"We needed a group that was completely all in to Duke basketball" - HC Jon Scheyer on how he rebuilt the Blue Devils' roster
Duke MBB head coach Jon Scheyer had a big job this offseason to rebuild the Blue Devils' roster, especially after their heartbreaking loss in this year's March Madness and the departure of several key players to the NBA Draft and transfer portal.
With their two best players in Jared McCain and Kyle Filipowski projected to get picked in this year's draft, Duke basketball had to reload. This is what Scheyer had to say about the current situation of their roster with a good chunk of the offseason already behind them (via Steve Wiseman of The News & Observer):
“Ultimately, we needed a group that was completely all in to Duke basketball and to winning and to competing at the level that we needed to in order to accomplish what we want this year,” Scheyer said.
Scheyer also said this about how he'll be handling the distribution of player minutes for the upcoming season, alongside promising considerable assistance from team staff:
"There wasn’t going to be promises or assurances for anybody in terms of guaranteed minutes or guaranteed starting,” Scheyer said. “Our programs are built on competition. And we’re doubling down on that at a time where the environment makes you or puts you in a position to promise things. Our promise is to give you everything we have as a coaching staff and our entire support staff.”
Scheyer's comments follow what has been a tumultuous year for Blue Devils hoops. Aside from losing two of their biggest weapons, they also bowed out of the NCAA Tournament to 11-seeded NC State as a 4-seed.
Safe to say, there's a lot of introspective observation going on in the organization to make sure they don't suffer another early exit this time around.
Jon Scheyer's newest Duke basketball recruits
Duke basketball's most heralded recruit this offseason is five-star prospect Cooper Flagg. The 6-foot-9 native of Newport, Maine is ranked as the consensus best player in his class in the latest ESPN rankings, specifically after making a ton of noise during his time playing at Montverde Academy.
Aside from Flagg, Duke also got former Tulane transfer Sion James, Purdue's Mason Gillis, and Syracusse`s Maliq Brown. These players are expected to shore up Jon Scheyer`s lineups that are already bannered by returning players Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster, as well as senior and former walk-on Stanley Borden.