When Jon Scheyer walks into Duke’s practice gym, he’s not just coaching basketball — he’s teaching a mindset. A standard. A way of being a Blue Devil. And it all starts with something he calls the “98 percent rule.”
Every player who joins Duke’s basketball family learns about it from day one. It’s not written on the walls, but it’s spoken in every drill, every film session, every hustle play. While most coaches talk about giving 100 percent, Scheyer challenges his players with something different — to master the 98 percent of basketball that doesn’t involve the ball in your hands.
“It’s about having consistency,” Scheyer said at the ACC Tipoff. “We call it 98 percent — it’s the plays you make without the ball. The best teams I’ve ever been part of were the ones that excelled at the 98 percent. It’s the rebounding, the next-play mentality, the defense.”
Scheyer’s message might sound simple, but inside Duke’s locker room, it’s a mantra that defines the program. It’s the heartbeat of everything the Blue Devils do.
The devil is in the details
Last season, Duke wasn’t just talented — they were relentless. Led by the nation’s top freshman Cooper Flagg, the Blue Devils clawed their way to the Final Four and captured the ACC championship. And if you ask Scheyer, it wasn’t the highlight-reel dunks or flashy 3-pointers that carried them there — it was the 98 percent.
“The 98 percent means diving for loose balls, boxing out, getting deflections, being in the right spot defensively,” Scheyer explained. “It’s about the details that don’t always make SportsCenter but win championships.”
For Duke’s players, that message takes time to sink in. Coming out of high school, most of them were stars. They were used to having the ball in their hands. But Scheyer’s system flips that script.
“In high school, that’s how players are judged — by how much they have the ball,” Scheyer said. “But at the college and NBA level, that’s not what wins. The NBA now wants low-usage guys — players who can move, defend, cut, and make things happen without needing the ball all the time.”
Old leaders, new blood
This season, the 2025-26 Duke squad might be Scheyer’s most fascinating yet. They’re ranked No. 6 in the AP preseason poll and picked as the ACC favorite, and they bring together an incredible mix of experienced veterans and elite new talent.
Junior Caleb Foster and senior Maliq Brown have become the heartbeat of Duke’s leadership core. Around them stands a new wave of five-star recruits — Cameron and Cayden Boozer, Sebastian Wilkins, Nik Khamenia, and Italy’s electric freshman guard Dame Sarr.
“The freshmen know what the standard is,” Brown said. “They know what Duke basketball means. We don’t let the 98 percent slip.”
Foster echoed that sentiment, saying the focus is on teaching the young guys what it truly takes to win at the college level. “You have to master the details to win at the highest levels,” he said. “The margin of error is slim when your goal is a national championship.”
The rise of “Slim” Evans
One of the most exciting storylines of Duke’s new season is Isaiah “Slim” Evans — the lanky, confident 6-foot-6 sharpshooter who became a breakout name last season. Evans made over 41 percent of his 3-pointers and torched Auburn with six triples in one half at Cameron Indoor.
Scheyer knows Evans can shoot with the best of them — but to be a true Blue Devil star, he has to dominate the 98 percent, too.
“He’s got an amazing weapon,” Scheyer said. “But the most important thing for him is his defense, his rebounding, his off-ball activity. We’ve talked about finding more ways to score, getting to the free throw line, and impacting the game even when he’s not shooting.”
Evans has bought in, embracing the hard truth that Duke greatness is measured by more than points on the stat sheet.
Nothing is handed out at Duke
One of the things Scheyer emphasizes most is that nothing — absolutely nothing — is given just because you wear a Duke jersey. Every player has to earn their spot through effort, consistency, and that 98 percent grind.
“There’s no such thing as ‘It’s my turn now,’” Scheyer said. “Everybody has to earn what’s going to happen. Just because you’re here doesn’t mean you’re going to play or start.”
That attitude fuels the competition in Durham. It’s what keeps practices intense, and it’s what keeps Scheyer’s young roster hungry as they prepare for the new season.
The Blue Devils will play exhibition games against Central Florida (Oct. 21) and Tennessee (Oct. 26) before tipping off the 2025-26 campaign on Nov. 4 against Texas in the Dick Vitale Invitational in Charlotte — a stage perfectly set for Duke to announce, once again, that they are built for March.
Learning from heartbreak
Last year’s Final Four run ended in heartbreak against Houston, a loss that still burns for returning leaders like Foster and Brown. But that pain has turned into motivation — a driving force behind every practice, every sprint, every defensive drill.
“The holy grail of college basketball is the Final Four,” Scheyer said. “There are two outcomes to a season — glory or heartbreak. For us last year, it was heartbreak. But that’s what fuels us.”
Scheyer’s vision is simple: keep getting back to the Final Four until Duke cuts down the nets again.
“If you keep putting yourself in that position,” he said, “it’s going to happen. You just have to keep taking your swings, keep getting your at-bats, and eventually, you’ll break through.”
The 98 percent rule isn’t just a slogan — it’s a standard. It’s the soul of Duke basketball in the Scheyer era. It’s why players dive across the floor in November like it’s April. It’s why every screen, every rotation, every box-out matters.
Because at Duke, the difference between glory and heartbreak isn’t in the 2 percent everyone sees. It’s in the 98 percent only champions understand.
