Photo credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Duke Basketball: Analyst Compares Jon Scheyer to Three National Champs
Second-year head coach Jon Scheyer signed up for this. Even so, ever since succeeding the all-time wins leader in five-time Duke basketball national champion Mike Krzyzewski, the pressure to win has been intense. And the criticism he draws from losses — sometimes, even following a victory — has been notably harsh.
All things considered, Scheyer, a former national champion as a player (2010) and assistant (2015) under Coach K, has fared relatively well. He boasts a 35-12 overall record, including an ACC Tournament crown in his first year at the helm.
Now, his 16th-ranked Blue Devils (8-3, 0-1 ACC) look to build on Wednesday night's 78-70 victory over then-No. 10 Baylor in New York City, the first top-10 win of the Scheyer era.
On Christmas Eve, ESPN college hoops analyst Fran Fraschilla sang Scheyer's praises on social media. In the post below, remarking on a clip of Scheyer's comments following the Baylor game, Fraschilla noted the parallel he sees between the 36-year-old's career and the early years of three eventual national champion coaches:
"Jon Scheyer will get criticism the way I saw Jay Wright [Villanova], Tom Izzo [Michigan State], & Scott Drew [Baylor] did early in their careers. I saw them all improve dramatically. He's on the same path to success."
As Scheyer suggested, his Blue Devils, including a pair of five-star freshman guards in the recent starting lineups in Jared McCain and Caleb Foster, are collectively fostering newfound unity by learning to ignore all the boos and others' expectations for them.
"I'm proud of just the mental toughness we've shown," Jon Scheyer pointed out in Wednesday night's postgame press conference. "It can feel a lot of times when you're wearing this name across your chest where people are rooting for you to fail. And I think these guys have felt it firsthand.
"But they've made a decision just to double down on each other, stay together, and this is a great step for us."
Duke basketball next hosts Queens at 2 p.m. ET Saturday (The CW).
Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country on SI.com for more Duke basketball news.
