Jon Scheyer

At 37 years old, Jon Scheyer has this physical status:

Jonathan James Scheyer (born August 24, 1987) is an American-Israeli former basketball player, currently an associate head coach of the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team.

Scheyer led his high school team to an Illinois state basketball championship as a high school All-American, and was one of the starters on the 2009–10 Duke Blue Devils that won the 2010 NCAA Basketball Championship, as a college All-American.

He was a prolific high school scorer, and later an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) leader in numerous statistical categories, ranging from free throw percentage and three point shots/game to assists/turnover ratio. In high school, he once scored 21 points in a game's final 75 seconds of play in an attempt to spark a comeback.

The 4th-leading scorer in Illinois high school history, he led his team to a state championship in 2005, and was named Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2006.

Also in 2006, Scheyer was voted as one of the 100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament, a group of former players and coaches in honor of the 100 anniversary of the IHSA boys basketball tournament. He chose to attend Duke for college, for whom he moved from shooting guard to point guard towards the end of the 2008–09 season, and was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2009 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament.

In his senior year in 2009–10 as Duke's captain, he led the team to ACC regular season and Tournament championships, and to the NCAA National Championship.

He led the championship team in points per game, assists, free throw percentage, and steals per game.

Scheyer was a 2010 consensus All-American (Second Team), a unanimous 2009–10 All-ACC First Team selection, and was named to the 2010 ACC All-Tournament First Team.He played the most consecutive games in Duke history (144), shot the third-highest free throw percentage (.861), shot the third-most free throws (608), shot the fourth-most 3-pointers (297), and is ranked ninth in scoring (2,077 points).

He holds the ACC single-season record for minutes (1,470; in 2009–10) and the Duke freshman free throw record (115), shares the Duke record for points off the bench in a game (27), and had the third-longest streak of consecutive free throws in Duke history (40).

He was not drafted in the 2010 NBA Draft, but played for the 2010 Miami Heat Las Vegas summer league team; however, playing for the team in July he was poked in the eye by Golden State's Joe Ingles and suffered a serious, life-changing right eye injury in which his eye's optic nerve was injured, and he suffered a tear in its retina, which was re-attached surgically.

He was a 2010 Los Angeles Clippers training camp invitee, but was waived in the team's reduction to its final roster.

In 2011, he played shooting guard for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-League.

Early life

Scheyer was born in Northbrook, Illinois, and is the youngest of three children of Laury and Jim Scheyer. He was raised in his father's Jewish religion, and became a Bar Mitzvah. He began dribbling a basketball at age three and played in his first AAU national tournament six years later. As a youth, he played in a league called the Fellowship of Afro-American Men (FAAM), in Evanston, Illinois. He received a scholarship offer from Marquette University's Tom Crean as an eighth-grader.

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High school career

Since Scheyer's talent was already apparent by the time he was supposed to start high school, many parents encouraged him to attend a high school with a powerhouse basketball program. The move was made in order to ensure he had a higher chance of thriving. Scheyer denied the suggestion and told his parents: "We'll just do it here." We'll continue to develop Glenbrook North's popularity." "I get chills thinking about it," his father said. That wasn't my idea. It wasn't Laury's. It wasn't his coaches' fault. That was Jon's dream, and it never occurred to him that anything else would happen."

Scheyer attended Glenbrook North High School as a freshman and led the Spartans to an Illinois High School Association Class AA state basketball championship as a sophomore, and an Elite Eight appearance in the state playoffs three years from 2003 to 2006. Scheyer was known as "Jewish Jordan," and the Spartans' state championship squad is the country's only high school state championship basketball squad to have an all-Jewish starting lineup.

Scheyer, a freshman, led Glenbrook North in scoring and assists, and he was First Team All-State as a sophomore in 2004. Scheyer was the only non-senior on any of the first three All-State squads, and he was the only underclassman on any of the first three All-State squads. As a sophomore, he averaged 26 points, five rebounds, and five assists. "I call him a mash-up of Larry Bird and 'Pistol' Pete,'" Weber said. He has a natural gift for passing. He has a good size. He's a rare find in this day and age." Scheyer earned national recognition in his senior year by scoring 21 points in 75 seconds of play during a one-man comeback victory over Proviso West High School in an attempt to keep alive his team's 35-game winning streak. It has been described as one of the best performances on a high school court ever. Scheyer averaged 32 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals as a senior.

