Duke basketball: Jon Scheyer says starting lineup change ‘can happen’

The Duke basketball head coach could be changing his starting lineup.  

Nothing is ever set in stone with Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer, and that includes his starting lineup despite the team’s strong start to the season.

The obvious starters are not changing with the four key returning players in Jeremy Roach, Tyrese Proctor, Mark Mitchell, and Kyle Filipowski but the conversation about changing the final starter began after the Blue Devils defeated Michigan State in the Champions Classic.

Freshman guard Caleb Foster shined for Duke with 18 points, 16 coming in the second half, off the bench while the other rookie for the Blue Devils, Jared McCain, went scoreless despite being in the starting lineup.

McCain has started every game for Duke while Foster has continued to come off the bench, but nothing is certain forever.

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“There’s some strategy behind it, but also that can happen,” Scheyer said of potential changes in his starting lineup after his team defeated Bucknell, 90-60, on Friday night.

“We really have six starters,” the second year head coach added.

The rotation remained the same against the Bison and McCain made the conversation that much more difficult with a career-high performance with 17 points and 10 rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point range.

Foster had nine points, four rebounds, and six assists in the blowout victory.

“Caleb could start easily,” Scheyer explained. “There’s the chemistry. There’s the continuity that we’re trying to develop. But Caleb, no question, is a starter whether he’s coming off the bench or not.”

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Caleb Foster is currently averaging 23.5 minutes and 10.5 points per game compared to 21.8 minutes and 8.5 points per contest for Jared McCain.

“I would start all six of them if you could,” Jon Scheyer continued.

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The Blue Devils are averaging 82.3 points per game.

It seems unlikely that No. 9 Duke (3-1) will make a change in its starting lineup ahead of its matchup against La Salle (4-0) on Tuesday night (7:00p.m. EST, ACC Network), but you never truly know.