Jon Scheyer tried to soak up every possible nugget and detail he could as retiring Mike Krzyzewski’s designated successor in their final season together on the Duke sideline. Conversations on everything from game strategy to motivating players turned into an endless stream of notes and ideas, studiously documented on his iPad.
“He’s got his madness with all his papers everywhere,” Scheyer said with a chuckle. “And I’ve got my iPad. It’s all right there.”
Now it’s time for the former Blue Devils player to call on every bit of that knowledge and experience. As of late Saturday night, Scheyer is Duke’s new head coach after a Final Four loss to North Carolina ended Krzyzewski’s Hall of Fame career. And Scheyer, 34, knows he’s taking over at a crossover to sustain the Blue Devils’ perch near the top of college basketball.
I’ve really just positioned it for (recruits) where it’s as pivotal of a moment in any program in the history of college basketball,” Scheyer told a small group of reporters before the UNC loss. “I really feel that if you look through, there have been different teams in different eras that have been the best. But to sustain it, this is Duke’s opportunity to continue to do that.”
The Blue Devils have been building to this moment since Krzyzewski’s announcement last June that he would coach one final season, representing a seismic change that comes along only generationally with greats like John Wooden, Phog Allen or Dean Smith.