Scheyer refused to leave the gym one night until he made 50 consecutive free throws, as an example of his dogged pursuit of excellence. He missed on his last attempt after finally hitting 49 in a row. His father pleaded with him to join him and go home, but "Jon looked at him and said, 'No.' I'm starting over.' He didn't live until he made it to his 50th in a row."

Scheyer is Illinois' fourth-leading scorer with 3,034 points, and the only Illinois player to finish his career in all-time top ten in points (4th), rebounds, assists (6th), and steals (7th). In 2006, he was named Illinois Mr. Basketball by an overwhelming margin (receiving 217 votes, to 17 for the second-place finisher), a high school All-American, a two-time Gatorade state Player of the Year, and a three-time All-State selector). He was known as an excellent 3-point shooter, a good defensive rebounder, and a big-game performer. ESPN named him to the Illinois First Team for the tenth century, "one of the finest Illinois high school players of all time." He was also named to the "100 Legends of Illinois Basketball" (2005-2007). "Jon Scheyer is one of Illinois high school basketball's most prolific scorers," Warriors coach Larry Butler said. He was just the greatest team player. To win a game, Jon Scheyer would take the shirt off his back."

A Chicago Sun-Times article observed:

Scheyer was a member of the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

College career

Scheyer's top four college picks were Arizona, Duke, Illinois, and Wisconsin. On the other hand, Bruce Weber's brother was boosted by the fact that his high school coach was Illinois coach Bruce Weber's brother. In addition, when he had been in junior high school, he had really disliked Duke's staff because all his peers loved Duke and he wanted to be different. Despite the fact that its assistant coach Chris Collins had also attended Glenbrook North, Militing in favour of Duke. He also believed that playing for the Blue Devils gave him the best chance of competing in the Final Four. He ultimately decided to attend Duke, where he majored in History.

He started all 33 Blue Devils games as a freshman in 2006-07 and scored a season-high 26 points in a loss to North Carolina on February 7, 2007. He led all freshmen in the ACC with a.846 free throw percentage and was eighth in the ACC in minutes per game (33.7). He was voted "ACC Rookie of the Week" three times by an ACC All-Freshman Team selection and three times. With 39 steals and an average of 12.2 points per game, he came in second second on the team and tied for second on the team (third-best on the team). He tied for the third straight throws made in Duke history at 40, breaking the Duke freshman record of 115 free throws and ties for the third longest streak for uninterrupted free throws ever thrown in Duke history. Scheyer, although not primarily a point guard, spent some time on the subject due to a lack of depth at that position. Scheyer wrote, "It was a learning experience." "It made me more confident about taking the ball up the court."

Despite the fact that he was a starter as a freshman, Coach Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K) decided to start Gerald Henderson, Jr., in Scheyer's role for the majority of the season. Scheyer played in all 34 games but only once during his sophomore year. He had a career-high 12 rebounds against Pittsburgh on December 20, 2007. On February 20, 2008, he scored 27 points at Miami, the most points scored by a player off the bench in Duke history. His free throw percentage (0.89) was second in the ACC for the season, 12th in the country, and fifth-best in school history. He had a team-best 2.24:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, averaged the third most minutes-per-game on the team (28.3), and was widely praised as one of the country's best sixth men. He had 3.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.

Scheyer was named as one of three captains for the Blue Devils from 2008-09. On February 22, 2009, he scored a then-career high 30 points against Wake Forest. Scheyer was moved from shooting guard to point guard on February 19, where he had appeared in 91 games; after that, he excelled in the last 9 games of the season and into the playoffs. He played 19.7 points and 2.5 assists per game and played 1 turnover per game as a point guard, and committed 1 turnover per game. Leonard Hamilton, the Florida State Seminoles' men's basketball coach, said Scheyer had a "calming" effect on the team's offense.

Scheyer finished seventh in the ACC in free throw percentage (.841) for the season, 8th in minutes per game (32.8), tied for 8th in steals per game (32.8), and 18th in points per game (14.9). Scheyer led the Blue Devils in minutes, free throws, 3-point field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, and assists per game (2.8). After scoring 29 points in the championship game, he was named MVP of the 2009 ACC Tournament. "He's a natural competitor," Krzyzewski said after the season: "He's a natural performer." He does a good job with the ball. He scored more when he was throwing the ball up than when he didn't have the ball up. I believe the more the ball is in Jon's hands, the better." Scheyer, a 2009 ACC Academic Honor Roll pick, reflected his off-the-court success.

