John Irving (May 24, 1953 – April 12, 2015) was an American college basketball player best known for his career at Hofstra, which lasted from 1974–75 to 1976–77. He also spent one season (1972–73) at Arizona before transferring. Irving, a 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), 215-lb (98 kg) power forward/center, recorded 1,018 points and 1,186 rebounds during his three-year career at Hofstra. He holds career per-game averages of 13.2 points and 15.4 rebounds at the school, and is the last Hofstra player to average a double-digit number of rebounds in three consecutive seasons. He led NCAA Division I in rebounding during his sophomore year of 1974–75 with a 15.3 per-game average. Irving was a member of two NCAA Tournament teams, and after he graduated was selected in the third round (58th overall) by the Det