What’s it like to follow ‘The Guy’?’ Jon Scheyer informs

Jon Scheyer remembers being forced to attend his sibling’s high school variety reveal as a kid. He remained in junior high, and the program conflicted with the single most important occasion in his life at the time: the Duke-North Carolina basketball game.Luckily, his father understood. They went to the show, Scheyer said, however his papa snuck in a small portable TV, which Jon held low in his lap so his siblings would not notice.North Carolina at Duke Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN GameDay protection, 11 a.m. ET, ESPN
“I matured on these minutes and these games,”Scheyer said.When Duke and UNC face off for the first time this season, Scheyer will have a far various vantage point.For the very first time considering that 1961, Duke and UNC will take the court without either Dean Smith or Mike Krzyzewski coaching among the teams. A year back, Hubert Davis took over for another legend, Roy Williams, and led North Carolina to two wins over heaven Devils and an ultimate trip to the championship game game. Now, it’s Scheyer’s rely on compose a brand-new chapter in the competition as Duke’s first year head coach, replacing Krzyzewski.Editor’s Picks 2 Related”I never ever really imagined being the head coach in this game. It’s not something you can even think of.

So, it’s an advantage

and an honor, but honestly, the preparation will resemble every other game. “Duke’s first season with a new head coach has actually disappointed lofty expectations, but the Blue Devils have actually won their last two games and might be peaking at the perfect time.Scheyer talked with ESPN about following in the footsteps of a famous coach, getting his first chance at a win over the Tar Heels, and whether Duke can take any lessons from Davis and the Tar Heels’ 2022 tournament run.Next stop: Cameron Indoor See you there! @DukeMBB pic.twitter.com/siwuWqm7uG!.?.!— College GameDay(@CollegeGameDay) January 29, 2023 Last year, Hubert Davis was the new coach following a legend at North Carolina. Have you talked at all about

his journey last year or

found out anything from seeing how that group grew throughout the year?Scheyer: We actually simply ran into each other on the roadway [in Orlando] and we simply discussed our households. We didn’t even enter into much else. Simply the fact of, when you remain in this position, you’re trying to secure your family from any sound or anything, and they’re bought it, too. He

‘s got 3 kids, I’ve got 3 kids. I understand he’s a family man, and that is essential to him. I just respect him balancing being a coach at a place like North Carolina and being a daddy, and I’m attempting to do the same thing.And undoubtedly, they went through a great deal of misfortune in Year 1, and they battled and were in a position at the end of the year to make a run at it. I offer him a lot of credit for just persevering and doing that.You constantly hear the narrative that you don’t want to be the person who follows The Guy, due to the fact that you’re held to a nearly difficult requirement. If you return one year, a lot of UNC fans didn’t think Hubert was close to that requirement, but you shut out the sound and get better. It seems like you people are taking a similar course, and Duke might be playing its best ball of the year now?Scheyer:

I believe due to the fact that of seeing, look, it’s happened with a great deal of teams. I know a great deal of people this time in 2015 were writing Kansas off, and Kansas goes and wins the entire thing.I think simply having a year to still not remain in that seat however simply to really have a remarkable look at it through Coach K’s lens, I can’t tell you what the sound has actually been this year. For me, I’ve kept my head down. I love what

this group has done so far. Our two nonconference losses were to [two groups who’ve been No. 1] Six of our very first 10 games in conference were on the road. We’re improving.

There’s a pride in this group in what we have actually done and ultimately we’re putting ourselves in a position to be at our best towards the end of the year, which I think we’re on track to do.You had a lot time to see firsthand how Mike Krzyzewski handled things, but once you remain in the huge chair, there’s always things you come across where you need to make your own calls. How has that developed for you this year? Have you considered what Mike would perform in circumstances or has it been more of”What would I do?” Scheyer: It goes back to the preparation that I had actually permitted me to feel strongly about who I am and what I value.

There are obviously things that show up in real time you simply can’t get ready for– game situations, injuries, things you can’t forecast. However it’s been following my instincts. Naturally, I believe a great deal of things Coach K would’ve done too. I have actually been around him such a long period of time. But really, that hasn’t been a thing with me. I

‘ve followed my impulses and go for it.Have I batted 1.000? No, no one does. However at the end of the day– you talked about the guy who follows The Man. The only remorse I would have is not following my instinct, due to the fact that I feel very positive in what we’re doing and what we’re building. And you have to simply stick with it and keep doubling down when you hit adversity.This is your very first game versus North Carolina, and that competition implies so much. Do you attempt to treat it as simply the next game or do you lean into the fact that, yeah, this one is a little bigger?Scheyer: Well, you have to resolve it. You can’t simply overlook it. But from my past experiences– really often you lose the game before or the game after because, like”College GameDay” is here. They feel it, they understand. That means you’re going to be prepared to give it your all, however you can’t focus on what’s around you. You have to focus on doing your job and being prepared.That’s ‘what I’m going to be doing myself and speaking about to the team.Personally for you, does it feel different that this is the very first one for you as head coach?Scheyer: I do not wish to make this out to be the Super Bowl for us.

It’s a big game. It’s fantastic to be in this game and all that but I know there’s a larger picture -win or lose. Our objective, just like them, I know both of us want to win which’s what makes it an unique thing, but we have a game 2 days later against one of the best groups in our league in Miami, on the road. That’s the nature of the monster and what we have to be all set for.Question: It’s taken a lot of experimentation and some hard lessons from the start of the season, however you guys have actually been playing really well recently. Do you feel like Duke is

in a position now to actually make a run?Scheyer: We see the vision now. I don’t believe there’s any secret at the beginning of the year when you have so many new men, they’re feeling it out, feeling out each other. We’ve learned what it requires to win and how to play together and now it’s just a matter of how to do it consistently and doing it against different groups and strategies, but I think we’re a truly excellent basketball group and I truthfully believe our room to grow is

still as big as any team in the nation over the next four to six weeks.