How Duke’s Jon Scheyer is ready to win it all

• David Hale, ESPN

  • Personnel WriterSep 30, 2024, 03:00 PM ET Close College football reporter.Joined ESPN in 2012.
  • Graduate of the University of Delaware.DURHAM, N.C.– From the

moment Duke was up to NC State in last season’s men’s Elite 8, Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer has actually been singularly concentrated on constructing a team capable of winning all of it. That has actually meant some notable dips into the transfer website and completing a recruiting class studded with as lots of stars as any in Duke’s history– including 17-year-old phenom Cooper Flagg.The result, as heaven Devils approach the start of the 2024-25 season, is a level of

buzz hardly ever seen beyond Tobacco Roadway– and lofty even by Duke’s requirements.”It’s not the external noise, but I’m just delighted because I feel we have a group that can do something special,

“Scheyer said.As Duke closes in on the tipoff to a new season Nov. 4, ESPN talked with Scheyer about those enormous expectations, the hype surrounding Flagg, and the future of college basketball on and off the court. * This interview has been modified for length and clarity.ESPN: It feels like you took a very specific technique to developing this season’s lineup, from the veterans you survived the website to the height you’ll be able to have fun with.

How did you created this lineup?Editor’s Picks 2 Related Scheyer: Whatever we have actually done because March 31, because losing that Elite Eight game, has actually been exceptionally intentional. Before finding out what you’re going to do, you have to find out

who you’re

doing it with. Our whole staff has actually been together for a year now. Our team is not simply getting the very best skill but looking analytically what the fits are going to be, consisting of from a culture perspective. And then mixing talent in various roles, it was important to have the very best fit and be truly deliberate in how we put everything together.ESPN: Particularly after Kentucky’s first-round loss, there was a great deal of hand-wringing that you simply can’t win with one-and-done players anymore. At the very same time, hanging on to skill in the transfer portal period seems impossible.

Have you needed to reassess properly to build a roster? Exists a best way?Scheyer: I think about all of it the time. To state there’s one particular method you can or can’t do it is foolish. To win a championship game or to go to a Last Four is one of the hardest things to do in any sport. Over the last 15 years, there’s been 2 groups with really young players to win. We had one and Kentucky had one. We have actually gone to a Last 4, to the Elite 8 3 times. The margin isn’t Cooper Flagg or Khaman Maluach. The strategy with the COVID-19 year and whatever is most likely various than it’ll be in a year or two. Progressing is crucial, while still having an identity of recruiting the top talent from high school and then blending a couple of crucial guys from the portal. Duke players Tyrese Proctor, Cooper Flagg and Caleb Foster. Grant Halverson/Getty Images ESPN: You lived through the Zion Williamson experience at Duke– he seemed to really take pleasure in being a student-athlete. Cooper Flagg comes in with a comparable level of buzz. How can he have that exact same experience?Scheyer: It is special and it’s one of my most important things. He doesn’t get this year back, and I want him to take pleasure in the process of it. I have actually informed him,’I hope there’s times you look bad.’Ideally, in practice. Hopefully, it doesn’t take place in a game, but it most likely will. That’s inevitable. However welcome those minutes due to the fact that it has to do with your growth. If you crushed everything, you wouldn’t be human. I’ve been on him about that. However he’s done an incredible task of being himself and just enjoying being a college student and not getting sidetracked with NIL chances, and putting his time and energy into the team. That’s the big thing for me, is wanting him to delight in it.ESPN: Both Zion and Cooper draw an interest beyond college basketball fans, into the wider culture. I reflect to President Obama remaining in the building and Zion blowing out his shoe, and the mayhem that followed. Did you learn anything from going through all that back then, that might help Cooper?Top stories of the week from Get special access to thousands of premium short articles a year from top authors. – NFL rookie report: Daniels, Nix, others” – Training camp cheat sheet for 30 NBA teams”- Jeff Passan’s World Series forecast”More ESPN+ content”Scheyer: I believe I have. You need to be gotten ready for anything. But I think it’s simply how hot and cold it can be. In the climate now

, you can enter into a game feeling hot

, but feel really cold after it. How to stay level-headed and concentrate on development and what you can manage– I know there’s going to be sound this year. A few of it will be overly positive when perhaps it shouldn’t be, and a few of it will be overly critical. For Cooper as a 17-year-old playing at Duke, the more we get him thinking of what he can control and enjoying the procedure– he’ll have an unique year if we do that.ESPN: We’re nearing a world in which schools can share profits with athletes, but the primary driver for this nationally is football. Duke is special though where basketball is king. Have you and athletic director Nina King talked about just how much of that pie must be going to males’s hoops?Scheyer: It’s truly been cold and hot with how that’s going. We looked it up. Our program, with the direct exposure that we get, it’s the equivalent of a high major football program. Obviously, it’s everything about television dollars and direct exposure, but the way we’re seen and our direct exposure, we feel that

requires to be spoken about. Nina is well aware of it, and of course the investment in our football program is terrific, however at the end of the day, we have something that is one-of-one with our basketball program.ESPN: Do you fret about keeping college basketball relevant?Scheyer: College basketball has a fantastic product in March Madness, however leading up to it, we have to discover ways to get people to see. The very first thing is having a terrific product, and we need to continue to update our rules: to play quarters, to be able to advance the ball, to play much like the rest of the world does [in professional basketball] The 24-second shot clock. That’s where the game is, and we have to catch up to it. The various guidelines in our sport. Like removing 4 hours. You have top-tier skill entering into college basketball and we just have four hours to deal with them every day. That’s where the game needs to grow, that grows the item, and that will grow engagement. Individuals enjoy basketball, and we have excellent players– but we need to make certain college is the location for them before going to the NBA.ESPN: The expectations surrounding this year’s team are immense. How do you deal with that as you approach the start of the 2024-25 season?Scheyer: I feel the weight every day. My expectations, I promise, are greater than anyone else’s. Year 2 was an Elite Eight, and 27 wins in both years. I’m proud of that. My thing is all about, how can I grow and be better this year? You can get caught up extremely quickly as the coach at Duke in simply the results, and I think when you get caught up in outcomes you might not reach your capacity or ceiling. My focus has actually been on being the best every day for my group. In 2015, we succumbed to sensation that pressure, to where we weren’t at our best when it mattered most. I think if you’re consumed

with each play and minute and practice, amazing things happen. I’ve seen that play out. That’s my goal for this group.