It may be a matter of when, not if, Jon Scheyer ultimately leaves Duke for a shot as an NBA head coach. The good news for Duke is that it isn't happening right now.
It was well reported that the Dallas Mavericks coveted Scheyer for their head job. With former Duke star Cooper Flagg on the roster, there's no doubt that the Mavericks were enticing. Scheyer rebuffed the interest, and the Mavs moved on to Michigan's Dusty May, who had just led the Wolverines to the National Championship.
The NBA leap does appear to be intriguing to the Blue Devils' head coach. With the chaotic landscape of college athletics right now, the NBA offers an exit strategy for frustrated college coaches. And for guys like Scheyer who are ultra-competitive, it also offers the opportunity to test his skills at the highest level.
In a recent appearance on the Glue Guys Podcast, Scheyer discussed the interest from the Mavericks and what he still wanted to accomplish at Duke, but he certainly didn't close the door on a potential leap at some point down the road.
“Anybody that knows me, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself, not seeing this thing through,” Scheyer said. “That’s just the bottom line. I’m at a one-of-one place where, not often you get your dream job when you’re 33. That’s what happened to me. I’m really proud of the start we’ve got off to and the continuation of what’s been built here. I think we’ve got so much left to do. I just think we have so much left to accomplish.
"And for me, again, we talked about my family earlier. This is where my family is; this is home for me. I’ve been in Durham longer than I have (where) I grew up in Chicago at this point. In some ways, it made me even stronger in my dedication of what we have to do here. I think when you’re presented with something different, it makes you be critical of the position or the place you’re at, although I don’t feel like there’s a lot to be critical about here. I do think it makes you have to double down on what you have to get right. For me, it reenergized me, refocused me."
Jon Scheyer feels like he has a lot left to accomplish at Duke before he can leave
That's far from the "I want to be here my entire career" answer that Duke fans would prefer, but it's also hard to blame him for that. That doesn't mean he won't change his mind and stick around a lot longer in Durham, though. If college sports can ever find stability, that could change the equation for a lot of these coaches who are at their wit's end with the wild-west nature of the sport.
Scheyer clearly wants to deliver a National Championship to Duke. Blue Devils fans have been waiting impatiently for one since 2015. Scheyer has built back-to-back teams capable of cutting down the nets, only to suffer devastating NCAA Tournament collapses. But you often have to fail before you can succeed, and with the rosters he continues to build, Duke is going to continue being in position to win the whole thing.
If and when Scheyer captures that elusive national title, he may seriously consider making the leap to the NBA if the right offer comes. But maybe the right opportunity never actually comes. Mike Krzyzewski was coveted by the NBA multiple times over his career at Duke, but he rebuffed that interest every time. He came close to leaving in 2004 for the Lakers job, but he decided to stay in Durham.
Scheyer could follow the same path. Or, assuming he does deliver a title or two, Duke fans will have nothing but appreciation and admiration for him even if he tests the NBA waters.
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