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Head Coach Jon Scheyer Meets With Media Ahead of Wake Forest Matchup
12/19/2022 12:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DURHAM - Duke men's basketball head coach Jon Scheyer met with media members ahead of Duke's ACC tilt against Wake Forest on Tuesday evening. The Blue Devils and Demon Deacons tip-off at 6:30 p.m. inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, with the game set to be broadcast on ACC Network. After a nine-day break for final exams, No. 14 Duke puts two different winning streaks on the line. The Blue Devils enter Tuesday's game on a four-game winning streak and own an eight-game road winning streak dating back to last season, which is the longest active streak nationally.
HEAD COACH JON SCHEYER
On utilizing large gaps between games for practice and preparation:
"I think that with the balance of preparing for finals, we spent a good amount of time doing that this week. We went through big time stress, playing 12 games in 33 or 34 days. So, for us, it is a good chance to evaluate where we are as a team. You're playing one game in a 20 day stretch when you add in the break we have after this. For us, having a laser focus these last couple of days and getting better and improving on both ends of the ball. We need to improve a lot for our second conference game, the first road game against a team that is really good, and they're going to be hungry, coming off of a loss this past Saturday. It has been a balance for us. I think we have gotten better. We've taken some good steps. We need to go ahead and do it tomorrow night."
On team's health heading into game:
"We're getting better. Jeremy's (Roach) in good shape. He'll be ready to go for tomorrow night and Dariq (Whitehad), Dereck (Lively II), the same. We're fortunate to be able to have that; I think every team probably is going through it a little bit. There was some sickness that we've had this past week. I'm sure that's what every team goes through. It seems like everybody right now; you have something going on. For us, We're as good health wise as we've been all season, so I'm happy to say that."
On how the non-conference schedule has prepared the team for ACC conference play:
"I feel it's really helped us. There's no question about it. From a competitive standpoint, we've seen different styles of play. We played some of the best teams in the country. We've won some of those games, we've lost a couple of those games, but conference play is different. It's a different thing, especially playing on the road. I don't think it's something you can simulate, the level of importance. That doesn't mean other teams don't feel it's important when they're playing us in non-conference, but it's just a different level. This is always a time of the year where your play has to go up, the value of each possession, the competition you're going to face and then playing on the road. I think it's another step for us as a team to go through this together tomorrow night. There's no question about our non-conference schedule, I think helped us as well as it could have. I think it's really benefited us playing the home games, but also the tough, neutral site games that we played."
On having multiple facilitators on the court at one time during possessions:
"If you look at the NBA and college basketball in recent history, it's where the game has gone, not going. It's gone there where you have four, sometimes five players that can bring up the ball and initiate offense. For us, Jeremy (Roach) and Tyrese (Proctor) are the main guys that do it, they both make others better. They can handle, score and facilitate; but they're only 12 games into playing with each other. I think as the season goes along; they can get more comfortable playing off one another in that way. And then having (Kyle) Filipowski fill that position for us, where he can initiate offense or bring it up; also, Mark Mitchell, Dariq (Whitehead). Those are some of the guys that really add another dimension to us when we push it in transition. These are very early stages for us in terms of how to push and how to handle that, but I do think there's a lot of upside for our group with being able to hurt you with different guys initiating offense."
On keeping the current rotation as the season progresses:
"Honestly, I'm not even ready to think ahead that far. It's a [good] problem, a great asset for our team, the depth that we have, I really feel it's going to be a strength. That's not going away here anytime soon. I just don't see that. I think we'll learn a lot about our team over the next few games as we start ACC play, just like we did at the beginning of this season. We'll take it game by game, not trying to get too far ahead or predetermined for who should play or what should happen; that's based on the results we get in the games and practices. I can tell you we're evaluating it all the time. That's something we won't stop doing."
On playing Wake Forest for the first time as a head coach:
"I can tell you always with Wake, they're a powerful offensive team, the way that Steve Forbes, the job that he does with their offense is versatile. A lot of different guys can hurt you. And that was last year, and that's for this year as well. They played really good motion offense, and they're hard to guard. And you think about the size that last year's team had, and this year's team, those two things stand out to me. But remember, the last time we played them, it was as competitive as could be, it went down to the wire. We expect no different this year. We know it's a challenge. We know for them, coming off a loss, and for us, coming off a break; it is an important game for both teams, and that's how it's going to be moving forward. A lot of respect to them and to the coaching staff. The last thing I'll add is they're different, just like we are, I think they're figuring out who they are as a team individually, collectively, but they've shown that they can do that. Last year's team was a great example, and they only got better as the season went on and I expect the same this year."
