To kick off his mid-week press conference following Duke's win over NC State and ahead of the Blue Devils' rematch against North Carolina, head coach Jon Scheyer shared that he had lost his grandmother only a day before the team took the trip to Raleigh and defeated the Wolfpack.
Even with the 29-point win over NC State and the massive regular-season finale on the horizon, Scheyer wanted to remind everyone that life continues outside of basketball, and that includes the heartbreaking losses.
Also read: Jon Scheyer has the perfect perspective on the Duke-UNC rivalry
After he shared the news about his grandmother, a reporter asked if he ever has to "pinch himself" when going through life as the head coach of the Duke Blue Devils. Unsurprisingly, Scheyer had a perfect response.
Jon Scheyer knows what's important while coaching No. 1 Duke
"Very often, I stop and think about how grateful I am to be here," Scheyer said. "Think about Saturday, it's gonna be a big-time deal, environment, and all that, but a lot of Saturdays that we play, it's been a championship-level game."
Duke, of course, plays its in-state rivals, the North Carolina Tar Heels, on Saturday, which will be preceded by ESPN's College GameDay coming to Durham that morning.
"I think that it's important to have perspective when you feel pressure, when you feel stress, when you feel different things," Scheyer continued. "I remind myself that I'm right where I'm supposed to be. You know, I'm grateful for it, and I never take that for granted."
Jon Scheyer began his presser expressing appreciation for his seniors and then informing us his grandma passed away the night before the game at NC State. So, touching on those emotions, I opened it up by asking if he ever stops to pinch himself about being Duke's head coach.😈⬇️ pic.twitter.com/VLweKdR5y3
— Matt Giles (@MattGilesBD) March 5, 2026
Scheyer has been a Blue Devil for decades, literally. He played for Duke from 2006 until 2011, coached under Mike Krzyzewski from 2014 until 2022, and took over as the team's head coach later that year.
Sitting in the head coach's seat at Duke men's basketball games is the best place (possibly in the entire world) to be. Scheyer clearly knows that, and isn't sitting back to let a single second pass him by.
Even through personal tragedy, Scheyer isn't going anywhere, and that's one of the best things the Blue Devils could hear for years, and hopefully even decades, to come.