Carolina in the fall of 2009.

The Tar Heels were coming off a national championship in which Ty Lawson was the floor general and Larry Drew hadn’t entrenched himself as the heir apparent.

“The year before that, when they won the national championship Drew was on the team and he didn’t really play,” Miller said. “I don’t think they were comfortable with Drew as the point guard to be someone that would be effective.”

The problem was, Strickland wasn’t entirely comfortable playing the point, either.

He averaged 5.0 points, 2.0 assists and 1.7 turnovers as Carolina failed to make the NCAA Tournament.

“People ask me, ‘Was it a waste of a year [last year]?’” Strickland said earlier this season. “It wasn’t a waste at all. My first year was really a learning process because I never played the one before.”

CAROLINA EXPRESSES INTEREST IN IRVING

Ironically, North Carolina initially expressed interest in recruiting Irving to play the point beginning this season.

“When Kyrie was a senior they wanted to recruit him but they had already committed to playing Dexter at the point,” Miller said.

“So that kind of made it very difficult for them to come back and then recruit the next guy at St. Pat’s the same year and say, ‘Oh, I’m going to bring you in as a point guard also. It just didn’t make sense.’”

Irving, of course, ended up choosing Duke in October 2009.

All of that prompted Williams to joke last summer that he was “mad” at Irving for his cumulative impact on the development of Strickland and the North Carolina and Duke programs.

“I’m really mad at Kyrie,” Williams said at the Peach Jam. “I don’t like Kyrie. I do laugh at that and say that with tongue in cheek.”

He added: “Kevin Boyle was going to play Dexter at the point his senior year and Dexter’s never played the point and I thought that’s what he was going to be in college.

“Kyrie goes in and so no longer is Dexter playing the point cause Kyrie’s so great,” Williams added. “I already told Kyrie, ‘You really made me mad. You played the point so Dexter didn’t get to do that and then you went to Duke too so you really made me mad.’”

IRVING EMERGES AT DUKE

Ironically, just as there were questions about who would play what position in the Irving/Strickland backcourt, some wondered how Irving and Duke senior Nolan Smith would coexist.

Those questions became magnified after Irving went down with a toe injury Dec. 4, allowing Smith to emerge into a National Player of the Year candidate.

Now that Irving is back and playing in the NCAA Tournament, some wonder how long it will take for him to fully jell with his teammates. He returned to score a team-high 14 points in the tournament opener against Wofford and then hit a the game-winning basket against Michigan for his only field goal of the game.

“I’ve read a few columns saying that they’re not sure how me and
Nolan are going to work, but it worked in the beginning of the season
— we were both averaging over 17 points,” Irving said. “I’m not a selfish player, he’s not a selfish player, so me integrating myself back into where
Nolan is as a player is going to be easy for me.

“I’m definitely going to run the offense, but primarily, he’s our scorer, he and Kyle. So in the beginning of the season, the goal was to get them shots and
also find my spot, so I’m going to do the same thing.”

FORMER ST. PAT’S STARS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Strickland, meantime, has moved back to his old shooting guard spot now that Drew has left the team and freshman Kendall Marshall is entrenched at the point.

Strickland had 13 points, six rebounds and one turnover in Carolina’s 86-83 victory over Washington.

Carolina meets Marquette here Friday night in an East Regional semifinal at the Prudential Center.

As of Thursday, Miller was still trying to secure some tickets to see his former star play in person.

One thing’s for sure, Irving and Strickland have both persevered and thrived despite adversity. And Miller couldn’t be happier.

“Going to North Carolina and going to Duke, I knew that they both had a chance to be in the tournament every year,” Miller said.

“I was very disappointed this year that those guys didn’t get a chance to play against each other twice during the regular season, at least [because of Irving’s injury.

“But I always dreamed of watching those guys compete at the highest level. I think they’re both tremendous people and tremendous players.”

(Phil Chardis contributed reporting from Anaheim, Calif.; Photos courtesy The Star-Ledger and Irving Family)

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After missing 3 1/2 months with a right big toe injury suffered Dec. 4 against Butler, Irving came off the bench to score a team-best 14 points when Duke routed Hampton, 87-45, last Friday. The former Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick star then hit a critical late basket and scored 11 points in 21 minutes in Sunday’s win over MIchigan.

“We’re good with who we’re starting,” Krzyzewski said, according to the Charlotte Observer. “We should have at least eight people feel like they’re starters on this team, with Andre [Dawkins] and Ryan [Kelly]. We’ve had nine people start on this team, so that’s an advantage.

“We can’t get caught up in who’s starting. Kyrie will play, and he’ll play significant minutes against Arizona.”

Since the beginning of the ACC Tournament, Duke has started Nolan Smith and Seth Curry in the backcourt, with Kyle Singler, Mason Plumlee and Miles Plumlee up front.

Duke has won eight straight NCAA Tournament games dating back to last year’s title run.

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