Drederick Irving
{{Short description|American basketball player (born 1966)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Drederick Irving
| image =
| alt =
| number =
| position = Guard
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1966|01|11}}{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-irving/148738882/|title=BU celebrates, 80–65|last=Cadigan|first=Barry|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=1986-01-12|via=Newspapers.com}}
| birth_place =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 4
| weight_lb =
| high_school = Adlai E. Stevenson High School (The Bronx, New York)
| college = Boston University (1984–1988)
| highlights =
}}
Drederick Irving (born January 11, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Boston University from 1984 to 1988. He is the father of National Basketball Association (NBA) player Kyrie Irving.
Basketball career
=High school=
Irving was raised in public housing in the Bronx.{{cite news|url=https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2011/06/for_kyrie_and_dred_irving_a_lo.html|title=For Kyrie and Dred Irving, a long, winding road took them to a magical draft night (and the Cleveland Cavaliers)|last=Schmitt Boyer|first=Mary|date=2011-06-26|website=Cleveland.com|access-date=2024-06-05}} He practiced gymnastics before switching to basketball at age ten.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-irving/148738687/|title=Irving accomplished – and on a mission|last=MacMullan|first=Jackie|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=1988-01-26|via=Newspapers.com}} He played on the varsity basketball team at Adlai E. Stevenson High School. He spent his junior year as a reserve player and committed to Boston University in the fall of his senior year. In his senior season, as a starter, he set a single-season record with 521 points and was all-city and all-division.
=College=
In his sophomore and junior years, Irving led the Boston University Terriers with 18 and 18.7 points per game respectively. In his senior year, while second in the Eastern College Athletic Conference with 20.3 points per game, he became BU's all-time leading scorer on February 5, 1988.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/hartford-courant-irving/148739009/|title=Jones and Irving: Hartford must handle inside-out combo|last=Smith|first=George|date=1988-03-10|newspaper=Hartford Courant|via=Newspapers.com}} The Terriers won the North Atlantic Conference tournament to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, where they lost to No. 2 Duke in the opening round.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/hartford-courant-net/148739161/|title=BU finally gets its net result, winning NAC title|last=Smith|first=George|date=1988-03-13|newspaper=Hartford Courant|via=Newspapers.com}}
BU retired his No. 11 jersey in 1988 and inducted him into the BU Athletic Hall of Fame.{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2017/08/22/meet-kyrie-irvings-dad-drederick-a-former-bu-basketball-star/|title=Meet Kyrie Irving's dad, Drederick — a former BU basketball star|last=Smyth|first=Sean|date=2017-08-22|website=Boston.com|access-date=2024-06-05}} His 1,931 career points now rank third in program history.
=Professional=
In 1992, Irving moved to Australia to play for the Bulleen Boomers of the South East Australian Basketball League,{{cite news|url=https://people.com/all-about-kyrie-irving-parents-8651029|title=All About Kyrie Irving's Parents, Elizabeth and Drederick Irving|last=Caruso|first=Skyler|date=2024-05-20|magazine=People|access-date=2024-06-05}} where he averaged 30 points per game.{{cite web|url=https://websites.mygameday.app/assoc_page.cgi?client=1-9686-0-0-0&sID=282674&&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=23873651|title=Drederick Irving|work=1st Pick Hoops|access-date=21 August 2024}} He also unsuccessfully tried out for the Boston Celtics of the NBA and played in the Pro-Am League in New York.
Personal life
Irving met his first wife, Elizabeth Larson, while in college. They married and moved to the Seattle area, where Irving worked as a credit manager for a finance company. Their son, Kyrie, was born in Australia while Irving was playing professional basketball. Irving's childhood friend Rod Strickland, who played in the NBA, is Kyrie's godfather.{{cite web|author=Gary Washburn|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/celtics/2018/08/11/the-kyrie-irving-rod-strickland-connection/XUD6dmHYBCzkpC13PPpZrL/story.html|title=The Kyrie Irving-Rod Strickland connection|publisher=The Boston Globe|date=August 11, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220922220000/https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/celtics/2018/08/11/the-kyrie-irving-rod-strickland-connection/XUD6dmHYBCzkpC13PPpZrL/story.html|archive-date=22 Sep 2022}} Elizabeth died when Kyrie was four years old. Irving raised Kyrie and daughter Asia in New Jersey and worked as a financial broker on Wall Street.{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/page/kyrieirving_120224/nba-father-laid-plan-kyrie-irving-followed-it|title=A father dedicated to helping his son|last=MacMullan|first=Jackie|date=2012-02-23|publisher=ESPN|access-date=2024-06-05}} He married Shetellia Riley, who would become Kyrie's agent, in 2004 and had another daughter, London.{{cite web|author=Terry Shropshire|title=Kyrie Irving makes history after naming stepmom as his agent|url=https://rollingout.com/2022/03/07/kyrie-irving-makes-history-after-naming-stepmom-as-his-agent/|publisher=Rolling Out|access-date=March 9, 2022|date=May 7, 2022|archive-date=March 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307192444/https://rollingout.com/2022/03/07/kyrie-irving-makes-history-after-naming-stepmom-as-his-agent/|url-status=live}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/drederick-irving-1.html Drederick Irving] at Sports Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irving, Drederick}}
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Basketball players from the Bronx
Category:Boston University Terriers men's basketball players