Duke is the unquestioned No. 1 team in college basketball after last weekend's neutral site win over Michigan. At 26-2, the Blue Devils have the inside track to capture the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and are legitimate contenders to capture the program's first national championship in 11 years.
And yet, there's almost no buzz for Jon Scheyer as the National Coach of the Year. Sure, the award tends to go to coaches who wildly overachieve, something that is tough to do at a program like Duke, but the Blue Devils have overachieved relative to preseason expectations.
Mike Krzyzewski, for example, won the Naismith Coach of the Year three times, but won his last one back in 1999. He coached for 23 more years after that and won three more national titles despite never again winning the award.
Armed with the No. 1 recruiting class, Duke was expected to be good this year. But not quite as good as they've ended up being. After losing two Top 10 picks from last season's Final Four team - Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach - the Blue Devils came into the preseason ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll.
And yet, Duke is neck-and-neck in KenPom with where they finished a year ago. They haven't missed a beat, and that's something that ESPN's Jeff Borzello believes Scheyer should be getting more praise for:
"Jon Scheyer isn't getting enough credit for the coaching job he's done this season, with limited buzz for National Coach of the Year honors," Borzello wrote. "Sure, it's Duke, and he has the best player in the country headlining the No. 1 recruiting class. But the Blue Devils are the No. 1 team with just two losses all season, with both coming in the final seconds. They were picked outside the top five in the preseason. They aren't nearly as talented as last year's roster yet are on track to be the No. 1 overall seed on Selection Sunday -- something last year's team didn't accomplish."
Jon Scheyer deserves to be the National Coach of the Year favorite
Of course, Borzello is part of the problem. Despite being 21-1 in early February, Borzello ranked Scheyer No. 10 on his Coach of the Year power rankings, doing exactly what he is criticizing others for doing.
A lot has changed since then, however. Guys like Mark Byington (Vanderbilt), Bill Self (Kansas), and Tom Izzo (Michigan State) have had some February defeats that likely knock them down the list.
The only coaches deserving to be in the conversation with Scheyer are probably Fred Hoiberg (Nebraska) and Travis Steele (Miami, OH). And that's no disrespect to the numerous other coaches who are doing exceptional jobs; it's just the reality of how good Scheyer has been on the bench for Duke this season.
Scheyer has his team fully bought in and accountable for what it's going to take to win the whole thing. And holding that national championship trophy while the confetti falls on his head in early April will mean a lot more to him than any coaching honors ever could.