We’ve talked a bit the last few years about the transition from Mike Krzyzewski’s Duke program to Jon Scheyer’s version. Our argument was that it took longer than people thought. It’s not like Coach K just tossed him the keys to the Rolls and watched him drive it away. He could have driven it beautifully or off a cliff and it took awhile to see for sure how he would do.
At this point, heading into Scheyer’s fourth season, we know what many of us suspected: Scheyer is going to be Duke’s coach for as long as he wants to be Duke’s coach. He’s had a terrific first three years, capping off last season with a brilliant team built around Cooper Flagg that made the Final Four.
Has he reached the point where people are going to say Duke just reloads?
This article argues that Duke has six players who could be first-round draft picks next June and others who might emerge as draftable as well: the Boozer twins, Cameron and Cayden, Dame Sarr, Nikolas Khamenia, Isaiah Evans, Patrick Ngongba, and possibly Caleb Foster, Darren Harris, Sebastian Wilkins and Maliq Brown.
Whatever ultimately happens, this article underscores an important point: Scheyer is wicked smart, talented, highly competitive and has great people skills. He’s getting great players year after year.
The program is clearly in good hands.