Duke’s Scheyer, Familiar Face Battling for ACC Coach of Year
Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer legitimately might be the most underrated coach in the entire country. He has recently gained some ground in terms of the ACC and National Coach of the Year races, but it has taken far too long.
Scheyer has done an absolutely outstanding job with this year’s squad. Duke is currently riding a seven-game win streak while winning those contests by an average margin of 23.4 points, owns a 13-2 record in Quadrant 1, owns a 14-0 record at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and it hasn’t lost a game outside of Quadrant 1 all season.
Jon Scheyer Has Been the Best Head Coach in College Basketball This Season
Scheyer has now delivered back-to-back ACC regular season titles and is looking to win his third ACC Tournament Championship in four seasons. What is so impressive is how he has taken a brand new squad and brought it right back to a national title favorite after losing so much production from last year’s group.
Duke lost its entire 2024-25 starting five, as all were selected in the NBA Draft that summer. With that team, Scheyer and the Blue Devils earned a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament and made it all the way to the Final Four.
When a coach loses his entire starting lineup, especially from a team good enough to go to the Final Four, the anticipation is that the program will take a step back the following year. Not for Scheyer.
Duke is arguably a better team than it was a year ago and is now generally viewed as one of the best teams in the country once again.
Scheyer’s Biggest Competition for ACC Coach of the Year Is a Familiar Face
Scheyer is on the fast track to win the ACC Coach of the Year award, but his biggest competition could be a coach who was actually on Scheyer’s staff a season ago in Miami head coach Jai Lucas.
Lucas became an assistant coach with the Blue Devils in 2022 before being named associate head coach in 2023. He was one of the best recruiters in the country, helping Scheyer bring in that loaded No. 1 overall 2024 recruiting class, featuring guys like Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach.
In 2024-25, the Hurricanes went just 7-24. After bringing in Lucas, who overhauled the program through the transfer portal mixed in with some high school talent, Miami has an overall record of 23-6 and a 12-4 record in ACC play. Lucas’s club is currently in third place in the ACC standings, meaning Scheyer and Lucas could match up in the ACC Tournament Semifinals.