Scheyer and Lance Thomas were recalled captains again. Coach Krzyzewski said, "He knows, but most kids, including me, do not, know" the importance of the ball. If it's a pass, a shot, or the time on the clock, he makes good decisions with the ball. "You may not believe he's that quick, but he has superb body control." He became the first Duke player to reach 1,400 points, 400 rebounds, 250 assists, 200 3-point field goals, and 150 steals for a career on December 2, 2009. He led Duke to defeat Gardner-Webb after scoring 24 of a career-high 36 points in the first half on December 16, tying for 24 of a career-high 36 points. Although grabbing eight rebounds and receiving nine assists, he shot 11-of-13 and tied for his career-best seven 3-pointers.

Scheyer scored a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to win Duke over Georgia Tech in the ACC championship on March 14, 2010.

Scheyer had a 3-pointer to put Duke up 661–61 with 2:37 seconds remaining. With 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, the Blue Devils defeated him. With 6 assists, no turnovers, and 2 steals in Duke's Final Four victory over West Virginia, he led the team to 23 points while shooting 5 for 9 from 3-point range, with 6 assists, no turnover, and 2 steals.

Duke beat Butler 659-60, with Scheyer scoring 5 of the team's last ten points. Scheyer had 15 points in the victory and led the team with five assists, while the others had 5 assists. Quinn Buckner, the other student to win a high school state championship and an NCAA Division I championship, was the second player to win an Illinois high school state championship and a NCAA Division I championship in 1971 and 1972, and then was a champion for Indiana in 1976. Scheyer was featured on the front page of Sports Illustrated's April 12, 2010 issue.

Priority Sports founder Mark Bartelstein had a conversation with Scheyer before the NBA draft was released. Scheyer missed the NBA Draft Combine in late May and lost ten pounds as a result of mononucleosis, which forced him to miss his graduation and forced him to miss his graduation. He appeared in pre-draft workouts for ten teams in June. Scheyer was undrafted in the 2010 NBA draft.

Scheyer set the ACC all-time single-season record for minutes played in 2009-2010 (with 1,470 surpassing Dennis Scott). "I feel as though this is what I've planned my whole life to do," Scheyer said. "I'm winded" at any game. He also led the ACC in assist/turnover ratio (3.0; 2nd-best in Duke history to Steve Wojciechowski in 1997), free throw percentage (0.8 percent), and 3-point FGs made in the 2009-10 season (2.8 per game). He also ranked 2nd in games with 20 or more points (171) and was 3rd in assists (4.9 per game), 4th in assists (3.6%), and 7th in steals (1.6 per game).

He has also led the country in assist/turnover ratios for the season. He had 38 double-figure scoring games in the single season (tied for the third highest Duke season total, behind Trajan Langdon), 194 free throws (the sixth highest Duke season total; behind J. J. Redick), and he was the ninth player in Duke history to score over 100 points in four seasons. "Jon's the glue," freshman guard Andre Dawkins said. "He has the big shots."

He played in 144 games (most in team history, tied for 6th in ACC history), sank 604 free throws (3rd in Duke and ACC history), played in 144 games (tied for fifth in ACC history, behind Bobby Hurley and Redick), and ranked fifth in NCAA history (first in ACC history). In addition, he had 208 steals (8th in school history, behind Grant Hill) and had scored 2,077 points (9th on Duke's all-time list, behind Jason Williams and Gene Banks). When asked to comment on his career after being past the 2,000 points mark, he replied, "That's a cool thing." I'm not sure all the names [of those] who have reached 2,000, but it's a good list to be a part of. It's not better than a win tonight, and it's going to the Sweet 16, but it's still a great honor."

He is the first Duke player to record at least 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists, 250 3-pointers, and 200 steals in a career.

Scheyer was a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), Sporting News, and the United States Basketball Writers Association, and was a member of the 2009-2010 All-American (Second Team), a Wooden and Lowe Senior First Team All-American. He was also a unanimous All-ACC First Team pick, an ACC All-Tournament First Team pick, and an NCAA South All-Reserve and All-Final Four Team pick in 2010. In addition, he was selected to the NABC and USBWA 2009–10 All-District teams, as well as the Jewish Sports Review Division 1 All-America team. He was also a winner of the NABC Senior Achievement Award. Greivis Vasquez of Maryland came second in voting for the ACC Player of the Year Award, second in second.

