When it came time to name a successor for Mike Krzyzewski, Duke decided to stay inside The Brotherhood, unsurprisingly. Duke assistant coach Jon Scheyer, who played for Coach K from 2006-10, will take over after Krzyzewski in April 2022.
Scheyer, 33, joined Duke’s staff in 2014. When Jeff Capel left for the Pittsburgh job in 2018, Scheyer was promoted to associate head coach. Sooner rather than later, he’ll run the program.
Our 20th head coach. Starting April 2022.
😈 @JonScheyer #𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔅𝔯𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔥𝔬𝔬𝔡 pic.twitter.com/9FRpdM6pVM
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) June 2, 2021
The brain trust for the decision included Duke President Vincent Price; Kevin White, Duke’s soon-to-retire AD; Nina King, Duke’s future AD; and, of course, Krzyzewski.
In the end, Scheyer edged out Harvard coach and former Duke guard Tommy Amaker for the opportunity.
During his playing career at Duke, Scheyer appeared in 140 games (108 starts). Scheyer scored 2,077 career points (14.4 per game) and made 297 3-pointers. A team captain for the 2009-10 season, Scheyer helped push Duke to the 2010 NCAA Championship, the program’s fourth national title.
Scheyer was also a part of the staff that won the 2015 NCAA Championship, too.
Since returning to Duke, Scheyer has proven himself as a powerful recruiter, which certainly played a role in his rise as a coaching candidate. The was crucial for Duke, especially when Capel departed for Pitt.
Scheyer worked as the lead recruiter for a fairly incredible list of players: Zion Williamson, Jayson Tatum, Cam Reddish, Jalen Johnson, Matthew Hurt, Luke Kennard, Vernon Carey Jr. and Frank Jackson.
As far as the 2021-22 team goes, Scheyer was the lead for the team’s incoming recruiting class, which includes 5-star PF Paolo Banchero, 5-star wing AJ Griffin and 5-star guard Trevor Keels.
No other staff decision have been announced; however, it seems possible that current Duke assistants Nolan Smith, a teammate of Scheyer’s at Duke, and Chris Carrawell seem like real possibilities to stay on.