Tag: Jon Scheyer

March finally arrives: Where is Duke in KenPom’s efficiency margin as the month starts?

With the famous month finally upon the college basketball world, see which peers Duke is ahead of and behind in KenPom’s efficiency ratings.

It’s finally here. We’ve finally made it to March.

With the sun rising on college basketball’s most famous month and the titular NCAA Tournament just weeks away, here’s a glance at where Duke sits in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin.

The Blue Devils are currently eighth in the national rankings as of March 1. They’re once again the highest-ranked team in the ACC with a narrow lead over rival North Carolina, who sits ninth.

The high ranking should reassure those in Durham, as a grand majority of the past dozen national champions ended the regular season as one of the site’s top 10 teams.

Duke has boasted a top-10 offense for much of the season, and KenPom currently measures the Blue Devils with 1.224 adjusted points per possession, the eighth-best mark in the country.

The Duke defense has come along as well, with the Blue Devils now up to 25th in adjusted defensive efficiency.

Houston holds a dominant lead on the top overall spot, with Purdue, Connecticut, Arizona, and Tennessee rounding out the rest of the top five.

Duke’s Saturday opponent, a feisty Virginia squad right on the tournament bubble, is 63rd in the national rankings but boasts the 10th-best defense.

Wake Forest athletic director releases statement after Saturday’s court-storming incident

Wake Forest athletic director John Currie released a statement on Saturday to express regret for the court-storming incident that injured Kyle Filipowski.

Court-storming became a hot-button issue for all the wrong reasons on Saturday when Duke star Kyle Filipowski got caught in a crowd of Demon Deacons fans and ended up needing to be helped off the court.

Filipowski said he hurt his knee during the debacle, and replay showed some Wake Forest fans made their way onto the court before the final buzzer sounded.

Wake Forest athletic director John Currie released a statement on the incident later on Saturday evening.

“On behalf of Wake Forest, we sincerely regret the unfortunate on-court incident following (Saturday) afternoon’s men’s basketball game and hope the involved Duke student-athlete is doing better,” Currie wrote.

The athletic director added that he called Duke athletic director Nina King to apologize, and he reached out to ACC Senior Associate Commissioner Paul Brazeau to do the same.

Currie also expressed his support for Duke head coach Jon Scheyer, who emphatically asked for court-storming to be banned after the incident.

“I am in complete agreement that something more must be done,” Currie wrote. “And Wake Forest looks forward to being a part of those conversations.”

Wake Forest fans stormed the court after Duke upset and seemingly injured Blue Devils’ Kyle Filipowski

Wake Forest fans storming the court on Saturday resulted in Duke’s Kyle Filipowski being injured.

An upset victory for the Wake Forest men’s basketball team against ACC rival Duke on Saturday quickly changed its tenor after a player was seemingly injured during the ensuing court-storming by Wake Forest fans.

Duke standout center Kyle Filipowski sprained his ankle, coach Jon Scheyer said, after he got caught in the large group of fans storming the court at Wake Forest’s Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Demon Deacons fans stormed the court as soon as the clock hit zero, which did not allow for Filipowski to get off the court in time to avoid the rushing crowd. He was helped off by his Duke teammates after he got caught up in the mayhem.

An overhead video from ESPN shows that purposeful contact might’ve been made during the sequence where Filipowski was injured.

Scheyer lamented about Filipowski’s injury in his postgame press conference and called for court-storming to be banned.

Filipowski felt that the contact was intentional on behalf of Wake Forest fans.

Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes joined Scheyer in condoning the court-storming that left Filipowski injured.

Filipowski is the second high-profile college hoops player to be injured during a court-storming. Iowa women’s basketball sensation Caitlin Clark collided with an Ohio State fan storming the court in January.

If Filipowski misses significant time, it will only further the calls for the ACC (and the NCAA at large) to better regulate, or ban altogether, storming the court in college basketball.

College basketball analysts and fans had plenty of thoughts about this unfortunate incident.

Duke coach Jon Scheyer calls for a court-storming ban after Kyle Filipowski’s injury

“When are we going to ban court-storming?” Jon Scheyer said after Kyle Filipowski was injured amid celebrating Wake Forest fans.

No. 8 Duke lost its sixth game of the 2023-24 season Saturday against Wake Forest, and afterward, things took a bad turn for the Blue Devils.

As the clock hit zeros and the Demon Deacons secured their upset victory at home, fans stormed the court, and the rest of the crowd at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum went wild. The problem was that Duke players were, of course, still on the court when the fans rushed it, specifically sophomore center Kyle Filipowski.

Filipowski — who finished the game with a team-high of 17 points — was standing near the Wake Forest logo when he was seemingly plowed into by stampeding Demon Deacons fans. Filipowski appeared to be instantly injured, and Duke players and staff surrounded him and helped him off the court.

