By: Jeremy Wilson
February 24, 2024
When to peak and when not to peak, that is the question.
Jon Scheyer has proven to be more consistent than fans and media credit him for. He's notched 47 wins and 14 losses good for a .770 win percentage. He only has two home losses in his young tenure leading the Duke program. His recruiting prowess helped him persuade four of last year’s starters to return this season. But that’s nothing new for the proven recruiter and winner.
Team and player development are emerging as another hallmark of Scheyer’s approach. He is a builder. He assembled a veteran coaching staff that understands the nuanced rhythms of player and team growth. Now, each player, coach and team has its own pace for learning and unlearning.
Things click once they all align, and things are certainly coming together for the Blue Devils.
It is clear that Scheyer knows its best to peak in March and early April — with a sprinkle of February success as well.
The impact of player development by the coaching staff is evident in Mark Mitchell’s improved three-point shooting and decision-making. Mitchell is now 7-15 from behind the arc in conference play after starting the year with a sub-5% three-point percentage.
Kyle Filipowski’s defense in the last two games has contributed to Duke holding each of its last five opponents to under 62 points, while shooting an average of 40% from the floor, and 24% from three. Filipowski has impacted opponents’ offensive game while avoiding fouls and ball fakes. Perhaps nobody has faced more criticism for not being a "dawg" than Filipowski. But he is putting in the work to emphatically disprove those claims.
Jared McCain scored 35 points to tie Zion Williamson's Duke’s freshman single-game scoring record. The hot-handed, nail-painted shooter also had his first poster at the rim against Miami. Ryan Young’s hustle play to stop a four on zero Miami fast break, captain Jeremy Roach’s steady leadership and Sean Stewart’s increased minutes and role off the bench have all been crucial as well.
Everybody is clicking. But not too long ago, Duke critics were loud, and it seemed like nobody was in the Blue Devils' corner.
Former Louisville head coach Chris Mack, among others, questioned whether this year’s Duke team has any "dawgs." Fans echoed these doubts and added Scheyer’s name to the "No Dawgs Duke" list. It would be redundant to cite all the data refuting the "Scheyer is soft" narrative. Wednesday’s matchup against Miami was declarative — it did all the talking for me in an old-school "put your money where your mouth is" game.
Before the road victory, Scheyer commented on the rhetoric surrounding his team’s identity: “It is kind of funny to me because how many teams in the country right now have 20 wins and people are talking about how tough they are, or if they have ‘dawgs,’" he said. "How do you get 20 wins without having that?”
Scheyer also was candid about where the team is right now: “Our guys, are they perfect? Have they had moments? When I say our guys, that’s our team, that’s us as a staff, that’s Duke. Are there moments where we could have played better or we didn’t play through the contact we needed? Of course," he said. "You can show that for any team in the country.”
Miami was without two key players: Nijel Pack and Matthew Cleveland. Duke fans know that pain. But still, soft teams don’t go on the road and hold a team averaging 77.9 points per game to 55 points.
Duke’s biggest loss of this season was by nine points at North Carolina. Compare that to some other Final Four contenders this season: UConn’s 19 points, Arizona’s 18 points, Purdue’s 16 points, and Houston’s 13 points. All those teams have 20 or more wins this season.
So does Duke.
Numbers and the ball don’t lie.
The "No Dawgs Duke" are on a five-game winning streak, boasting 16 wins in their last 18 games. They lead the ACC in scoring margin (13.3 points), field goal percentage (48.1%), and three-point percentage (38.0%). Has there been a full 40 minutes of truly fantastic Duke basketball in one game? No. The road victory against Miami flirted with it, but had some dry spells. But nothing is ever perfect.
Scheyer and the team have been honest about their game and the moments of frustration. Some fans saw that as a coach and team being soft, while others saw it as stages of team development: forming, storming, norming and performing. To each their own.
But one thing is clear: Duke is a step closer to being the title contender Scheyer knows his team is. The Blue Devils are peaking — but not quite at their peak. At least not yet.
Jeremy Wilson | @theJeremyDavid
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