Jon Scheyer On Why He Hired Jai Lucas

Possibly not what you were thinking

When people first learned that Jon Scheyer was recruiting Jai Lucas away from Kentucky to join Duke’s staff, the natural thought was that he was recruiting him so that Lucas could bring his recruiting skills to Durham.

And he is an excellent recruiter and that does play a role. But as it turns out, that’s not the only reason.

Scheyer says he brought him because he has, at 33, vast experience with terrific coaches and that gives him a chance to shake things up a bit. This is what he told Andy Katz: “Look, ‘the Brotherhood’ is still strong and alive and well. You know, for us, we had an opportunity to really take a fresh look, fresh perspective and, you know, talking to Jai, one, you think about the places he’s been, you know, Florida, Texas, Kentucky. Great coaches he’s been around in Coach [John Calipari], and Coach [Rick] Barnes, you know, and Coach [Shaka] Smart. I mean, to get that perspective and that experience at his age, it really doesn’t happen.”

That’s really pretty cool because it suggests that Jon Scheyer, unlike say the disaster that was Matt Doherty, realizes that he could learn stuff from other places.

Obviously we’re not saying that Mike Krzyzewski couldn’t do that. He did that a lot, notably by pinching Jim Boeheim’s zone defense, and he always emphasized the importance of learning and being open.

But we have no guarantees that Scheyer will be the same way. The reasoning he shows here suggests that he’ll at least be open to possibilities, which is great.