Inside The Heat

Before Final Four, Duke Coach Jon Scheyer's NBA Dreams Ended With Miami Heat

Shandel Richardson|
Mar 29, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer cuts down the net after the Duke Blue Devils beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in the East Regional final of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images
Mar 29, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer cuts down the net after the Duke Blue Devils beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in the East Regional final of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

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The Miami Heat have another Final Four connection besides Jaime Jaquez's sister, Gabriela, playing for UCLA.

On the men's side, the Duke Blue Devils are led by coach Jon Scheyer. In 2010, Scheyer played for the Miami Heat summer league team. Former Heat guard Patrick Beverley was also on that roster.

"I got a chance for me and him to actually be on the same team," Beverley said on The Pat Bev Podcast. "Mind you, when we played in high school, he was Mr. Illinois. Now, we're on the Miami Heat together. We're trying to make it through. We're in the summer league together."

It was the summer of the Heat acquiring LeBron James and Chris Bosh. While Beverley made it to training camp, it never happened for Scheyer. He sustained an eye injury that ultimately ended his playing career.

"I think someone throws an outlet, a guy reaches in by the name of Joe Ingles," Beverley said. "Pokes him in the eye, legally blind. Can never play basketball again."

Scheyer led the Blue Devils to the Final Four in just his third season after replacing the legendary Mike Krzyzewski. It is their first appearance since 2015. They play the Houston Cougars Saturday in San Antonio.

The Blue Devils are led by freshman sensation Cooper Flagg, who is projected as the No. 1 pick in the June NBA draft. Flagg was the ACC Player of the Year and a first-team All-American.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here