Afterward, Duke coach Jon Scheyer said Filipowski sprained his ankle and made a compelling argument for banning storming the court — a change multiple coaches in college hoops have pushed for recently.

He said:

“Disappointed we lost. But look, for me, I’m more concerned about the well-being of our guys. [Filipowski] sprains his ankle — when are we going to ban court-storming? Like, when are we going to ban that? Like, how many times does a player have to get into something where they get punched or they get pushed or they get taunted right in their face? And it’s a dangerous thing.”

Afterward on Twitter, Filipowski seemed to agree with his coach.

Scheyer also added that his concerns for Filipowski and about storming the court in general were not meant to diminish Wake Forest’s win and argued the Demon Deacons should make the men’s NCAA tournament. He continued:

“I don’t want that to take away from the game that Wake played, bc Wake played a big time game. Salas was as good as could be today. And hats off to them. But you look around the country, and Caitlin Clark, something happens. now flip. I don’t know what his status is going to be. He sprained his ankle. …

“And this has happened to us a bunch this year. As part of it, I don’t want this to take away at all, from Wake. They earned it. They deserve the win. Steve [Forbes] is a hell of a coach. I respect the heck out of him and his team. They’re really good. And if this isn’t an example that they need to be in the tournament, what are we even talking about?”

Scheyer referenced an incident involving Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark from January when Ohio State fans stormed the court after beating the Hawkeyes, and one fan collided with Clark, knocking her down.

More via USA TODAY Sports from that incident last month:

“[It was] kind of scary and could’ve caused a pretty serious injury to me and knocked the wind out of me, but luckily my teammates kind of picked me up and got me off the court,” Clark said in a post-game press conference.

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Caleb Foster hurts ankle in the second half against Wake Forest, Scheyer says

Freshman guard Caleb Foster suffered a suspected ankle injury in the closing half against the Demon Deacons, head coach Jon Scheyer revealed after the game.

Kyle Filipowski wasn’t the only Blue Devil injured after halftime against Wake Forest on Saturday.

Freshman guard Caleb Foster, who has started the past several games for Duke, injured his ankle during the second half against the Demon Deacons, according to postgame comments from head coach Jon Scheyer.

Foster played 22 minutes against the Demon Deacons, scoring eight points on 3/5 shooting with three rebounds and an assist.

The 6-foot-5 North Carolina native is averaging 7.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game this season, and he’s shooting 43.7% from the floor and 40.6% from beyond the 3-point line.

He’s appeared in all 27 of Duke’s games this season, and Saturday was his 15th start of the season.

Foster’s best game of the season came against Pittsburgh shortly after the new year began when he scored 16 points on nine shots and added six rebounds and five assists.

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer calls for a ban of court storming after Filipowski injury

After Iowa star women’s basketball player Caitlin Clark ran into an Ohio State fan last month and Kyle Filipowski was hurt against Wake Forest on Saturday, Jon Scheyer didn’t mince words while calling for a court-storming ban.

Duke star forward Kyle Filipowski needed to be helped off the court with a knee injury after he collided with a Wake Forest fan after Saturday’s game.

The injury came after a sold-out Demon Deacons crowd stormed the court after the upset win, and Duke head coach Jon Scheyer didn’t mince words on his thoughts about the practice after the game.

“I’m more concerned about the well-being of our guys,” Scheyer said. “When are we going to ban court storming?”

“How many times does a player have to get into something where they get punched or they get pushed or they get taunted right in their face? It’s a dangerous thing.”

Scheyer said he didn’t want the incident to take away from the Demon Deacons’ victory, but he referenced remembering that fans gave players a few seconds to get off the court when he was a player.

Scheyer also referenced Iowa star women’s basketball player Caitlin Clark, who collided with an Ohio State fan after an upset loss earlier this season.

“That needs to stop,” Scheyer said to conclude his comments.

Jon Scheyer left off Naismith Award Men’s College Coach of the Year watch list

The Naismith Awards revealed its Men’s College Coach of the Year watch list on Friday, and Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer was not among the 15 finalists.

The Naismith Awards released their late-season watch list for Men’s College Coach of the Year on Friday, and Duke head coach Jon Scheyer was not among the 15 finalists listed.

Scheyer’s Blue Devils are tied atop the ACC with a 12-3 conference record, and 16 wins in their last 18 games have them 21-5 on the season as a whole. They’re currently eighth in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency metric.

North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis was the only ACC coach who made the cut. Other notable names include Purdue’s Matt Painter, Houston’s Kelvin Sampson, Auburn’s Bruce Pearl, and Connecticut’s Dan Hurley.

The committee also recognized Bryce Drew from Grand Canyon, Anthony Grant from Dayton, and Josh Schertz from Indiana State for their work with smaller programs. All 15 finalists can be seen below.

