March Madness | Tulsa Notebook

Irving ready for leadership role

BU freshman shows poise on big stage

John Holland, who scored 15 of his 19 points in the first half to keep BU close, gets the jump on Kansas’s Markieff Morris for clean look at the basket. (Associated Press)

By Michael Vega

Globe Staff / March 19, 2011

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TULSA, Okla. — Perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence. When senior guard John Holland was joined for his final news conference by D.J. Irving following the Terriers’ 72-53 loss to Kansas last night, it seemed to signal a passing of the torch at Boston University.

Holland, who tallied a game-high 19 points, departs as the program’s career leader in minutes (4,086), and one of two 2,000-point scorers in school history (2,212). He had 725 rebounds and tied for the most steals (200) and ranked second in field goals (723).

“He’s going to be remembered forever, what he did for this program over the last four years,’’ second-year coach Patrick Chambers said. “It wasn’t just points, it wasn’t all the rebounds, you know. He carried us.

“We had a young group with a lot of newcomers. And when you ask a guy to get 20 points and be a leader in the locker room, and come in with a business-like approach in film and walkthrough, he did that.

“A kid like that is going to be really tough to replace, because it’s more than just points. It’s more than just basketball. It’s his all-around character.’’

But Chambers seems to have another special guard in Irving, a 6-foot freshman who played like a seasoned veteran, scoring 11 points on 3-for-6 shooting (5 of 6 from the foul line) in his first NCAA Tournament game.

“He’s a special kid,’’ Chambers said. “He’s a freshman out there on the biggest stage of his life. He really stepped up. He really managed the game well. When to push it, when not to push it. When to get in the paint, when to kick out. I know he had a couple of turnovers, but his floor game was terrific for a freshman.

“And his leadership and his future is really bright here at BU.’’

First impressive It was the first meeting between Kansas and BU, who likely made an impression on the top-seeded Jayhawks by staying close at halftime (33-29).

“Oh, it’s going to happen,’’ said Kansas coach Bill Self, whose team avoided becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16th-seeded team by going on a 21-4 run in the second half.

“I’m not sure how the committee does it. But the 16 seeds aren’t exactly true 16s as they were in the past years because there are six on the line, so that means two of them have to be 15s the way it used to be done. I did not see [BU] as a 16 seed, and I told our guys that.’’

Self’s Kansas team improved to 35-6 in its opening game of the NCAA Tournament, while BU dropped to 2-6 in the Big Dance, this being its fifth consecutive loss in their opener.

Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com.