RALEIGH, N.C. — Things haven’t always worked out exactly as planned for Tyrese Proctor, but the Duke guard isn’t the type of person to jump ship when the waters get rough. But after yet another stellar performance in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Proctor is receiving his flowers as one of the most important pieces of the early Jon Scheyer era at Duke.
Proctor led Duke with 25 points on 7-for-8 shooting from behind the arc in Sunday’s 89-66 win against Baylor in the second round of the East Region, an encore performance after knocking down 6-of-8 three-pointers two days earlier against Mount St. Mary’s. Proctor has as many three-pointers through two games of the NCAA Tournament as Duke’s first two opponents (13).
Sunday’s performance was worth a historical note in the Duke record books, as Proctor is the first Duke player with five or more three-pointers in back-to-back NCAA Tournament games since … now-coach Jon Scheyer did it as a player in Duke’s 2010 title run.
And while this new connection with Proctor and Scheyer brought out some laughs from Duke players, as the Blue Devils coach has joked all week that he doesn’t get enough credit as a former college star from his team, it also brought a tender moment of introspection on the path both have endured together over the last three seasons.
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Proctor, a top-flight prospect, was initially scheduled to graduate high school at the NBA Global Academy in Australia in 2023, but opted to reclassify and enroll a year early after conversions with Scheyer, who had just officially taken over for Mike Krzyzewski, in the spring of 2022.
“I think we knew there would be some rough patches reclassifying, and there were his first year,” Scheyer said, visibly emotional as he recalled Proctor’s 2022-23 season. “But he had some big-time moments. He came on strong down the stretch and could have made a decision to go pro even after his freshman year, [which was] a year early.”
Proctor and his family decided to return to Duke for a sophomore season, because as Scheyer put it “it’s more important to be ready than just be drafted.” Expectations were high; Proctor was projected by some in the preseason as a top-five pick for the 2024 NBA Draft.
But the season didn’t go the way Proctor wanted, and at that point it would have been easy for Proctor to hit the transfer portal — many Duke players did — or chase his pro ambitions. Scheyer chose honesty for their postseason conversations ahead of 2024-25, presenting the opportunity that Proctor had if he wanted to return for a third year with the Blue Devils.
“I was not in a convincing mode I think after that season,” Scheyer said referencing the 2024 offseason. “I was just matter-of-fact, where I saw it for him and the opportunity. We had honest conversations like we always do. But I think the difference is for a guy in that position to take it, as opposed to making excuses or running away from it. I think that’s the special part.”
A microcosm of the ups and downs can be found in Proctor’s 2025 postseason. He started the ACC Tournament a combined 0-for-10 from behind the arc in the quarterfinal win against Georgia Tech and then the semifinal win against North Carolina. There was no panic, Proctor said, because the shots felt good. Then the tide turned with six made three-pointers in the ACC Tournament title game win against Louisville, followed by this historic 13-for-16 start showing from behind the arc in Raleigh.
Scheyer himself joked that he “couldn’t make a shot” during the first couple games of Duke’s 2010 NCAA Tournament run before catching fire against Purdue and Baylor in the second weekend. But the commitment to preparation, the process and having a killer instinct on the floor is something that the former Duke star and current head coach has very clearly passed on to Proctor, a player who has become one of the team’s leaders in his junior season.
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We get so caught up in Cooper Flagg and Duke having another Death Star-type team it can be lost that this is another building block in the Jon Scheyer era. Flagg and the rest of the star-studded freshman class didn’t drop out of the sky and make Duke a true national title contender, though it their presence certainly ended any debate among the most talented teams in the country. Duke has upwards of six ‘draftable’ players on its roster, with four projected Round 1 picks. Proctor is slotted as a likely second round pick.
Turning talent and potential into title-contending results happens because of the growth and adversity that Scheyer and Proctor have faced together while building the Blue Devils through these first three seasons that followed Coach K’s retirement.
They’ve endured some tournament heartbreak, first getting bounced by Tennessee in the second round and then losing at the hands of NC State in the Elite Eight a year ago. In the modern era, players as talented as Proctor are usually not going to stick around at one program for three seasons, but his ability to overcome unmet expectations and take the opportunity to be a leader on this team gives the Blue Devils yet another edge in how they stack up against the other national championship hopefuls.
Teams hope they can lean on the right combination of talent and experience at this time of year, and after a lights-out shooting performance in the opening rounds of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Proctor has emerged as one of those true tournament game-changers that can give you both.
