Jon Scheyer’s Doing An Amazing Job At Duke

GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 18: (EDITOR'S NOTE: This image was created using in-camera multiple exposures. ) Head coach Jon Scheyer of the Duke Blue Devils speaks with the media during practice day ahead of the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 18, 2026 in Greenville, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C.

Tilton/Getty Images) | Getty Images As portal season begins to settle down a bit, something we predicted a few years ago is increasingly evident: some coaches really know what to do in portal season – which we might as well call roster building season – and some don’t. Guys like Jerome Tang, Scott Drew, Hubert Davis, and Mark Pope have struggled. On the other hand, coaches like Dan Hurley, Todd Golden, and Jon Scheyer have cracked it.

And Scheyer’s model has proven really interesting. On the one hand, he continues to recruit high school talent at a very elite level. And while guys like Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Cameron Boozer leave after a year, others, like Isaiah Evans, Tyrese Proctor, Dame Sarr and Pat Ngongba stick around longer.

Scheyer has taken the players he retains and the freshmen he brings in, and just added in strategic portal pieces around them. In 2023, he brought in unknown Ryan Young from Northwestern, who turned out to be a brilliant addition. In 2024, he brought in Maliq Brown, Sion James, and Mason Gillis.