Before the 2022–2023 season, iconic Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski was replaced as head coach of Duke by Jon Scheyer. His squad is currently participating in the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year.
Despite being one of the younger coaches in Division I basketball at just 37 years old, Scheyer has had what seems like a few lifetimes of experience.
Scheyer’s motivational tale playing career in high school and college.
Scheyer attended Glenbrook North High School after growing up on Chicago’s North Shore. He rose to prominence on the basketball team there, scoring 3,034 points in his career and winning Illinois Player of the Year twice (in 2005 and 2006). He averaged 32 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals during his final season.
He went on to play collegiate basketball for four years at Duke, where he won about 80% of his games and became the only player in program history to achieve 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists, 250 three-pointers, and 200 steals. As the Blue Devils won their fourth national championship in 2010, he concluded his senior year with an average of 18.2 points, 4.9 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.
A life-altering injury ended the professional playing career.
After graduating from Duke without being selected, Scheyer had a chance to play in the Las Vegas Summer League with the Miami Heat. Unfortunately, a severe injury swiftly put an end to his NBA career. Scheyer suffered a life-altering injury when Joe Ingles unintentionally jabbed him in the eye while he was attempting to grab the ball during his second game with the Heat. Scheyer required surgery to fix a ruptured retina and sutures to seal a laceration on his eyelid. He ended up losing part of his eyesight due to the injury in his optic nerve.
That year, he was given another chance and joined the Los Angeles Clippers for training camp; however, he was not completely recovered and was cut in early October.
Prior to agreeing to a two-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv, he played with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the D-League for a while in 2011. He was able to play for coach David Blatt since he holds dual citizenship in Israel.
Prior to joining Gran Canaria in the Spanish League, Scheyer played for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2012 Orlando Summer League. He was called back to Duke by Coach K in 2013.
coaching profession.
After Chris Collins departed Duke in 2013, Krzyzewski needed a new assistant coach, so he appointed Scheyer as a special assistant. After Jeff Capel left for Pittsburgh in 2018, he and Nate James were elevated to associate head coach.
It soon became evident that Scheyer will eventually succeed Coach K. It was already finalised when he took over as head coach in 2021 when Krzyzewski was in COVID-19 protocol. The rest is history. He took over in 2022.
private life.
Following his return to Durham, Scheyer met his future wife, Marcelle Scheyer, who was pursuing a nursing degree at the same time that Scheyer was coaching. They were married in May 2017 after becoming engaged in August 2015.
Together, they currently have three children: their second son James (born May 2022), daughter Noa (born February 2018), and son Jett (born August 2019), who is also Jon’s birthday.
