Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer says he typically ends days in a bad mood this time of year.
The reason? Basketball practice has begun. There are always things to be done, things to teach, a new team to mold for a new season. Every day is full, meaningful.
“You never feel like you’re where you want to be,” Scheyer said Wednesday on Duke’s media day
Scheyer’s bad mood has nothing to do with losing five players to the NBA, including college basketball’s best player, Cooper Flagg. That’s a testament to the program. That’s also the challenge these days of being a coach and a school like Duke, the rebuilding of a roster and piecing together the makings of a team that can – can – contend for a national championship.
Scheyer likes to say no one at Duke is satisfied unless they cut down the nets when the season ends. It’s heartbreaking to fall short, he says. It was that way last April when the Blue Devils were beaten in the semifinals by Houston in a tight game at the Final Four.
The hunger, he says, only builds. It has been 10 years since Duke last won the NCAA title. It’s time to change that, the Blue Devils believe.
Some of the familiar faces return from last season. There’s junior guard Caleb Foster and Isaiah “Slim” Evans, the slender wing player who turned down the idea of declaring for the NBA draft to come back for a sophomore season.
“I’m itching to get going,” Evans said Wednesday. “I can’t wait to get back to playing.”
Senior forward Maliq Brown was slowed by shoulder issues last season. Scheyer said the shoulder is “doing great” but that Brown, a 6-9, 225-pound senior who could be Duke’s best defender, will be out of practice a couple of weeks after a minor knee procedure.
“We’d rather be cautious with him and make sure we get him one hundred percent,” Scheyer said. “Obviously, he’s a key guy for us, so getting him out (in practice) there will be a different thing for our team with his experience, his versatility. We’re just different without him.”
Scheyer said sophomore Darren Harris should be in for a bigger role this season. So, too, 6-11 sophomore Patrick Ngongba II.
The five who left for the NBA have been replaced by five freshmen from whom much is expected. And especially Cameron and Cayden Boozer.
The twins, the sons of Carlos Boozer, both five-star recruits, drew much attention in high school in Miami and will again this season.
Being at Duke there’s always a little pressure. You’re expected to be best,” Cameron Boozer said.
Freshmen Dame Sarr, Nikolas Khamenia and Sebastian Wilkins all bring different skill sets – Sarr, from Italy, said Wednesday he also speaks six languages.
There will be times Scheyer has the two Boozers on the floor together, Cayden handling the ball and Cameron, all of 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, in the paint and looking to get it, much as his dad did with the Blue Devils.
“We’ve played together for a really long time, and on court we know what each likes to do,” Cameron Boozer said Wednesday.
What they want to do is add to Duke’s success, just as their father did. The Blue Devils last season were 35-4 overall, winning 19 of 20 ACC games and then the ACC championship. before reaching the Final Four.
“The goal any time you’re at Duke is to win a national championship. That would be a dream come true,” Cayden Boozer said.
Scheyer said the first few days of practice have focused on defense, not offensive skills. He said a “blueprint” has been set for player development, each tailored to individual players every day.
“I’ve challenged our coaching staff, and they’ve done an incredible job of trying to speed up the learning curve for our young guys,” Scheyer said.
On paper, Duke’s defense could suffer with the departure of Flagg and Khaman Malauch, Duke’s two leading shot-blockers last season. But associate head coach Chris Carrawell said Wednesday the makeup of the team as a whole should be a strength in stopping people.
Cayden Boozer, at 6-4, is the shortest player on the roster and he’s 205 pounds. Khamenia is listed at 6-8 and 215 pounds but appears bigger, and Ifeanyi Ufochukwu, the transfer from Rice, is 6-11 and 240 pounds.
“The way we structured the team, we’ve got a lot of size,” Carrawell said. “Hopefully that’s an advantage for us, using our size and our length.”
Duke will have exhibition games against UCF and then at Tennessee before opening the season Nov. 4 against Texas in the Dick Vitale Invitational in Charlotte. Later come nonconference games against Kansas, Arkansas, Michigan State and Texas Tech, in addition to the ACC/SEC Challenge matchup with Florida, last season’s NCAA champ.
“We set our schedule up to be at our best at the end of the year and to learn as much as we can early in the season,” he said. “Then you think about games these guys want to play in. I think a lot of these games we have are the reasons our guys chose to come to Duke.
“I’m certainly excited about it. Certain nights I stay up a little bit later, like ‘What did I do?’ at the same time,” he said, smiling. “I think it makes sense but there’s no question it’s going to be challenging and exciting.”
