Duke Basketball Head Coach Enters Sweet 16 as Award Finalist

In just his third season at the helm of the Duke basketball program, Jon Scheyer has led his team to a 33-3 overall record, including both regular and postseason ACC championships, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and a berth in the Sweet Sixteen.

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Despite that success, Scheyer failed to win the ACC's Coach of the Year award, which has not been awarded to a Blue Devil coach since Coach K received his fifth and final such honor in the 1999-2000 season. Instead, this year's hardware went to Louisville's Pat Kelsey, who revived the Cardinals' program with an 18-2 conference record.

Many Duke basketball fans agreed that Scheyer was ultimately snubbed of the award, but it now appears that an even bigger honor might be heading his way.

On Monday afternoon, it was revealed that the 37-year-old was named a finalist for the 2025 Naismith Coach of the Year distinction, alongside Auburn's Bruce Pearl, St. John's Rick Pitino, and Houston's Kelvin Sampson.

1 of 4! 😈 @JonScheyer pic.twitter.com/zjcQTMdyPQ
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 24, 2025

It would be another addition to Scheyer's growing list of accomplishments and records in just three seasons at the helm of his alma mater. He's already become the first coach in ACC history to win conference titles in two of their first three seasons, as well as holding the record for most victories by an ACC coach in their first three seasons with his 87 and counting.

Scheyer and the No. 1 seed Blue Devils will play their next game at approximately 9:39 p.m. ET Thursday (CBS) when they take on the No. 4 seed Arizona Wildcats. Duke is looking to punch its ticket to the Elite Eight for the second straight season.

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