DURHAM, N.C. — Not even 24 hours after the most devastating loss of his head coaching career, Jon Scheyer dove straight back into heartbreak.
It would’ve been understandable not to. To take some time, after Duke’s stunning 70-67 loss to Houston in the Final Four, to digest what had gone wrong and why. To process how not even Cooper Flagg — the near-consensus national player of the year, and the eventual No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft — could stave off one of the biggest NCAA Tournament collapses of all time.
Instead? On the Blue Devils’ flight home from San Antonio, there Scheyer was: digesting the game tape, reliving the most painful defeat he’s suffered in three seasons coaching his alma mater.
“It’s natural to shy away from it, or to make an excuse, or rationalize — and for me, I only know one way, and that’s to dive deeper into it,” Scheyer said Tuesday, in his first news conference since April. “You don’t get that moment back. But at the same time, what you draw from it and (how) you lean into it, it’s the only way to go forward.”
Scheyer added that he’s rewatched the game — one Duke lost despite leading by 9 points with just over two minutes left — several more times. Not to twist the knife any deeper, but to hopefully avoid a similar fate in the future.
Not that his mindset made the viewing experience any easier.
“I had to see it,” the 37-year-old said. “There’s lessons from that game that I’ll share with our team at the right time, but for me, it took a couple months to really understand, process, feel it, live it — and feel the pain. Feel everything associated with it.”
But Scheyer didn’t just dwell on the past Tuesday. Here are four other takeaways on the state of the Blue Devils.
1. Injury updates on 2 key frontcourt players
All five of last season’s starters are now in the NBA — fellow one-and-dones Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach joined Flagg as top-10 picks, while guards Sion James and Tyrese Proctor were second-rounders. So Duke’s rotation will obviously look much different next season.
Nowhere is that more apparent than in the frontcourt, where two returners — rising senior Maliq Brown and rising sophomore Patrick Ngongba — will compete to start at center. Of the two, Brown easily played a more significant role last season, averaging 15.8 minutes per game while emerging as the team’s most versatile defender. But the 6-foot-9 big also struggled with various injuries, missing 13 total games and the bulk of several others. After separating his left shoulder in the ACC tournament, Brown played only 22 total minutes in the NCAA Tournament before having offseason shoulder surgery.
Ngongba, on the other hand, arrived at Duke last summer as a five-star recruit still reeling from foot injuries sustained his senior season of high school. The Virginia native missed parts of the preseason while he recovered and then didn’t play in nine of Duke’s first 15 games. But eventually — and in part due to Brown’s injuries — he settled into a role as a backup center, displaying the post moves and rebounding prowess that made him a top-25 recruit. Ngongba played 10 combined minutes in the Elite Eight and Final Four, but in the 10 games before that, the 6-foot-11 big averaged 6.4 points and 3.2 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game.
With Maluach gone, those two will play the majority of Duke’s center minutes.
Getting Maliq Brown healthy is an offseason priority for Duke. (Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
Scheyer said that Ngongba, who was seen in a boot earlier this offseason, is “in perfect health” with no limitations. Brown, on the other hand, is “weeks ahead of schedule” after his surgery, but is still limited to noncontact work like shooting and handling.
“He dislocated his shoulder twice, and you have to be really cautious with that,” Scheyer said. “So he won’t do contact still for another four to eight weeks, really, but he can do basically everything five-on-zero.”
2. Staff turnover a ‘chance to really analyze what’s worked’
In a sign of the times, where the transfer portal waits for no one, Duke lost one of its assistant coaches before last season ended. After reports surfaced in February that Jai Lucas was Miami’s top target for its head coaching vacancy, Lucas stayed on through the ACC tournament before departing for South Florida on Selection Sunday.
But that was only the beginning of Duke’s offseason staff churn.
Scheyer backfilled Lucas’ opening with former Utah Jazz assistant Evan Bradds in early May, before hiring former Howard assistant Tyler Thornton later that month to replace Will Avery. Recently, director of player development Justin Robinson also left to become a development coach with the Los Angeles Lakers. And don’t forget that last summer, Scheyer lured Emanuel Dildy away from Oklahoma to replace Amile Jefferson, who left for a job with the Boston Celtics.
That leaves associate head coach Chris Carrawell and general manager Rachel Baker as two of the few full-time staffers to have been with Scheyer since his start in April 2022.
“It means you have good people. Otherwise, people wouldn’t be calling and trying to hire them,” Scheyer joked. “You have to start back at ground zero — which, to be honest with you, is something that’s good for me anyway. Coming off of this season, there’s a lot of new. So it gives you a chance to really analyze what’s worked, (and) what do we need to do better? The responsibilities within a staff, to me, have changed in the last three years.”
