Richard Hansen is paying immediate dividends with his new blog.
He interviewed St. Patrick junior combo guard Kyrie Irving and discovered that Memphis assistant and former New York Knick Rod Strickland is Irving’s uncle.
“I wasn’t really rooting for one team (in the NCAA final),” Irving told Hansen. “I just wanted to see a good game, but my uncle Rod Strickland is an assistant at Memphis, so I was pulling for them…I was cheering for Kansas, too.”
Memphis is among a slew of schools recruiting Irving, who has blown up this summer by helping St. Pat’s win the Hoop Group Showcase at Rutgers and other events. Seton Hall and Rutgers have both offered the 6-2 Irving and Duke, North Carolina, Florida, Notre Dame, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Virginia and Indiana are also in the mix.
“I’m just looking for the program that’s going to fit me,” Irving told me.
