Once you don the long-lasting navy blue, play in entrance of the Cameron Crazies and comply with within the footsteps of among the sport’s all-time greats, the expectations are excessive. Championship-level excessive. Yearly, irrespective of the names on the again of the uniform. When the identify on the entrance reads “Duke,” ethical victories are fleeting … in the event that they exist in any respect.
Jon Scheyer is aware of it in addition to anybody. He performed in 144 video games for the Blue Devils and was twice a staff captain. In his senior yr (2010), Scheyer performed essentially the most minutes in ACC historical past and captained the Blue Devils to a nationwide title.
Scheyer returned to Durham, North Carolina, in 2013 after a quick professional profession. He hasn’t left since, step by step transferring up the ranks. In June 2021, Mike Krzyzewski did not simply announce he was retiring after the upcoming season, however he appointed Scheyer his successor. The person synonymous with the game’s most recognizable program was leaving unattainable footwear to fill however knew precisely who he needed to try to fill them — an infinite honor with monumental strain.
Duke has no reservations about Scheyer’s accomplishments. On the second web page of the staff’s 2023-24 media information is an enormous overlay of Scheyer smiling vast subsequent to a headline that reads, “John Scheyer By The Numbers.” Nationwide championships and ACC championships. Recruiting numbers. All-Individuals and NBA Draft.
However there have been no smiles after Sunday’s loss to NC State within the Elite Eight. This wasn’t only a loss to a convention rival however an in-state rival, typically the forgotten member the Duke-North Carolina-NC State “analysis triangle.” It got here half a month after NC State shocked Duke within the Blue Devils’ ACC Match opener, after which Scheyer stated his staff did not have the “aggressive hearth it’s essential to have within the postseason.”
There was no lack of aggressive hearth this time, however relatively an absence of composure. Kyle Filipowski, in possible his final sport with Duke, shot 3 of 12 and fouled out. Mark Mitchell fouled out. Tyrese Proctor missed all 9 of his pictures. Group captain Jeremy Roach wanted 13 pictures to attain 13 factors. These had been the veterans anticipated to hold the Blue Devils. Duke’s offense was “most likely essentially the most disjointed sport that we have had all yr,” per Scheyer, and utterly fell aside late. The protection was a multitude all through the second interval as NC State shot a surprising 19 of 26 within the remaining 20 minutes of sport time.
Two years into the post-Coach Okay period, we have seen enchancment from the Blue Devils and from Scheyer. Duke was ousted by Tennessee within the second spherical final yr, falling sufferer to a harder, extra bodily staff. This yr, it went to the Elite Eight, beating arguably the hardest and most bodily staff within the nation, Houston, alongside the way in which.
The progress was apparent. The Blue Devils had a top-10 offense and a top-15 protection nationally. They shot it higher and turned it over lower than Scheyer’s first staff. Kenpom.com ranked the Blue Devils because the 18th-best staff within the nation final yr. This yr? Seventh. And but there is a acquainted feeling of frustration, of missed alternatives, of questioning why this yr was a half-step ahead relatively than a full step. At each different program, a season throughout which a second-year coach makes the Elite Eight is successful. At Duke, it is what Scheyer hopes is sustained momentum.
“I believe our program could not be in a stronger place,” Scheyer stated. “We’re simply 20 minutes away from going to a Last 4 in our second yr. I do not shrink back from our expectations or what we wish to do … I could not be extra assured in the place this factor is heading and what we’re doing.”
So what, precisely, will Duke be doing in Scheyer’s much-anticipated third yr? This is what the following iteration of the Blue Devils will seem like:
Who’s staying, and who’s leaving?
It is an enchanting dialogue yearly in Durham. Filipowski, a sophomore, and freshman star Jared McCain are each within the prime 20 of CBS Sports activities’ 2024 NBA Draft Prospect Rankings and appear on their manner out. Protctor is fortieth.
Whereas Roach technically has the COVID-19 further yr of eligibility if he needs it, the senior appears unlikely to return. He has spoken at size about his time at Duke, and he participated in Senior Evening. Sixth-year heart Ryan Younger has exhausted his eligibility.
With McCain and Roach possible transferring on and Proctor doubtlessly doing in order nicely, the backcourt will probably be an space of focus. Caleb Foster missed the tip of the season with an ankle damage, however the No. 23 general prospect within the 2023 class confirmed promising flashes, capturing over 40% from 3. That is a stable begin, however Duke will want extra backcourt depth, particularly ought to Proctor not return.
Within the frontcourt, uber-athletic Sean Stewart additionally confirmed flashes in his freshman marketing campaign. The ultimate member of Duke’s second-ranked 2023 recruiting class was TJ Energy, a extremely regarded shooter who noticed inconsistent minutes.
