Jon Scheyer health update: Latest on Duke coach after missing SMU game with illness

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer is feeling much better and will be back on the sideline Tuesday against Pitt, he said Monday on the ACC Teleconference.

Scheyer missed Duke’s win over SMU on Saturday as he was dealing with an illness.

“It’s great to see all of you, my first time back,” Jon Scheyer said. “It was a bizarre, bizarre experience. … I felt horrible. I felt very confident in the decision we made late at night, right before the game, just because I had so much trust in our staff and our players. I felt we were prepared, the game plan was in.

“And to see them execute, to see the togetherness, to see the pride that they played with, to see the job that Chris Carrawell did, Jai [Lucas], Emanuel [Dildy]… I was really proud. I felt a lot better after the game.”

Even without Jon Scheyer, Duke dominated SMU. The Blue Devils earned an 89-62 road win to improve to 12-2 (4-0) on the year.

Scheyer was proud of the way Duke played without him and added that he learned something from the experience that should help him as a coach moving forward.

“I don’t plan on missing a game ever again. That’s not in the plans for me. … It was an amazing experience, though, when you separate yourself or take a step back, you’re able to just see things differently, because you’re not in a decision-making mode now,” Jon Scheyer said.

“It allows you just to see the team with where we’re at and even the job the coaches did. For me, I thought our toughness stood out. I thought we just had great toughness. I loved the camaraderie of the bench, when you’re observing it that way. Really connected.”

More on Jon Scheyer missing SMU game with illness

Duke announced just before tip off on Saturday that Jon Scheyer would miss the game against the Mustangs.

“NEWS: Coach Scheyer did not travel with the team to Dallas due to illness and will miss today’s game,” Duke Men’s Basketball posted on Twitter. “Associate Head Coach Chris Carrawell will serve as acting head coach. Coach Scheyer is expected to return for Tuesday’s game vs. Pitt.”

Jon Scheyer is in his third season leading the Blue Devils program after previously playing at Duke and working as a longtime assistant under former head coach Mike Krzyzewski.