To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".
#GoDuke
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HEAD COACH JON SCHEYER
On utilizing large gaps between games for practice and preparation:
"I think that with the balance of preparing for finals, we spent a good amount of time doing that this week. We went through big time stress, playing 12 games in 33 or 34 days. So, for us, it is a good chance to evaluate where we are as a team. You're playing one game in a 20 day stretch when you add in the break we have after this. For us, having a laser focus these last couple of days and getting better and improving on both ends of the ball. We need to improve a lot for our second conference game, the first road game against a team that is really good, and they're going to be hungry, coming off of a loss this past Saturday. It has been a balance for us. I think we have gotten better. We've taken some good steps. We need to go ahead and do it tomorrow night."
On team's health heading into game:
"We're getting better. Jeremy's (Roach) in good shape. He'll be ready to go for tomorrow night and Dariq (Whitehad), Dereck (Lively II), the same. We're fortunate to be able to have that; I think every team probably is going through it a little bit. There was some sickness that we've had this past week. I'm sure that's what every team goes through. It seems like everybody right now; you have something going on. For us, We're as good health wise as we've been all season, so I'm happy to say that."
On how the non-conference schedule has prepared the team for ACC conference play:
"I feel it's really helped us. There's no question about it. From a competitive standpoint, we've seen different styles of play. We played some of the best teams in the country. We've won some of those games, we've lost a couple of those games, but conference play is different. It's a different thing, especially playing on the road. I don't think it's something you can simulate, the level of importance. That doesn't mean other teams don't feel it's important when they're playing us in non-conference, but it's just a different level. This is always a time of the year where your play has to go up, the value of each possession, the competition you're going to face and then playing on the road. I think it's another step for us as a team to go through this together tomorrow night. There's no question about our non-conference schedule, I think helped us as well as it could have. I think it's really benefited us playing the home games, but also the tough, neutral site games that we played."
On having multiple facilitators on the court at one time during possessions:
"If you look at the NBA and college basketball in recent history, it's where the game has gone, not going. It's gone there where you have four, sometimes five players that can bring up the ball and initiate offense. For us, Jeremy (Roach) and Tyrese (Proctor) are the main guys that do it, they both make others better. They can handle, score and facilitate; but they're only 12 games into playing with each other. I think as the season goes along; they can get more comfortable playing off one another in that way. And then having (Kyle) Filipowski fill that position for us, where he can initiate offense or bring it up; also, Mark Mitchell, Dariq (Whitehead). Those are some of the guys that really add another dimension to us when we push it in transition. These are very early stages for us in terms of how to push and how to handle that, but I do think there's a lot of upside for our group with being able to hurt you with different guys initiating offense."
On keeping the current rotation as the season progresses:
"Honestly, I'm not even ready to think ahead that far. It's a [good] problem, a great asset for our team, the depth that we have, I really feel it's going to be a strength. That's not going away here anytime soon. I just don't see that. I think we'll learn a lot about our team over the next few games as we start ACC play, just like we did at the beginning of this season. We'll take it game by game, not trying to get too far ahead or predetermined for who should play or what should happen; that's based on the results we get in the games and practices. I can tell you we're evaluating it all the time. That's something we won't stop doing."
On playing Wake Forest for the first time as a head coach:
"I can tell you always with Wake, they're a powerful offensive team, the way that Steve Forbes, the job that he does with their offense is versatile. A lot of different guys can hurt you. And that was last year, and that's for this year as well. They played really good motion offense, and they're hard to guard. And you think about the size that last year's team had, and this year's team, those two things stand out to me. But remember, the last time we played them, it was as competitive as could be, it went down to the wire. We expect no different this year. We know it's a challenge. We know for them, coming off a loss, and for us, coming off a break; it is an important game for both teams, and that's how it's going to be moving forward. A lot of respect to them and to the coaching staff. The last thing I'll add is they're different, just like we are, I think they're figuring out who they are as a team individually, collectively, but they've shown that they can do that. Last year's team was a great example, and they only got better as the season went on and I expect the same this year."
To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".
#GoDuke
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Players Mentioned
F
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