Scheyer was loath to debate offseason plans, however it’s price noting the Blue Devils had zero main contributors who both arrived or departed through the switch portal final season, an excessive rarity. That might change this offseason, although, as a result of …
Loaded recruiting class incoming
Duke has an all-time nice 2024 recruiting class coming in, led by an all-time nice recruit: Cooper Flagg — who earned a “good” 100 score from 247Sports — leads an enormous six-player class.
- Cooper Flagg (No. 1 general, No. 1 SF)
- Khaman Maluach (No. 3 general, No. 1 C)
- Isaiah Evans (No. 12 general, No. 3 SF)
- Kon Knueppel (No. 17 general, No. 5 SF)
- Patrick Ngongba II (No. 18 general, No. 5 C)
- Darren Harris (No. 51 general, No. 14 SF)
It isn’t simply large within the variety of gamers however the dimension of them. The 6-foot-5 Knueppel is the shortest. The Blue Devils determine to be one of many nation’s most imposing teams subsequent yr, in contrast to this yr.
It is price noting, although, that there aren’t any level guards listed in that group, whereas there is a large inflow of wings. That makes the presence and improvement of Foster an enormous storyline. Whether or not Duke provides to the backcourt is an enormous query, too. Within the (fairly) current historical past of the switch portal turning into a roster-defining issue, the Blue Devils have added wings and bigs. That appears ripe for change. Regular, skilled guard play is briefly provide and large demand. Scheyer might supply an especially enticing alternative to a confirmed guard seeking to play at a premier program, surrounded by premier expertise.
Glass half-full or half-empty?
When assessing Duke below Scheyer, the optimism lies within the stats outlined above, in reaching the second weekend of the match and in the truth that Scheyer did all of that with out the all-world, future lottery-pick expertise that Duke groups below Krzyzewski had. Except Filipowski or McCain take an enormous pre-draft leap, Duke figures to go consecutive seasons and not using a top-10 NBA Draft choose for simply the second time since 2010. The opposite occasion was 2020 and 2021; the 2021 staff did not even make the NCAA Match.
Whereas nobody will ever say Duke lacked expertise this yr, it did not have a star who persistently took over video games. Filipowski confirmed it in flashes, and McCain did, too. However neither had been an elite all-around pressure. A Zion Williamson. A Paolo Banchero. A Marvin Bagley III. A Jayson Tatum. A Brandon Ingram. The listing goes on and on.
That will not be the case subsequent season. Flagg is the true deal. Evans “has as a lot long-term upside as any wing within the class,” based on 247Sports director of scouting Adam Finkelstein. Knueppel is a deadeye shooter, and Maluach and Ngongba will kind a powerful entrance line. Scheyer may have extra pure expertise at his disposal than ever earlier than, and his roster building will change. A yr after having iffy wing manufacturing, he’ll have nearly too many choices. It will be his job to type by all of it, mixing and matching and making an attempt to maintain everybody comfortable. However he’ll have far more lineup versatility, particularly if he can fill out the backcourt.
The pessimist, after all, will not care an excessive amount of for superior numbers. Duke completed 27-9 for the second straight yr regardless of having a stronger-than-normal returning group and the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class. The Blue Devils went an abysmal 2-5 in opposition to its in-state ACC rivals, together with a sweep by North Carolina. That they had two possibilities to finish NC State’s season and whiffed on each. They cut up with Wake Forest. In addition they misplaced to Pittsburgh at dwelling for the primary time since 1979. They misplaced their premier nonconference dwelling sport in opposition to Arizona.
They challenged for a cut up of the ACC regular-season title however fell quick by shedding to North Carolina within the finale. They did not problem for both the ACC Match title (which they received in Scheyer’s first yr) or the NCAA Match title. All this from a staff that was alleged to be older, wiser and higher.
The honest outlook possible lies someplace in between. There is no denying the progress; making an Elite Eight is tangible proof. There’s additionally no denying that going into his third yr, Scheyer will face extra strain for these true breakthrough wins in massive moments. He swept a downtrodden North Carolina staff final yr and acquired swept by them this yr, sure, however the Blue Devils had been proper there for a Last 4 berth, one thing Scheyer could not say after his debut season.
Nice issues take time, even at Duke. Krzyzewski did not make the NCAA Match till his fourth yr in Durham and did not win a match sport till his fifth. Scheyer, after all, stepped right into a a lot stronger state of affairs, however he is forward of schedule in that regard. Duke’s championship-building schedule, although, is in contrast to anybody else’s. If Yr 1 for Scheyer was an adjustment interval and Yr 2 was a half-step ahead, Yr 3 — with an NBA-ready roster and a coach now totally settled in — would be the massive one.
“Now we have to digest this loss first, which is able to take a while,” Scheyer stated. “Like we have skilled this postseason, among the great thing about the match, and that is the heartbreak of it. Now we have to determine why.”