Teenage Jon Scheyer Studied Duke Basketball Game-Winner at UNC

It sounds like the fourth-year Duke basketball head coach was always destined to be the Blue Devil leader in the rivalry.

Feb 10, 2009; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Jon Scheyer stretches before the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

On Feb. 4, 2004, Duke basketball senior guard Chris Duhon drove the length of the floor for a reverse layup with 6.5 seconds to play in overtime to give the No. 1-ranked Blue Devils an 83-81 road victory over the No. 17 UNC Tar Heels, cementing his place in the rivalry's lore.

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Current Blue Devil head coach Jon Scheyer was watching that game on TV when he was a 16-year-old top-shelf prospect at Glenbrook North High School in Illinois. And as the now-38-year-old explained during his press conference in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday afternoon, he practiced that Duhon shot the very next day.

"Obviously, you think about the different moments," Scheyer, boasting a 5-2 record versus the Tar Heels since succeeding Mike Krzyzewski in 2022, said while looking ahead to what will be his fourth time facing UNC in Chapel Hill as a head coach (2-1 in the Dean E. Smith Center).

"I mentioned Chris Duhon: you know, 'C-Du' making the reverse layup. I think the next day, I was going to practice and practicing that."

Duke and UNC square off in the Dean Dome at 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday (ESPN).

Jon Scheyer Recounts Watching UNC-Duke Basketball Battles as a Kid

In retrospect, it seems Jon Scheyer was, in a sense, looking into the future every time he tuned in to catch sight of the historic rivalry between the Blue Devils and Tar Heels.

Feb 3, 2024; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer reacts in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

"I grew up watching Duke-UNC games all the time," Scheyer, who was 3-5 versus UNC as a Duke basketball guard from 2006 to 2010 but finished on a high note via an 82-50 home win on his Senior Night in Cameron, also noted during his presser on Thursday. "I wouldn't miss a game. If I had to miss it for whatever reason, my dad would record it on VHS — and you rewind it. That's how I watched Chris Duhon making a layup and all these moments growing up that I have.

"So, I was ready and excited [to be a head coach in the rivalry]. That's what I dreamt of."

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