Scheyer was one of six finalists for the Bob Cousy Award (as best college point guard; awarded to Greivis Vasquez), as one of ten finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in 2010 (as top NCAA Division I basketball senior), and one of ten finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award (awarded to West Virginia's Da'Sean Butler). He was also one of ten finalists for the 2010 Naismith Trophy, one of 16 finalists for the 2010 Oscar Robertson Trophy, and one of 30 mid-season contenders for the 2010 Naismith Trophy, each a national player of the year award that was not awarded to Ohio State's Evan Turner.

Professional career

Scheyer was a member of the 2010 NBA Las Vegas Summer League team of the Miami Heat. In the team's first game, he made the game-winning shot. In the team's second game, however, Joe Ingles poked him in the eye. He sustained a serious, life-changing right eye injury. He needed five stitches to close a cut to his right eyelid, his eye's optic nerve was injured, and his retina was broken, and he had a tear in its retina, which was surgically repaired.

He regained control of his eyes after being sidelined with an eye patch and numbing headaches. David Blatt, a Maccabi Tel Aviv coach, also approached Scheyer about playing in Europe.

Scheyer accepted a training camp with the Los Angeles Clippers on September 22, 2010.

Coach Vinny Del Negro observed:

He was suspended on October 9, 2010, but he was unable to attend the service. Scheyer signed the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Houston Rockets' D-League team, on February 17, 2011, which had 16 games remaining in their season, after taking additional time off to recover from his injury. He had turned down numerous invitations from abroad as well as offers from other D-League teams.

Scheyer said his eye had recovered from the painful injury he suffered in the NBA Summer League. On March 14, he had a career-high 21 points and 7 assists against Sioux Falls Skyforce, the next night, and four nights later, he tied those personal records with 24 points and 8 assists, and four nights later, he scored a new career-high 27 points, which included five three-pointers. As the team ended the season as the runner-up in the championship, he averaged 13.1 points, 4.0 assists, and 4.0 rebounds in 24 regular and post-season games.

Scheyer agreed to a two-year deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv, the European league's 2011 runners-up and five-time champion, in June 2011. Maccabi Tel Aviv was 26-1 in 2010-11, and the roster included NBA guard Jordan Farmar and former American college students Richard Hendrix (Alabama), Shawn James (Duquesne), and David Blu (University of Southern California). He began playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv on October 1, 2011.

Scheyer's team was limited to no more than four non-Israeli players, but because Scheyer's Jewish father is a convert, he was able to obtain Israeli citizenship quite quickly, and did so in September 2011. Scheyer did not count towards that number as an Israeli citizen. Scheyer said, "I am really excited to take the next step in my basketball career and play for Maccabi Tel Aviv." "I am looking forward to the opportunity to play for a team with such rich history."

Scheyer agreed to participate in the 2012 Orlando Summer League with the Philadelphia 76ers. Scheyer appeared in five games in the summer league, averaging 5.8 points and 1.4 assists per game.

Scheyer made the move to Gran Canaria 2014 in the Spanish league after his summer league stint in 2012.

Coaching career

Scheyer was promoted as a special assistant to Duke's men's basketball team by head coach Mike Krzyzewski in April 2013 after assistant coach Chris Collins' resigned in April 2013. Scheyer was promoted to a full assistant coach with Steve Wojciechowski's departure from the Blue Devils staff on April 18, 2014. Scheyer was promoted to co-associate head coach at the University of Pittsburgh after associate head coach Jeff Capel's departure to become the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh at the end of the 2018 season. Scheyer served as acting head coach for Duke's 83-82 victory over Boston College on January 6, 2021, filling in for Krzyzewski who had to miss the game because he had been quarantined after being exposed to COVID-19.

Scheyer, the 2021-2021 basketball coach, was announcing on June 2, 2021, that Scheyer would be Duke's next head basketball coach after Mike Krzyzewski's departure following Mike Krzyzewski's resignation after the 2021-2021 season came to an end. He officially became head coach in April 2022 after Krzyzewski resigned.

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