When you are the head coach at Duke, everything you do will be measured against the legendary Mike Krzyzewski. Duke isn’t the only place where an ACC Hall of Famer had to be replaced in recent years, but it’s the only one at the moment that appears to be on stable ground with that Hall of Fame successor.
Jon Scheyer has now led Duke to 2 ACC Titles after Saturday’s win over Louisville. He’s 85-21 (48-12) in his 3 seasons, and he seems to be getting better. Back in November/December, I was critical of Scheyer in Duke’s losses to Kentucky and Kansas where I thought a supremely talented Duke wasn’t playing to its potential. They lost both games late, and showed an over-reliance on freshman phenom Cooper Flagg. Since that 4-2 start Duke is 27-1 including a win over Auburn when the Tigers were mowing down everything in their path.
Not only is Scheyer getting Duke to play their best basketball heading into March, but he’s doing it despite not always being healthy. Since the loss to Clemson on February 8, Duke hasn’t lost a game. During that stretch Maliq Brown has missed time on two different occasions including the ACC Tournament. Tyrese Proctor was hurt for a stretch, and Cooper Flagg missed most of the ACC Tournament.
Duke will still enter the NCAA tournament as the hottest team in America.
You have to give Scheyer a lot of credit for the job he’s done so far. I’m comfortable in Louisville’s Pat Kelsey being the ACC’s COY. He’s done an amazing job, but Scheyer has also clearly done outstanding work.
It appears Cooper Flagg will be back for the Big Dance. Maliq Brown’s status is less clear, but I can’t see him playing the first weekend at the very least. Duke is more than just those two players, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt if one or both is back.
This is a team that can win it all under Scheyer, and he’s proving he’s got some real coaching chops.
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