Long before he was an NBA champion and LeBron James' superstar sidekick, the Cleveland Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving attended St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

Uncle Drew hasn't forgotten his roots. On Friday, ZagsBlog's Adam Zagoria reported that Irving is covering the tuition for 12-year-old Spencer Joyner, who was diagnosed with "pseudotumor cerebri, a debilitating condition that results in migraine headaches and can cause vision loss" in November.

St. Pat's closed in 2012 and was replaced by the nondenominational Patrick School, which Joyner attends.

"It made me feel really good and lucky to have one of my favorite players do that," Spencer told Zagoria.

Irving also paid for the funeral of 14-year-old Nixon Geraldo, another Patrick School student who collapsed during basketball practice and later died. Kyrie donates money to the school regularly and provides athletic gear for the basketball team.

Spencer has yet to meet the 24-year-old All-Star. The Patrick School team visited Spencer and his family after Christmas, and that's when head coach Chris Chavannes told the Joyner family about Irving's gesture.

"I'm just thankful that I have a great support system and great financial team that allows to give back to our community and support those kids," Irving said, "not only just the athletes but the students that we have at the school."



[h/t ZagsBlog]