Which is why Scheyer leaned on two hires with whom he has direct ties. Thornton was a senior during Scheyer’s first season back on staff in 2013-14, when he was a special assistant to Mike Krzyzewski. Bradds arrives on the recommendation of Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy, one of Scheyer’s closest friends in basketball. And before his time in Salt Lake City, Bradds spent two seasons as a video coordinator with the Boston Celtics — who, not coincidentally, employ another of Scheyer’s good buddies, Brad Stevens, as general manager. (Scheyer also spent time with former Celtics and current Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka in Team USA settings.)
“We pride ourselves on the player development here. We pride ourselves on the way that we play. It’s modern as could be; it’s similar to how guys would be taught as they go on to their next step,” Scheyer said. “So what better than to get a guy who’s lived it for the last seven years, being around guys like Brad Stevens, Ime Udoka and Will Hardy?”
3. The Cedric Coward situation, and Duke’s necessary pivot
Of Duke’s returners, Brown and Ngongba are pure frontcourt players, while Caleb Foster and Darren Harris will be key backcourt players. Only Isaiah Evans, the 6-foot-6 sharpshooter who withdrew from the NBA Draft in May, could reasonably be considered a wing. And considering Duke’s three-man freshman class featured two more forwards and a point guard — Cam Boozer, Nik Khamenia and Cayden Boozer, respectively — Scheyer needed to add at least one more starting-caliber wing to feel solid about his lineup.
He appeared to find him in late April, when former Washington State wing Cedric Coward committed to Duke over Alabama. Despite playing only six games for the Cougars last season, Coward’s size, defense and 3-point prowess made him one of the most sought-after players in the transfer portal — and someone who, after a season at Duke, figured to emerge as a potential lottery pick for 2026. But in the days and weeks after Coward’s commitment, buzz about the 6-foot-6 wing only continued to grow as he explored his professional options. By the time Coward dominated the combine in mid-May, it was apparent he’d never play in Durham.
While Coward didn’t officially announce his intention to stay in the draft — where he was selected 11th by the Portland Trail Blazers and traded to the Memphis Grizzlies — until May 24, Scheyer said Coward kept the program apprised of his thinking every step of the way. That allowed Duke to appropriately pivot and land Italian wing Dame Sarr (pronounced Dah-may) a day before Coward’s announcement.
“The program can’t wait, you know? We have to make sure our program is in the best position, and obviously he wanted to get as much information as possible — so we basically agreed we were going to continue to move on and fill out our roster, and then we’d support him from afar.”
Sarr, a potential lottery pick in 2026, projects as one of Duke’s perimeter starters and key contributors. The 6-foot-7 Sarr spent last season with FC Barcelona in the ACB, Spain’s top professional league, where Scheyer once played. Sarr averaged 5.4 points and shot 42.9 percent from 3 in 13.4 minutes per game last season.
4. The Boozers, finally, have arrived
Over two decades after Carlos Boozer last suited up in a Duke jersey, his sons have finally made their way to their father’s old campus.
And while that may seem like it was destined, that wasn’t the reality. Miami — where the twins grew up and where their mother lives — made a heavy push to keep them home, and was considered a front-runner at various points in their recruitment. But ultimately, Duke’s legacy factor, history of development and available roles helped Scheyer close the deal.
“Obviously, they love their dad and want to honor Carlos, but the reality is, this had to be the best decision for them — or they shouldn’t come here,” Scheyer said.
Still, the juice should be worth the squeeze for Scheyer — especially with Cameron, the No. 3 player in the class, per the 247Sports Composite. As a 6-foot-9 stretch forward, the bigger Boozer immediately slots into the starting position vacated by Flagg. And while Cameron is a much different player from Flagg — he’s sturdier, at around 235 pounds, with more refined post moves but less ballhandling ability — he figures to be similarly impactful as one of Duke’s leading scorers and rebounders. Cayden, the No. 20 player in the class, should be one of Duke’s top backcourt reserves, someone capable of spelling Foster and initiating offense.
Cameron projects as a surefire one-and-done, and while Cayden may reach that level, it’s more reasonable to expect he’ll spend multiple seasons in college. Navigating their recruitments — some of which overlapped, but some of which did not — was another hurdle for Scheyer in getting the Boozers on campus.
“I don’t think anything about their recruitment was normal,” Scheyer said. “You have two special talents and players — and they live in the same house. … We recruited them for a long time; I mean a long time. And that doesn’t happen as much now.”
Given what it took to land the Boozers, Scheyer needs the twins to deliver on the same level as past freshman stars who preceded them.
(Top photo: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)