Of teams within the top 10 of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll as of February 23, five coaches didn’t make the final watch list. Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, Tennessee’s Rick Barnes, Marquette’s Shaka Smart, and Kansas’s Bill Self also failed to make the final cut.

Andy Katz names Jared McCain his Player of the Week following 35-point outburst against Florida State

Duke freshman Jared McCain was named Andy Katz’ Player of the Week after a 35-point game against FSU and a double-double against Wake Forest.

By now, Jared McCain’s scintillating shooting performance in Tallahassee has introduced him to everyone in college basketball.

The true freshman from Sacramento, California, opened up more eyes this weekend after his 35 points helped carry Duke to a win on the road against an always-tough Florida State team coached by Leonard Hamilton.

Duke needed every single point McCain provided. For his efforts, McCain was named ACC Rookie of the Week, and college basketball reporter Andy Katz called McCain his national Player of the Week.

McCain’s week ended with the win and 35-point explosion over FSU, but earlier that week against Wake Forest, McCain also dropped a 17-point double-double while shooting 3/7 from distance.

He averaged a whopping 26 points per game for the week, and his total field goal percentage for the week’s games was 53%, He shot 61% from the 3-point line.

For good measure, McCain averaged seven rebounds a game, too.

 

We’ve discussed how McCain tied a Duke freshmen record held by a legendary one-and-done player, Zion Williamson. Still, McCain is now flirting with a place within the top 10 all-time 3-point shooting seasons by a Duke freshman. He’s tied currently with Austin Rivers at No. 10 with 58 made threes. One more 3-pointer with eight games left would see him officially pass Rivers and firmly move inside the top 10.

With four more makes from deep, he’d pass his head coach, Jon Scheyer, who had 61 in his freshman season at Duke.

With McCain, Duke has found a dynamic long-range threat that could affect how teams gameplan for Duke the rest of the way—playing off that could benefit Duke greatly as they continue to push toward the NCAA Tournament.

Five takeaways from No. 9 Duke’s 76-67 win on the road against Florida State

Five takeaways from No. 9 Duke’s 76-67 win over Florida State.

Duke entered the day just a half-game out of first place in the ACC as they entered a pivotal part of the schedule.

UNC, the conference leaders this year as it stands, remained the leaders as they disposed of Virginia Tech at home. Behind Duke, Virginia held off Wake Forest at home to remain hot on their trails as they look to close the tiny gap between them and the Tobacco Road teams for the lead in the ACC.

To stay a half-game behind, Duke (20-5, 11-3 in the ACC) needed a win on the road in Tallahassee, Florida. They received just that behind one of Duke’s most memorable freshman performances in years. Freshman guard Jared McCain poured in 35 points on 12/20 shooting and 8/11 from three-point land.

McCain was exceptional from the opening tip and continued until the final buzzer. Duke was without sophomore point guard Tyrese Proctor, who suffered a concussion in the Blue Devils’ home game against Wake Forest early in the week. Meanwhile, sophomore Kyle Filipowski was also plagued by foul trouble and only scored eight points. Combine that with Duke turning the ball over 16 times, and Duke needed every bit of the effort they received from everyone who played on Saturday to beat Florida State (13-12, 7-7.)

In a vacuum, it’s one of the better wins of the season, even if it doesn’t look like it on their NCAA resume.

With that said, here are five takeaways from the game itself.

Blue Devils mourn the passing of Duke Athletics Hall of Famer Lefty Driesell

Former Blue Devil basketball player and legendary collegiate coach Lefty Driesell passed away on Saturday. He was 92.

Duke Athletics Hall of Famer and former Blue Devil basketball player Charles “Lefty” Driesell passed away at the age of 92 on Saturday.

Driesell, who graduated from Duke in 1954, played for two seasons with the Blue Devils. He averaged 4.0 points per game as a player, but his biggest contributions to college basketball came as a coach.

Across 41 seasons on the sidelines, Driesell coached for Davidson, Maryland, James Madison, and Georgia State. He made his biggest imprint with the Terrapins, where he spent 17 seasons from 1970-86 and won 348 games. He finished his four-decade coaching career in 2003 with a 786-394 all-time record, and he was named the ACC Coach of the Year twice (1975, 1980).

Driesell still ranks 15th on the career D-I coaching wins list.

Duke released a statement on Driesell’s passing with comments from former coach Mike Krzyzewski and current head coach Jon Scheyer.

“He lit up every room he walked into, and I loved any time I was able to spend with him,” Krzyzewski said. “Lefty was the ultimate winner.”

“I had the privilege of interacting with Lefty several times and he was always so down-to-earth and relatable,” Scheyer said. “Any time with Lefty was thoroughly enjoyable. We were blessed he was with us for so long.”

Driesell was inducted into the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993, and he was a member of the 2018 class in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.