K-State adds guard Irving to roster

Kansas State head coach Frank Martin announced Thursday the signing of high school standout Martavious Irving to a National Letter of Intent.

"We are pleased to welcome Martavious to our basketball program," said Martin. "He is an excellent combination of athleticism and strength at the guard position and will be a great fit for our style of play."

A 6-foot-2, 185-pound shooting guard from Boyd H. Anderson High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Irving helped the Cobras to 55 wins the past two seasons, including a 25-3 overall record in 2008-09. The squad rose to as high as No. 1 in the Class 6A poll and No. 14 in the ESPN Rise national poll before being upset 54-53 by Miramar in the regional quarterfinals. He was a unanimous selection to the Class 6A-5A-4A All-Broward first team by both the Miami Herald and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He is rated among the top-20 players in the state of Florida by several recruiting services.

A starter in all 28 games, Irving averaged 15.4 points on 55.2 percent shooting (155-of-281), including 43.7 percent from 3-point range (38-of-87), with 7.3 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game in 2008-09. He ranked in the top-5 in nearly every team category, including first in field goals and two-point field goals (117) and second in scoring, rebounding and steals. He scored in double figures in 22 of 28 games this past season, including five 20-point contests. He poured in a career-high 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting in a 93-56 win over Hallandale in the season opener on Nov. 24, while he posted a career-high 11 rebounds against Hallandale and Dillard during the season. He tallied six double-doubles on the year.

As a junior, Irving led the Cobras to a 30-2 overall record and to the Class 6A state title game, where they lost to Miami Norland. He averaged 12.4 points on 51.3 percent shooting (142-of-277), including 43.4 percent (30-of-69) from 3-point range, with 5.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.2 steals per game. He scored in double figures in 22 of 32 games, including five 20-point outings.

Boyd H. Anderson is the high school alma mater of K-State great Mitch Richmond, whose jersey was retired by the school this past season.

Martin also announced that guards Buchi Awaji and Fred Brown have decided to transfer to other schools.

Irving joins a recruiting class that has already been judged one of the nation's best classes and includes Jordan Henriquez (Winchendon [Mass.] School/Port Chester, N.Y.), Wally Judge (Arlington (Fla.) Country Day/Washington, D.C.), Rodney McGruder (Arlington (Fla.) Country Day/Washington, D.C.) and Nick Russell (Grace Preparatory Academy/Arlington, Texas).