How Jon Scheyer is answering one big question about Duke basketball after Coach K with success
DURHAM – Mike Krzyzewski’s retirement from college basketball last year was met with trepidation about the future of Duke without its Hall of Fame coach. Would the Blue Devils lose a step? How would it impact the national brand? Would Cameron Indoor Stadium remain one of the toughest places to play without Coach K on the sideline?
Krzyzewski returned for the first time on Tuesday – watching Duke and first-year coach Jon Scheyer face Notre Dame – and witnessed at least one answer to those questions.
With a 68-64 win over the Irish, the Blue Devils (18-8, 9-6 ACC) improved to 13-0 at home and remain one of two ACC teams this season to stay undefeated on their own court.
“It’s the motto we have, ‘Protect our home’. It’s something we say before every game and even every practice,” junior captain Jeremy Roach said. “We can’t lose here, you know? It’s Cameron.”
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Time will tell how far this Duke team can go in Scheyer’s inaugural season, but with five regular-season games remaining, and three of them at Cameron Indoor, the 35-year-old coach is nearing an early milestone.
Only a handful of coaches have gone undefeated at home in their first season: Jim Boeheim did it at Syracuse in 1976 and John Calipari accomplished the feat in 2009 with Kentucky. It took Roy Williams into his second season at Kansas and UNC before going undefeated at home, and in 2004-05 with the Tar Heels, he brought home a national title.
What about Scheyer’s predecessor? Well, Coach K did it 11 times in 42 seasons on his way to 1,202 career wins and five national titles. But it took him until the 1985-86 season before finishing 14-0 at Cameron. Duke went on to finish 37-3 overall and play in what would be the first of 13 Final Four appearances under Mike Krzyzewski.
“I feel this is the best place to play a college basketball game,” Scheyer said. “We want to make this the best environment and the hardest road game in the country. It’s been that way for the most part and we want to continue to make it that way.”
Duke will travel to Syracuse on Saturday before three straight home games and the regular-season finale at North Carolina. The Blue Devils will host Louisville (3-22, 1-13), Virginia Tech (15-10, 5-9) and No. 23 NC State (20-7, 10-6 ACC) over the next two weeks.
The Wolfpack will likely be the toughest remaining hurdle; they dominated the Blue Devils 84-60 on Jan. 4 in PNC Arena.
“It would be a very big accomplishment for all of us,” freshman Dereck Lively II said. “It’s something we want, but we know it won’t be easy. Every game is a battle, especially in Cameron.”
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Jon Scheyer: Duke basketball coach has home success after Coach K
