Head Coach Jon Scheyer Appreciation Thread

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bshrader

Member
I dont know if a similar thread has been started before, and if it has please feel free to remove/delete.

In this off week for Duke (until Saturday), I just want to take a moment to recognize and appreciate what Scheyer has been able to accomplish since taking over from Coach K. It's truly remarkable and nothing short or amazing.

Taking over for the greatest legend the college basketball world had ever seen, Scheyer has been nothing short of spectacular leading the program. 2 ACC championships, 3 NCAA tournament appearances, 2 Sweet 16s, 2 Elite Eights, a Final Four, 2 All-Americans (and on his way to a 3rd), and has been a recruiting mastermind.

106 wins in a little over 3.5 years, including a 54-12 mark in the ACC. Oh, and he's only 38 years old.

With a little time on our hands this week, I just want to ensure we don't lose sight of his brilliance so far in his young career.

If you struggle to grasp the greatness he's exhibited to this point, just take a look at the debacle they've got going a few miles down the road with their own head coach following a legend.
 
I decided to look at UCLA after John Wooden, for the purpose of showing how much better Coach Scheyer has been in his first four years than Wooden's successors were in theirs. This is what I found:

1976: Gene Bartow went 27-5, won the Pac-8 by 2 games, #5 in final AP, and went to the Final Four.
1977: Gene Bartow went 24-5, won the Pac-8 by 2 games, #2 in final AP, and went to the Sweet 16.
Gene Bartow fired.
1978: Gary Cunningham went 25-3, won the Pac-8 by 5 games (undefeated in league play), #2 in final AP, and went to the Sweet 16.
1979: Gary Cunningham went 25-5, won the Pac-10 by 1 game, #2 in final AP, and went to the Elite Eight.
Gary Cunningham fired.

101-18 (compared to JS's 106-23);
52-8 in league play (compared to 54-12);
Four league championships (compared to two, maybe three)
Four national top five finishes (compared to one, maybe two);
One final four and one elite eight (same as JS, except he has another tournament to potentially improve on that)
Two fired coaches.

Different times, different expectations, I guess.
 
Kedsy said:
I decided to look at UCLA after John Wooden, for the purpose of showing how much better Coach Scheyer has been in his first four years than Wooden's successors were in theirs. This is what I found:

1976: Gene Bartow went 27-5, won the Pac-8 by 2 games, #5 in final AP, and went to the Final Four.
1977: Gene Bartow went 24-5, won the Pac-8 by 2 games, #2 in final AP, and went to the Sweet 16.
Gene Bartow fired.
1978: Gary Cunningham went 25-3, won the Pac-8 by 5 games (undefeated in league play), #2 in final AP, and went to the Sweet 16.
1979: Gary Cunningham went 25-5, won the Pac-10 by 1 game, #2 in final AP, and went to the Elite Eight.
Gary Cunningham fired.

101-18 (compared to JS's 106-23);
52-8 in league play (compared to 54-12);
Four league championships (compared to two, maybe three)
Four national top five finishes (compared to one, maybe two);
One final four and one elite eight (same as JS, except he has another tournament to potentially improve on that)
Two fired coaches.

Different times, different expectations, I guess.
Click to expand...
If only Scheyer had Sam Gilbert…
 
bshrader said:
I dont know if a similar thread has been started before, and if it has please feel free to remove/delete.

In this off week for Duke (until Saturday), I just want to take a moment to recognize and appreciate what Scheyer has been able to accomplish since taking over from Coach K. It's truly remarkable and nothing short or amazing.

Taking over for the greatest legend the college basketball world had ever seen, Scheyer has been nothing short of spectacular leading the program. 2 ACC championships, 3 NCAA tournament appearances, 2 Sweet 16s, 2 Elite Eights, a Final Four, 2 All-Americans (and on his way to a 3rd), and has been a recruiting mastermind.

106 wins in a little over 3.5 years, including a 54-12 mark in the ACC. Oh, and he's only 38 years old.

With a little time on our hands this week, I just want to ensure we don't lose sight of his brilliance so far in his young career.

