Glenbrook North standout set to take over for retiring Coach K at Duke
Duke Hall of Fame men's basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski will coach his final season with the Blue Devils in 2021-22, and a suburban standout will be taking the team's helm, Duke University announced Wednesday.
Associate coach and former Duke player Jon Scheyer - a Northbrook native who graduated from Glenbrook North in Northbrook in 2006 - will take over as head coach starting in the 2022-23 season for Krzyzewski, who has won more Division I men's college basketball games than any other coach in history.
In 46 years as a head coach at Army West Point (1975-80) and Duke (1980-present), Krzyzewski amassed an NCAA-record 1,170 victories. In 41 seasons in Durham, he led Duke to five NCAA national championships: 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010 and 2015 - and 12 Final Fours.
Scheyer, who played under Krzyzewski from 2006 to 2010 and was a captain of the 2010 national championship team, will be the program's 20th head coach. One of the most respected assistant coaches in college basketball, Scheyer has spent eight years on Krzyzewski's staff and was promoted to associate head coach in 2018, according to a news release from Duke.
"Duke University has been a central part of my life for more than a decade, and I could not ask for a better place to continue my career," said Scheyer. "This is absolutely humbling. First, I offer extreme gratitude to the greatest coach of all time whose career is unrivaled in basketball. Coach K has built the premier program in our sport thanks to his unwavering competitive edge, a tireless attention to detail, a family-first approach and a remarkable compassion and care of his players, coaches, and staff. He has set a standard that every coach at every level should strive to achieve.
The 33-year-old Scheyer has been part of Duke's two most recent national championships - as a player on the 2010 team and an assistant coach for the 2015 squad. He would be the first in NCAA Division I men's basketball history to be named the head coach at his alma mater after winning national titles as both a player and assistant coach at that school. At 35 when next season begins, the Northbrook native would become the youngest men's basketball head coach among power conference institutions.
Scheyer will join a fraternity of Coach K's former Duke players or assistants that are now head coaches that includes Tommy Amaker (Harvard), Kenny Blakeney (Howard), Mike Brey (Notre Dame), Jeff Capel (Pittsburgh), Chris Collins (Northwestern), Johnny Dawkins (Central Florida), Bobby Hurley (Arizona State), Nate James (Austin Peay), Greg Paulus (Niagara), Mike Schrage (Elon) and Quin Snyder (NBA's Utah Jazz). Nearly two dozen other former Coach K players, assistants and staffers are currently college basketball assistant coaches or serving in NBA front offices.
Scheyer graduated from Duke in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in history. He and his wife, Marcelle, have two children: a daughter, Noa, and son, Jett. Wife - Marcelle; Daughter - Noa; Son - Jett
He was a four-year letterman at Duke, 2007-10; team co-captain in 2009, 2010; Consensus Second Team All-America in 2010; All-NCAA Final Four Team in 2010; First Team All-ACC in 2010; NCAA Tournament All-South Region in 2010; ACC Tournament MVP in 2009; All-Preseason NIT; First Team ACC All-Tournament in 2009 and 2010. He came on as a special assistant at Duke from 2013-14, then served as assistant coach from 2014-18 and was promoted to associated head coach in 2018.
• Daily Herald wire services contributed to this report.