Duke has grown into one of the most prestigious basketball schools in the country over the past few decades. Largely due to the leadership of Mike Krzyzewski, who coached the Blue Devils for 42 seasons before retiring last year, the program has reached impressive heights.
Krzyzewski left some massive shoes to fill, and it was his assistant coach, Jon Scheyer, who stepped into them this year. After a successful four-year playing career at Duke, Scheyer has bounced around the coaching scene and been a part of Duke's staff since 2014.
Stepping into his first head coaching job with the responsibility of leading Duke is a difficult situation. Scheyer, however, has served as an associate head coach since 2018. The 35-year-old also saw an upgrade in pay upon becoming head coach. He makes between $7 and $8 million annually depending on the source.
The expectation is for Scheyer to begin building his own long-term legacy at Duke and be in charge of the program for the extended future. He is the 20th head coach in program history, and while the Blue Devils did not accomplish all their goals, there were some positive signs from his first season.
Duke's play under Jon Scheyer
In the first season under Jon Scheyer, Duke went 27-9, finishing third in the Atlantic Coast Conference. There were some growing pains early, but the team found its stride down the stretch, winning six straight games to end the regular season and claim the ACC Conference Tournament.
The Blue Devils went into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 5 seed with many having high expectations due to their stretch of recent play.
They had no problem cruising past 12-seeded Oral Roberts in the opening round 74-51. However, Duke stumbled in the second round of 32 against No. 4 seed Tennessee 65-52 as the Volunteers cruised onto the Sweet 16.
Ideally, there would have been a deeper tournament run, but Duke fans should still be excited by the growth in coaching by Scheyer and the play of the team throughout the season. A number of Duke players will be evaluating their potential NBA future, so it is unclear how similar the team will be next season.
However, Scheyer now has the full opportunity to begin recruiting the players he desires and begin forming the program in the way he pictures. There will continue to be a great deal of pressure over the next few years, but this very well could be the start of another era of the Blue Devils' reign.
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