If you struggle to grasp the greatness he's exhibited to this point, just take a look at the debacle they've got going a few miles down the road with their own head coach following a legend.
Click to expand...
Scheyer is fantastic. I wouldn't want any other head coach. We are so lucky.
 
The lack of a drop off has been nothing short of remarkable. Under Scheyer, we’ve had
  • One of the, if not the, most dominant Duke teams of this century
  • A better win% than K’s last 4 years (.822 vs. .813, excluding 20-21 b/c of Covid)
  • 2x NPOY winners (assuming Boozer stays on this trajectory)
It’s incredible how good Scheyer has been has a head coach, let alone a first-time one. While I’m sure there’s still areas for improvement, this was the best possible outcome when K announced his retirement ~5 years ago.
 
TheShire said:
The lack of a drop off has been nothing short of remarkable. Under Scheyer, we’ve had
  • One of the, if not the, most dominant Duke teams of this century
  • A better win% than K’s last 4 years (.822 vs. .813, excluding 20-21 b/c of Covid)
  • 2x NPOY winners (assuming Boozer stays on this trajectory)
It’s incredible how good Scheyer has been has a head coach, let alone a first-time one. While I’m sure there’s still areas for improvement, this was the best possible outcome when K announced his retirement ~5 years ago.
Click to expand...
Not just two NPOYs (knock on wood for Boozer), but two freshmen NPOYs. Only four freshmen have ever won the Naismith (Five if Boozer manages to).
 
Delighted to see this thread as it does not get enough attention. Scheyer's performance has been OUTSTANDING. Putting aside the numerous metrics that show this, I want to celebrate something more qualitative: can you name one negative story about Jon since he has taken the reins? Like one loss of temper, or off color joke, or combative press conference? Has he ever not represented Duke well? There is no perch in college basketball that attracts more scrutiny than Jon's seat, and yet he has handled himself with remarkable grace and poise. Especially considering his age and experience.

At the end of the day, every coach is judged by Ws. It may seem there's a tradeoff between being classy and winning (cough *Danny Hurley* cough), but I love that Jon's high performance and high character shows this is a false choice.
 
AGDukesky said:
If only Scheyer had Sam Gilbert…
Click to expand...

Kedsy said:
Instead he has whoever's ponying up for Duke's NIL program.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'd rather have the "One Vision Futures Fund"
www.sportsbusinessjournal.com

Duke basketball’s NIL collective opts to remain behind the scenes

There is virtually no online footprint for Duke basketball’s NIL booster collective, meaning who exactly is paying for a roster that cost millions of dollars to put together remains a gigantic mystery.
www.sportsbusinessjournal.com www.sportsbusinessjournal.com
 
Admittedly, I was feeling a bit down after Coach K retired. I feared that Duke might go the way of Indiana or UCLA and that the glory days of Final Fours and National Championships might be a thing of the past (or at best an extreme rarity). Granted, we haven’t scaled that final mountain yet, but 3.5 years in you couldn’t ask for a better start.

I absolutely LOVE Coach Scheyer. The way he recruits, the way he constructs his teams, his in-game adjustments (especially coming out of the half). A+ in every category. We sometimes like to nitpick, and he’s certainly not above reproach, particularly for slow starts and the occasional late game meltdown, but the results are the results. He’s maintained our prestige as the premier college basketball power, our recruiting continues to be #1, he’s navigated the NIL era beautifully (thank you Rachel Baker!), and he’s even done the seemingly impossible by convincing almost every key rotational piece not graduating or being drafted to return. As others have mentioned, he’s also just a great guy and representative for the school.

What’s most exciting to me is the fact that he’s been so good at everything so soon. This is a young coach. He’s only 38 years old! Obviously, nothing in life is guaranteed, but if he’s doing all of this at this young of an age, I can only imagine how good he’ll be ten years from now.
 
It feels like what he's built is also durable, sustainable. I don't see any reason why the flow of talent from the #Brotherhood effect should ever wane as long as the program remains competitively funded.

Now the next step is to cross the threshold to a national title - or a few. It could begin this year. Then he will be described as one of the best coaches - not just young coaches - in the game.
 
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