- After a three-year hiatus, Duke has finally made its triumphant return to the Final Four.
The occasion is especially notable for its head coach, former Blue Devils star Jon Scheyer. The third-year boss was called upon to replace Basketball Hall-of-Famer Mike Krzyzewski ahead of the 2022-23 season. He’s enjoyed a solid start to life in Durham in the years since, producing a slew of NBA players, including Dereck Lively II, Kyle Filipowski and Jared McCain.
The 2024-25 campaign has been a different story. Cooper Flagg spearheads a versatile Duke roster that houses three-likely lottery picks. The Blue Devils have been cruising for much of their NCAA Tournament run. Sprinkle Scheyer’s tactical nous into the mix, and it’s easy to see why masses of Duke fans are dreaming of a sixth national championship.
Scheyer is one of a handful of youngsters (at least by coaching standards) making the grade on Division I sidelines. But how would his age compare to the youngest coaches to ever win a national title? Here’s what you need to know.
How old is Jon Scheyer?
Jon Scheyer is 37 years old, having been born on Aug. 24, 1987.
Scheyer was appointed Duke’s head coach upon longtime head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s retirement following the 2022 season. He was a few months shy of his 35th birthday when he got the gig.
Youngest coach to win a national title in college basketball
If Scheyer was to hoist the national championship trophy at the end of the season, he’d be one of the younger coaches to achieve such a feat. He wouldn’t be the youngest, however.
That title belongs to former Indiana boss Branch McCracken, who helmed the Hoosiers to a national title win in 1940 at the tender age of 31 years, nine months and 21 days.
The college basketball landscape looked a lot different at the time of Indiana’s first national title. The Hoosiers featured a motley crew of talents on their roster, including Paul Armstrong, Bill Menke and second-team All-American Marv Huffman.
Indiana actually finished second in the Big Ten, falling a game short of intrastate rivals Purdue. But the Boilermakers declined the NCAA’s invitation to participate in its eight-team tournament, instead recommending the Hoosiers take their place.
Indiana took advantage of its new lease on life, downing Springfield, Duquesne and Kansas to nab its first-ever national title.
At present, Scheyer would be the fifth-youngest head coach to win a national championship if he were to lead Duke to the promised land, only bested by McCracken, Wisconsin’s Bud Foster (34 years, nine months, 29 days in 1941), Ohio State’s Fred Taylor (35 years, three months, 16 days in 1960) and Indiana’s Bob Knight (35 years).
Scheyer is one of four coaches to bring the Blue Devils to the Final Four, joining Vic Bubas (1963, 1964, 1966), Bill E. Foster (1978) and his mentor, Krzyzewski (1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2010, 2015, 2022) in Duke lore. Of those three, only Krzyzewski has grasped a national championship trophy, doing so five times during his glittering career (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015).
Scheyer has some way to go if he wants to catch Krzyzewski as the program — and college basketball’s — winningest coach. But his win rate actually exceeds Krzyzewski’s at present, with Scheyer claiming victory in 80.9 percent of his games compared to his mentor, whose mark stands at a “meager” 78.5 percent.
With nearly 1,000 games more experience than his protege, though, we’ll give the advantage to Krzyzewski for now.
