Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer has already established himself as one of the best recruiters in the entire country, as Scheyer has cemented the No. 1 overall recruiting class in two of his first three seasons leading the Blue Devils. However, what he doesn't get as much recognition for is how elite a developer of talent he is. Throughout his tenure at Duke, Scheyer has developed several players and extracted every bit of potential from them. One of the best examples of his success in this rite is Khaman Maluach, a 7'2" South Sudanese big man who had only been playing basketball for a few years. In less than a year, Scheyer turned him into one of the most versatile big men in the entire nation and a top-ten selection in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Jon Scheyer reveals his keys to developing top talent consistently
Scheyer has continued to mold guys into the best prospects they can become, and he revealed his secrets to the media.
"So, every day we make sure they get something individual for their own games, and we're not going to go away from that," Scheyer said. "We did it last year as well, but I think this year the difference is really taking a step back and thinking about the best ways to teach and the best way to learn. A lot of it's about making real-time decisions, right?..It's not just by getting shots, it's by making live reads, and so the coaches, they do an amazing job of structuring a workout or structuring the blueprint time where there's live bodies, you have to make live reads, and you're not showing the same shot twice."
With Scheyer bringing in the No. 1 overall 2025 recruiting class, he and his staff will have to expedite the development process, as the Blue Devils have a brand new and extremely young squad. Three freshmen will likely start, with the possibility of four. With Duke having to go through what is likely the toughest non-conference schedule in all of college hoops this season, Scheyer will need his guys to adjust to the college game as quickly as possible for the program to reach its ceiling.