“‘We Felt It Slip Away’: Jon Scheyer Relives Duke’s Final Four Collapse — And Vows It Will Fuel a Ruthless Comeback”
For Jon Scheyer, the pain still lingers. The silence of the locker room, the final missed shot, the feeling of a season slipping through his fingers — all replay endlessly in his mind. Duke’s heartbreaking Final Four loss to Houston wasn’t just a missed opportunity. It was a moment that cut deep. But instead of running from it, Scheyer is leaning in, using the sting as fuel. “I’ve watched it countless times,” he admits. “Not to second-guess… but to learn, to grow, and to make sure we never feel that way again.” The next chapter of Duke basketball has already begun — and it’s being written with fire.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer said he watched the Blue Devils’ season-ending loss countless times, including the day after the game. Duke led by 14 points in the second half.
Before he won a high school state championship in Illinois and before he won an NCAA title as a Duke player, Duke coach Jon Scheyer endured difficult losses.
The Blue Devils’ 70-67 loss to Houston in April’s NCAA Tournament national semifinals ranks right up there. A team loaded with NBA talent — all five starters were selected in the draft with three among the top-10 picks, including No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg — couldn’t hold off Houston in the second half.
“I lost in heartbreaking ways along the way that sometimes you don’t feel like you can overcome,” Scheyer said Tuesday. “It’s just what I’ve always had to do. This is no exception. For me, I want to use that for our players, I want to use that for our team where hopefully they don’t have to have those feelings or go through that as well.”
Duke led 59-45 with 8:17 remaining, 64-55 with 3:03 left and 66-59 with just 1:26 to go in San Antonio on that Saturday night. The Blue Devils didn’t score on their final four possessions: two missed field goals, a missed free throw and a turnover.
By Monday, before Florida defeated Houston to win the national title, Scheyer was in conversations with his players and working to build the next Duke roster, again loaded with talent.
It would have been easy to not look back.
“It’s natural to shy away from it or to make an excuse or rationalize,” Scheyer said. “For me, I only know one way and that’s to dive deeper into it. I’ve watched the game countless times. I’ve tried to reimagine and replay. It’s not about second guessing or anything like that. But I think it’s the reality of basketball. It’s an amazing sport where crazy things can happen.”
Scheyer said he watched the game Sunday.
“I had to see it,” Scheyer said. “There’s lessons from that game that I’ll share with our team at the right time. But, for me, it took a couple months to really just to understand, process, feel it, live it and feel the pain, feel everything that’s associated with it. Because in order to be the best for our team, in order to be the best coach, I think you got to feel those things.”
Scheyer, entering his fourth season at Duke, is well positioned to take his team back to the Final Four — even after losing the starting five and incoming transfer Cedric Cowherd in the draft.
Duke has the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation with freshmen Cameron Boozer, Cayden Boozer and Nikolas Khamenia leading the way. The Boozer twins are the sons of former Duke star Carlos Boozer. Duke returns several key pieces, including guard Caleb Foster, guard Isaiah Evans, forward Maliq Brown and center Patrick Ngongba II.
Brown, who dislocated his shoulder twice last season, is ahead of schedule but the team will be cautious with him this offseason, Scheyer said.
