AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer broached a number of subjects Wednesday in his appearance at the Durham Sports Club, from a complete roster breakdown to NIL and recruiting to the painful aftermath of the Blue Devils’ last-second loss to Connecticut last season in the NCAA tournament.
Read more A restaurant and bar will close this month in Raleigh’s North Hills
On a personal note, a smiling Scheyer also said a baby son was due “any day now,” drawing laughs as he pulled out his phone to check his texts.
Scheyer was succinct in stating his goal for his fifth season as head coach: “Take that final step for a sixth banner in Durham and win a national championship.”
Given a roster of experienced returnees, 5-star recruits and talented portal additions, the Blue Devils should again be in contention for that banner come March. Duke has gone 70-7 the past two seasons – all seven losses by one possession, Scheyer quickly noted – and won back-to-back ACC regular-season and tournament titles.
“What our players have done, they have set an incredibly high bar,” Scheyer said.
In looking at his roster, Scheyer praised seniors Caleb Foster and Pat Ngongba for playing with painful foot injuries in the NCAAs last season, saying, “They had no business playing but poured their hearts out for their team. Caleb Foster broke a bone in his foot and came back in 2 ½ weeks and played. There was only one other instance that we found in any sport, professional or college, where a player has done that.”
Also returning are sophomores Dame Sarr and Cayden Boozer, and forward Sebastian Wilkins, who was redshirted as a freshman last season.
“I wish I would have known the (NCAA) rule that you can have five years of eligibility now and that redshirts are no longer a thing,” Scheyer said, smiling.
On the freshmen, Scheyer gave out mini-scouting reports:
On guard Deron Rippey Jr.: “Probably the most explosive player at that position that I’ve coached. He’s 6-2 but when he jumps, he’s looking down at the rim. Makes me jealous.”
Forward Cam Williams: “He’s a 7-footer from Phoenix and a versatile defender. Really a late bloomer, still coming into his game. His thing is not going to be about putting up numbers. His thing is about impacting the game with defense, rebounding, energy.”
Forward Joakim Boumtje Boumtje: “The biggest guy on our team. He’s 7-1, 7-2. Great shooter. Really has every skill you could want. His thing is he’s 17 years old, the youngest player ever to play at Duke, younger than Cooper Flagg. We want to make sure we handle his progression the right way.”
Wing forward Bryson Howard: “You probably remember his father, Josh, who played at Wake Forest and in the NBA. Bryson is a 6-6 shooter, scorer.”
Forward Maxime Meyer: “From Canada. He’s 7-1 and he was a hockey player three years ago. He was looking around and didn’t see many 7-footers playing hockey, so he decided to get on a basketball court and has a great future ahead of him. I think he’s a future NBA player one day.”
Read more You can be billed in NC years after your insurer paid a claim. Here’s why.
From the transfer portal, Duke added guard John Blackwell from Wisconsin and forward Drew Scharnowski from Belmont, both seniors. Blackwell scored 1,505 points in 107 games in three seasons with the Badgers, and was rated the No. 3 overall transfer after last season.
Scheyer on Blackwell: “Averaged 19 at Wisconsin. Saw him play a lot throughout the season. One of the best shooters and scorers in the country.”
On Scharnowski: “His physicality, his readiness and his experience was really important for our team.”
During the Q&A segment Wednesday, Scheyer was asked how he handled the excruciating loss to UConn in the NCAA regional final. Cayden Boozer had a pass knocked away near midcourt and freshman guard Braylon Mullins won it for the Huskies with a last-gasp 30-footer that stunned everyone.
That ended the Duke career of freshman Cameron Boozer, the national player of the year and Cayden’s twin brother. Cameron Boozer soon left for the NBA. Cayden Boozer stayed at Duke when he could have bolted for another school and a new start elsewhere.
“If I could have had one guy with the ball in his hands it would be Cayden Boozer at that time in the game,” Scheyer said Wednesday of the play. “He made every clutch free throw last season, made sound decisions. It was a crazy play. It was a play where it went great for us and they kind of did everything wrong. We had two guys open for a dunk. You really need to foul in that position.
And in the locker room after game?
“For me, I just wanted him to know and the team to know that I, not for one second, thought it was about that play,” Scheyer said. “There were so many plays in the second half where we gave them stuff we shouldn’t have given them. For me, that was the lesson. You don’t put yourself in a position where it comes down to a 30-foot heave that can go in.
“And also, Cayden Boozer, the way he responded, was off the charts for me. He took total responsibility, which he didn’t have to do. He felt horrible, obviously. But as a competitor, to want to come back to Duke, to take the step forward and not run from it, I think is such a sign of character, such a sign of leadership. And he’s going to have a great year because of it.”
In the brave new world of college athletics, where rules fluctuate daily and financial incentives are plentiful, Scheyer said, “This is an era where you have to promise things. You have to promise starting, you have to promise minutes, you have to promise shots. And we haven’t done that.”
Scheyer said in the first team meeting on Aug. 24, he had this message for his players: “You have a locker room that’s fair. It doesn’t matter what your NIL is, doesn’t matter what your mock-draft ranking is. If he outplays you, he’s going to play more. Or if this guy impacts winning more than you do, he’s going to play more.”
The result, Scheyer said, is setting “a really competitive culture that we have that’s going to really pay dividends as we get to the end of the season.”
Read more An updated list of NC grocery items that have been recalled this summer