Whenever a team is dominant, either the players get the credit or the coach gets the assumption. And that’s what’s happening at Duke right now.
The Blue Devils’ head coach, Jon Scheyer, is a 38-year-old in the world of basketball coaching, one of the most pressure-filled jobs in college hoops. He replaced Mike Krzyzewski, a man with over 1,200 wins and five national championships, and is leading through a job where anything less than a Final Four feels like a failure.
Former Auburn head coach-turned TV analyst Bruce Pearl wanted to highlight the same thing. On CBS Sports, Pearl highlighted how nobody talks enough about how Scheyer is leading Duke this season.
“A lot of times the coach that wins the league doesn’t get the coach of the year honors because he’s sort of supposed to win the league,” Pearl said. “That happens at Duke a lot. Jon Scheyer is 120-24. That’s 83% winning percentage, okay? He’s the fastest to 120, surpassing Brad Stevens and Mark Few. And Brad did it at Butler, Mark did it at Gonzaga, he [Scheyer]’s done it at high major duke. As one of the greatest young coaches in the country, I don’t think we talk about Jon Scheyer nearly enough.”
Bruce Pearl’s point is worth noting. In his first season, Scheyer led Duke to a 27-9 record, won the ACC Tournament, and went undefeated at home, becoming the first ACC coach to post an undefeated home record in his debut season. He then became the fastest coach in ACC history to 100 wins, in just 122 games, surpassing a 1964 record.
This season, Scheyer pushed Duke back to the top of the national rankings after losing his entire 2024-25 starting five. Duke has won 32 straight home games, the best active streak in the country. The Blue Devils have also gone undefeated at home for the third time in four years under Scheyer.
But here’s where the major problem lies. As per Pearl’s comparison, if Scheyer had pulled such achievements at Butler or Gonzaga, he would be in conversation for the best coaches in college history. Since he’s doing it at Duke, people assume the program runs itself. In a way, Pearl did make sense when he said that college hoops doesn’t give enough credit to Jon Scheyer.
How is Duke Matched Up Against Virginia in the ACC Championship Game?
The Blue Devils face the Virginia Cavaliers tonight in the deciding game of the 2026 ACC Tournament at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The two teams faced each other once in the regular season, with Duke coming out with a comfortable win. But this time, the Blue Devils will head into the tournament finals without Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II, their leading scorers.
Pressure will lay heavy on freshman Cameron Boozer, who finished with 24 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists in the semi-final win against Clemson. Cayden Boozer also set a new career-high with 16 points in that game. Though Virginia is heading into this matchup with talent on paper, the ceiling for a Duke win, especially with Cameron Boozer in the flow, is too high.
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