DURHAM, N.C. -- Coach Jon Scheyer said Thursday that Duke was his "dream job" and he's in it for the "long haul" after an offseason in which he was pursued by the Dallas Mavericks.
At Duke's media day, Scheyer was asked about his brief dalliance with the Mavericks before they hired former Michigan coach Dusty May.
"I know right where I'm supposed to be," Scheyer said. "And not many people can get their dream job at 33, and I'm in this for the long haul with Duke."
League sources told ESPN's Tim MacMahon in June that the Mavericks gauged the interest of Scheyer, who coached Dallas star Cooper Flagg during his one season at Duke.
Scheyer is entering his fifth season as Duke's coach, directly following in the footsteps of legendary Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski, who won five national championships during his 42 seasons with the Blue Devils. The Blue Devils have reached the Elite Eight in three straight seasons, including a Final Four run in 2025. Duke's 70 wins over the past two seasons, including last year's 35-3 campaign, are the most in a two-year span in program history.
But in each of those past two seasons, the Blue Devils' run toward a national championship has ended in heartbreaking fashion. In 2025, Duke led Houston by nine points with just over two minutes remaining before losing by three points in the national semifinal. Last season, the Blue Devils led UConn by as many as 19 points in the regional final before losing on a 35-foot 3-pointer from Braylon Mullins.
"What makes a great competitor to me is you don't take things lightly or you don't let things go," Scheyer said of the loss to UConn. "So that one, I'm going to carry with me, but it's really also not going to define me at the same time. And for our group, I want them not to feel like they're making up for anything. They have to continue to realize you're not part of the three [losses], you're not part of the 35 [wins], you're 0-0."
Scheyer and Duke enter their first season since 2023-24 without the best player in the country. Two seasons ago, it was Flagg leading the way, averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists en route to the Wooden Award and the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. Last season, Cameron Boozer took the baton and posted 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists, sweeping every Player of the Year award and getting selected third in June's NBA draft.
This year's team will look different -- and older. After starting three freshmen during Flagg's season and seeing four freshmen earn starts last season, Duke could open the season by starting five players with college experience.
But there's still a highly touted recruiting class coming in, setting up Scheyer to have his deepest team at Duke.
"It's been built on nothing being promised to any of these guys when they came back or when they came in," Scheyer said. "It's built on how to continue to evolve with our program and where we need to go. And a big focus for us has been the 98%. It's all the ways you impact the game without the ball. And that's been a big thing for us.
"We've got a great group, great character, and I think we can have good depth, but depth means nothing if you don't sacrifice and you don't have the connectedness. So that's what we're focused on."
Duke, ranked No. 2 in ESPN's top 25, opens the regular season at home against Army on Nov. 2.
