Jay Bilas is "awed" by Duke's Jon Scheyer's maturity and self-awareness, calling him a remarkable coach poised to lead the Blue Devils to championship heights.
Duke is entering the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed.
The Blue Devils came into last year's tournament with high expectations in Cooper Flagg's only year with the program, but the team fell to Houston in the Final Four.
With star freshman Cameron Boozer, Duke hopes they can compete for the national championship in April. The team's roster is much better than last year's, but the Blue Devils are dealing with injuries to Patrick Ngongba II and Caleb Foster.
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer is in his fourth season with the program. He's gone 121-24 during that span, and has made the NCAA Tournament in each season, but has yet to reach the heights of a championship like former head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
ESPN's Jay Bilas recently gave high praise for Scheyer, saying the 38-year-old head coach has great command of the program.
“I’m not impressed by Jon Scheyer,” Bilas said, via On3. “I’m awed by him… For a guy that age to have this level of maturity. The one thing that stands out above all his abilities — Xs and Os, leadership, whatever — is he has always known exactly who he is.
"He’s going to coach to that. He’s not trying to be Coach K or emulate Coach K. Certainly, he’s taken principles and lessons from Coach K, we all have. But he’s not trying to be that. He’s doing things a lot differently than Coach K did.”
Scheyer played at Duke from 2006 to 2010, winning the national title in his final year with the program. He rejoined the Blue Devils as an assistant coach in 2014, learning from Krzyzewski.
Bilas thinks Duke was lucky to hit gold with Krzyzewski's replacement.
"They not only got the right guy but they got the right one out of their stable,” Bilas said. “Which, North Carolina did it with Roy Williams when they brought him back from Kansas. But that’s unusual, that’s not the norm.
“Just an incredible guy whose demeanor is fantastic with the officials, with the players. He always seems to hit the right note. He’s just a remarkable coach and a great coach.”
Still, Scheyer has more to prove in the college basketball world. He's recruited top athletes, but has yet to win a national championship as a head coach to define his legacy with the school.
Duke will enter the NCAA Tournament as a favorite this spring. It'll be interesting to see if Scheyer can get this team over the hump.