Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer needs to do better.
By now, you know the Duke Blue Devils blew a 19-point lead to the UConn Huskies on Sunday night, coughing up an opportunity to head to the Final Four.
Duke is no stranger to losing to UConn in the NCAA Tournament. It fell to the Huskies in the National Championship Game in 1999, and in 2004, Connecticut bested the Blue Devils in the Final Four.
But one thing was always evident in those Duke losses: head coach Mike Krzyzewski had the utmost respect for UConn, and he showed it afterward.
Not sure we can say the same thing about Jon Scheyer.
Following the Blue Devils' defeat on Sunday evening, Scheyer was initially speechless. That's completely understandable given the way Duke lost. But then, when the words finally came for the head coach, he noticeably snubbed UConn.
How? By refusing to give the Huskies any credit in his postgame press conference.
Yes, the loss was fresh, and it was as devastating of a loss as you can imagine. But as a head coach, graceful losing comes with the territory.
Duke Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer. Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images.No, Scheyer wasn't being a sore loser. But instead of providing any credit to Connecticut or the way Dan Hurley coached down the stretch, Scheyer instead opted to focus on "every play that put us in that position," as if Duke was the only reason why Duke lost. He also was sure to bring up injuries.
We can't be too hard on Scheyer here because of the circumstances, but I bet he'll look back at his presser and think that he probably should have said some things differently.
It doesn't help that Scheyer is now under fire for blowing leads in three consecutive NCAA Tournaments. It happened against NC State in the Elite 8 in 2024. It happened versus Houston in the Final Four last season. And now, UConn.
It's important to remember that Kryzewski failed countless times in the Big Dance before finally breaking through, so perhaps Scheyer's day will come.
For now, though, Scheyer — who won a national championship with Duke as a player back in 2010 — will have to once again spend an entire offseason wondering what could have been.
The good news is that the Blue Devils will surely be back in title contention again next March, so Scheyer will get another chance at redemption.
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