Duke Basketball: Jon Scheyer Proposes Special Rule for Coach K

In Jon Scheyer’s first season as Duke basketball head coach, his predecessor, five-time national champion Mike Krzyzewski, didn’t attend a game in Cameron Indoor Stadium until Valentine’s Day. That was just a special occasion, as the Blue Devils hosted and defeated Coach K’s former assistant, Mike Brey, in what was his final year leading Notre Dame.

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Last season, the 77-year-old Hall of Famer, nowadays serving in the role of Ambassador to Duke University, showed up at his new go-to spot on the south baseline a few times in Scheyer’s second campaign. Again, though, his attendances tended to coincide with noteworthy contests, such as the March loss to archival UNC in what was Senior Night for Krzyzewski’s former player, Jeremy Roach.

Now, as the 37-year-old Scheyer’s 2024-25 Blue Devils (11-2, 3-0 ACC) enjoy a seven-game winning streak and rank No. 4 in the country, the program’s all-time wins leader has pretty much become an expected sight at the corner of the court that bears his name. And the opponent doesn’t need to be particularly significant to attract him, as was the case in Tuesday’s 88-65 victory over Virginia Tech.

So, in Scheyer’s postgame presser, Duke Blue Devils On SI asked the 2010 Duke basketball national champion guard and longtime assistant under Coach K to explain what has led to the legend’s decision to stop worrying about being a distraction and just embrace his in-person Blue Devil fandom on a routine basis.

Scheyer, who became the successor-in-waiting nine months before Coach K’s retirement, provided a insightful answer. In essence, he suggested it’s just another step in what has thus far been an altogether successful succession plan:

“I think for me and him both, this is like a once-in-a-lifetime kind of transition and succession plan…He’s even come to some more practices.

“And behind the scenes for three years, some of the critical moments, I’ve gone to him — because that’s my guy. Nobody can feel this place or what I’m going through like he can. And so, I’m happy that he’s here.

“We talked about it a bunch this summer. I think it’s just that he feels, at least maybe in the beginning, of not wanting to be a [distraction] — he knows you notice when he’s here. And so, I think there’s that initial thing of him trying to be respectful and all that.

“But end of the day, like, it should be a rule: if the court’s named after you, you can come any time you want. It’s not for me to say yes or no.

“But I love the fact that he’s here, love the fact he’s gotten to know our guys in a different way because I’m proud for them to know that’s my coach. And so, when he comes by and says something or makes a few comments to one of our guys, it means a lot to me, and I already know how much it means to our players.”

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