Tyler Hansbrough praises Jon Scheyer despite North Carolina-Duke rivalry

Jon Scheyer and Tyler Hansbrough go way back. The pair’s collegiate careers overlapped from 2006-09, and they face off six times. Now, Scheyer is Duke‘s head coach, while Hansbrough remains a North Carolina legend.

Normally, the rivalry between a Blue Devil and Tar Heels carries over far beyond their playing days. However, in Scheyer’s case, Hansbrough is willing to make an exception.

“As a head coach, he’s done a great job. And, arguably, he’s done the best job, as far as getting top-tier talent, young talent, and making the most out of it, and also doing it multiple years in a row, which is a very difficult thing,” Hansbrough said. “You got to give him a lot of credit. Following Coach K, that’s not an easy task when you follow a great coach like that. And really, we haven’t seen much of a drop off.

“Believe it or not, I like Scheyer. I’ve said this before, it was kind of my knock, he seemed like he’s a little bit too nice of a guy. But, you go from Coach K, who was kind of like the Dark Vader-type character, and then you go to John Scheyer. It really didn’t make sense, but he’s done a great job.”

Scheyer is in his fourth season as Duke’s head coach. Last season, he led the program to a Final Four. He guided the Blue Devils to an Elite Eight appearance the previous year.

As Hansbrough mentioned, Scheyer is regularly recruited and produced elite talent. Most recently, Scheyer mentored Cooper Flagg, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

This season, Duke freshman forward Cameron Boozer is a frontrunner to win ACC Player of the Year and is projected to be a lottery pick. While Scheyer is undoubtedly an exceptional coach, Hansbrough owns bragging rights from their playing days.

Hansbrough posted a 5-1 record in his six showdowns against Scheyer. Nonetheless, Hansbrough admits Scheyer was a great player in his own right.

“The first thing I think when you talk about Jon Scheyer as a player, is he’s an absolute knock-down, 3-point shooter. You cannot leave him open. It was always on the scouting report,” Hansbrough said. “The other thing is, Sheyer is a little taller than he actually looks when you play against him. So, he can get that shot off pretty good.”

“But, a very competitive player, and kind of a grimy player as well. Willing to mix it up a little bit. But, he wasn’t an inside guy coming in there banging around with the big dogs.”