Drederick Irving

Born in the Bronx : Raised on Hoops.

Drederick Irving is one of six siblings raised in the Mitchel housing projects of the South Bronx where he learned to play basketball the traditional New York way; on the pavements and in the parks.

A standout shooting guard at Stevenson High School, Irving earned a basketball scholarship to attend Boston University where he went on to become the schools all-time leading scorer with 1,931 points at 15.8ppg.

During each of his four years, Irving helped the Terriers advance to the North Atlantic Conference Championship game, including the 1988 season, when the club claimed the NAC title, and earned the school's third invitation to the NCAA Tournament.

A three-time All-NAC selection, Irving led the Terriers to a 23-8 mark during the 1987-88 season. Boston University entered the NAC Tournament seeded second, but dispatched of Canisius, Hartford, and Niagara to earn the school's second conference banner. Irving, who netted a three-game total of 53 points, was named to the All-Tournament team.

A Street and Smith's Honorable Mention All-American as a senior, Drederick Irving was additionally named to the Central Fidelity Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team in 1988, the Kentucky Invitational All-Tournament Team in 1987, and the Far West Classic All-Tournament Team in 1986.

After graduating from Boston University with an Economics degree, Irving was invited to join the Boston Celtics in their Free Agent Camp but didn't secure a roster spot.

In 1992, a call from fellow Boston University Alumni, Brett Brown (current NBA Assistant with the San Antonio Spurs and former Australian National Team Head Coach) who at the time had just secured his first Senior Head Coaching position in Australia with the Bulleen Boomers of the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL). Irving accepted a contract to play for Bulleen in the 1992 season where he dominated the league scoring at 30ppg.