Is the clock ticking on the Jon Scheyer era in Durham?
As much as Duke fans hope Scheyer follows the Coach K path and is the head coach in Durham for 40 years, that's probably not realistic.
After four seasons on the Duke bench, Scheyer has already generated significant interest from the NBA despite not yet leading the Blue Devils to the National Championship.
Scheyer was at the top of the wishlist for the Dallas Mavericks when they fired Jason Kidd. The franchise hoped to pair Scheyer with his former Duke superstar, Cooper Flagg, who just won the NBA's Rookie of the Year award. While that was no doubt enticing to Scheyer, he's got unfinished business in Durham.
Scheyer wants to lead Duke to the Promised Land. After that, it's anybody's guess as to whether he would make the NBA jump.
Some believe it's inevitable, like NBA insider Shams Charania, who stated in the aftermath of the Mavericks landing Dusty May instead of Scheyer that the Duke head coach would eventually make the NBA leap.
Count CBS Sports' Cameron Salerno in that camp, too. Salerno logged his prediction for Scheyer to be the next NCAA coach to make the jump to the NBA.
The good news for Duke fans, however, is that Salerno doesn't believe that day will come until Duke wins the title.
CBS writer believes Jon Scheyer will follow Dusty May's path to the NBA
Salerno believes Scheyer made the right decision to rebuff the Mavericks and stay at Duke...for now.
"On paper, Scheyer has once again assembled a loaded roster at Duke," Salerno writes. "He is a talent acquisition specialist. The Blue Devils might have the deepest roster in college basketball this season and should be firmly in the mix to win the national title. When/if that happens, that's when I can see Scheyer jumping to the NBA.
As much as Duke fans don't want to see Scheyer leave, that would be a worthwhile trade. It would be difficult to accept, but a national title would cure any potential ill will from fans. Scheyer would have then won a natty as a player and as the team's head coach. His legacy would not be up for debate.
Scheyer is the ultimate competitor. It's obvious as to why the NBA would be appealing to him. He wasn't able to break through at that level as a player, but perhaps he could as a coach. His basketball chops are well-respected in coaching circles, and he's put himself squarely on the professional radar.
It could be a matter of time before Scheyer follows May's path. The good news for fans is that Scheyer isn't the kind of guy to leave before the job is done. He's hell-bent on leading Duke to their first post-Krzyzewski national title. When, and only when, that finally happens, he might consider making the jump to the NBA if the right situation presents itself.
Until then, he's working as hard as ever to break the drought and to hang another banner in Cameron Indoor.
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