Inside Cameron: Jon Scheyer on navigating Duke's roster reset and college basketball's changing landscape

DURHAM, N.C. – With a Final Four run in the rearview and eight new faces on the roster, Jon Scheyer enters year four as the head coach at Duke, a season where the goal is less about replacing talent and more about connecting it.

It is a new mix of players, but not a full reset. I was on hand for a practice inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. Before the session began, Scheyer gathered his players at midcourt and drove home the message, “I want us to enjoy the process of figuring out who we are by competing our asses off.”

That process is already underway for the 2025-26 Blue Devils, on the practice floor, in the film room, and behind the scenes. Before practice, Scheyer sat down with me to talk about the evolving identity of this group, the shifting college basketball landscape, and how he is approaching this new chapter at Duke.

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You’ve recently signed a 2-year extension to be the head coach at Duke through 2030-31. You’ve invested a lot into this school, as a player, a coach — on a personal – and professional level – what does it mean to you have this school invest in Jon Scheyer like they have?

“Yeah, it’s really meaningful. Duke is where I want to be. I want to do big things here, and obviously I’m proud of what we’ve done through three years, but I feel there’s a lot more that we can do and accomplish. And just to have that mutual respect and the fact that Nina (King) has that confidence in me, it means a lot.”

You’re entering year four as the head coach at Duke. You’ve experienced a Final Four and NBA Draft picks. Every team that you have is different. It’s early, but what are you seeing as the identity or personality of this team ?

“I think it’s still being shaped. You know, we haven’t had our full team together at one time this year yet. 
Maliq (Brown) is still out, and hopefully we get him back really soon. But I think the thing that’s consistent with this year’s group is versatility, size, and skill. I think they’ve shown a really good competitiveness so far. 
And, how we come together beyond that, I think time will tell. We’re still working on it, but I think that versatility and the ability to be a really sound defensive team is what it jumps out to me so far.”

Looking at your rosters so far at Duke, a lot of the production comes from the players you recruited out of high school. When you look at building your rosters, how do you view retention vs high school vs portal? 

“I think the biggest thing I tell people is you can’t look at it in a vacuum. Every decision is made, understanding, the strength of a high school class, understanding the retention that you can get — and base that on year to year. 
And then, understanding the transfer portal, that’s never gonna be the main way for us, but it’s been a positive thing for the right guys. So, I think it’s a combination of all the above.

“And each year it may vary. Ideally, we’re not as young as we are this year, that’s not the goal. But for me, the challenge and the character of the people we were able to recruit [this season] outweighed the fact that you would want more experience. So I think that’s the fine line, you know.”

You were one of first programs to hire a GM. What gave you the foresight to hire Rachel (Baker) in that role and the how has her position helped the program as a whole?

“Well, it’s crazy because I think that the initial intention we had has completely shifted from when NIL was a real thing in house. I think it’s just her knowledge, her feel, that’s made me a lot better understanding that there’s so much more you have to do as a head coach to think about a program from an off the court perspective. She’s the one leading that charge and takes a lot off my plate. She has my complete trust. We work hand in hand. And then her feel with just people and what’s been successful at Duke and how to build teams as a GM has been a really valuable asset for me.”

Cam (Boozer) comes to Duke, like Zion, Cooper, Paolo, and others before him, with all those stars by his name. But with those stars come expectations. What did you see from Cam during the recruiting process to target him and what have you seen so far in the early stages of his Duke career? 

“Well, I just think he’s so competitive. He’s done at the highest stage up until now. And the best thing that he’s done is win. Obviously, we’re going to lean heavily on him. I don’t think there’s anybody like him in the country. 
Look, he’s as big as Paolo (Banchero) is and he’s skilled. He has a different game than Paulo, but he’s the ultimate team player who makes everybody better on the floor. He’s very hard on himself. 
And so when you have your best player, where you can coach them hard and he’s hard on himself, it sets the table for everybody else.

You’re heading into year four as a head coach, and even in that time the landscape has shifted. What are some of the biggest challenges you’re having to navigate through?

“I think the biggest challenge is year to year, not knowing. You know, is this rev share world the world we’re going to be living in? Or is it going to be rev share plus additional ways of creating income for players? 
And I think if you ask any coach, they’re going to tell you they want they want clarity and they want to be within a set of rules. But the concern comes into play for coaches and programs, where you wonder if you’re playing on a level playing field or recruiting on a level playing field. So, I think the lack of clarity.

“Then you start getting into the transfer portal. 
Everybody says, “Man, it’s hard year to year, you have to build a new roster.” That’s not the hardest part. The hardest part is the fact that you don’t know who’s coming back. If you knew, even if it wasn’t a lot, then you could build accordingly. So, I think that makes it tough. 
So, again, clarity and transparency, those are the biggest challenges.”

Looking through this roster, all five starters from last year’s Final Four team are now playing pro ball. You do, however, return some familiar faces. Let’s start in the back court. What kind of progression are you seeing from Caleb (Foster), Isaiah (Evans), and Darren (Harris)? 

“Yeah, I mean, look, we need them to use their experience that they have and transfer it over to what they do every single day. I think the experience really translates into consistency in their approach. And consistency in, we call it 98 percent, you know, the plays you’re making without the ball. You have the ball in your hands two percent of the time, even if you’re a really good player. And so those kinds of things, I think they’re making jumps, they’re progressing just like everybody else is. But look, getting five guys back from that team is important, because we went through a lot together. I think that gives us a good base and a good relationship to build from.”

We talked about Cam earlier, but you also bring in Nik (Khamenia), Dame (Sarr), and Cayden (Boozer), to this team. 
I don’t want to ask what are your expectations of them, but what are you seeing from them so far?

“Well, I think it’s their feel for how to play the game. You know, it’s their competitiveness. 
One of the things we liked about all the guys you just mentioned; in high school, we felt like they were as good of competitors as there were in the country. And they’ve been that here. They’re hard on themselves, they compete, they play hard every play. So, I’ve love coaching them man. And they’re just going to get better and better and better.”

Lastly, what can we expect from this year’s Duke team? 
What can we expect this team to be about?

“We have an incredibly difficult schedule, the hardest I think I’ve ever been a part of. And I think I’ve set our guys up in some respects. But I think this team will be defined by how we come back.
We’re going to be so far from who we can be at the beginning of the season. I mean, the reality is, our first game is going to be played within a week or two of having our full group together. And that’s not an excuse. 
That’s just the reality of the position we’re in. And I think this group, the connectivity they’re gonna play with, the toughness they’re gonna play with, those are two things I want us to be defined by. And I think as you watch us, you’ll see that.”