Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Tennessee on October 26, 2025 at 7 p.m.
/
7 p.m.
Men's Basketball
at Tennessee
.png&width=24&height=24&type=webp)
Coach Scheyer, Players Meet With Media Ahead of ACC Tournament Quarterfinal
3/7/2023 7:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DURHAM - Duke men's basketball head coach Jon Scheyer along with graduate Ryan Young and freshman Tyrese Proctor met with media members on Thursday ahead of Duke's ACC Tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday night.
HEAD COACH JON SCHEYER
On what lessons he learned as a player about the postseason that he can translate to his team:
"I think the biggest thing is that, no matter how you ended up the regular season, no matter how you did overall, it really has no impact on what you do in the ACC Tournament. And you need to address it like a new season. You can't think of it, you can't even think about Friday or Saturday. It's all about Thursday for us. It is different not knowing who you're going to play yet, but of course, we'll be watching and we'll be preparing. We'll see this game today and then obviously tomorrow, but that's the biggest thing. You can't assume it's just gonna happen. You have to go make it happen."
On Tyrese Proctor's journey and development:
"Yeah, he's grown as much as any player we've ever had as a freshman. From beginning to end of the season. His development has been terrific. The job that Jai Lucas has done with him, on a daily basis, hey have a great routine. And his confidence growing throughout the course of the year is what I'm most proud of because we throw him into the fire. He absolutely went through some growing pains early on in the year and he just stuck with it, man. Just stuck with it. And now he's become one of the best guards in our league and has a chance to be a really, really special player."
On what it's taken for Duke to playing their best basketball over the past three weeks:
"Yes, it's taken a lot for us. We've gone through, you guys have heard me talk about the ups and downs and the adversity that we've gone through this year. I truly don't think you can get to the maximum, the best potential of your team though, if you don't go through that stuff. And so for us, do you like to lose? No. Do you like to not play as well? No. But it does teach you what you can and can't do. But for us, that's the reason why we're at that point now. Our guys have been as consistent as any group in terms of the work ethic and the approach. And we've done it a different way. We've really done it with our defense, and we've had to play a little bit differently because of our roster and that's worked out to help us in a major way, especially in March."
On how quickly he noticed a change in the team's attitude after the player's meeting and how important player leadership is:
"I noticed it right away. I noticed it the day before the Virginia game. The practice that we had. And guys weren't hanging their heads. There was a seriousness and there was a hunger that I felt that those guys had. Whatever they said, it was something really good. I think it's just, you can't fake it. I guess that's the best way to put it. Other teams can have meetings and certain teams that even we've had where you meet, but if it's really from the heart, if it's really what you feel inside and you share with your teammates, then it translates into what we've seen on the court. Really, we've been a different team since that game. Look, I would be lying to you if part of this wasn't the continuity we've had too. It's the best stretch we've had of getting to have a set rotation and learning how to play with each other. But it's really more about the attitude and approach that we had from the leaders. Jeremy [Roach], Jake [Grandison], Ryan [Young] and then the rest of the group."
On the team's recent ability to close out close games and how that can factor into March:
"Well, in March you have to grind out close games, and we've been prepared. We've been in a lot of close games this year. And some of them weren't close, where it's a 10 point game and if you could figure out a way to put it away as opposed to it being a two or four point game down the stretch, but we've also learned from those experiences. And we haven't just learned what it's like to be in them but also how to win them. And so I feel that's given us a lot of confidence, making free throws at the end of games and also getting key stops. The Carolina game is a great example, being up three, to get one final stop. We have to use those. Literally after every game we've watched film and learned from each one. And I do think that's translated where it's given us an older group heading into the postseason."
On why he focused on defense as the image for the first team he constructed:
"I can't tell you, there's where you're putting a team together, you have a feel and a vision for how the team may play and what we may do. The reality of what makes you successful, you find out once you're with them on daily basis. And so I think that's shifted for us throughout the summer and the fall and through the course of this season. But it became very clear to us once we got our team together, that we were going to be as big as any team we've had. I didn't know we'd be the rebounding team. I couldn't tell you that in the summer. All of a sudden, we start playing games and it's, wow, this jumps off the page at you. So then you adjust to it, you adapt to it. You adapt to the way Mark Mitchell has really played as of late, and so then there's some new things you have to do there. There's [Kyle] Filipowski, the improvement that he made. So, I think it's an evolution of what you expect. And then you have to adjust to, especially with the young team, how they develop and how they come along. But I can't tell you this is exactly the way that I thought it would be. But I do know the belief, that we are going to be in a place to be really successful, that never wavered."
GRADUATE FORWARD RYAN YOUNG
On his initial thoughts about his first ACC Tournament:
"It's exciting because I think it's pretty open right now. There's a lot of good teams and a lot of people are playing their best ball right now so it should be exciting to see who can make it to the top and claim the ACC Tournament. Obviously, I've played in a few Big 10 Tournaments myself, so it's going to be a good test for our group to see how both mentally and physically tough we can be over the next few days."
On what he tells the younger players that have not been in tournament basketball before:
"Yeah, I think the biggest thing, and we talked a lot about this before the last game, is staying the course. There's a lot of up and downs over the course of a few days. Especially just if you keep winning, obviously you gotta go from all the highs of emotion of a of a big-time win to immediately starting to scout for the next team, you have limited time. So, staying the course and staying poised, which has been a factor consistent for our whole season, but it's gonna be most important coming up here in tournament play."
On the player meeting after the Miami loss:
"It's funny, I've been in college basketball a while, so I've had a few of these player-led meetings that occur in the middle of the year. And they typically follow a tough loss. But it's an important part, there's no undefeated team in the country this year, everybody's taken some tough losses on the chin and that's what happened to us at Miami. I think a lot of us were really disappointed in the way that we came out. Obviously, Coach Scheyer and the staff expressed their frustration as well, but a lot of it came from everybody on the team, I guess naturally it was some more of the older guys, myself and Jake [Grandison] and Jeremy [Roach] that took a little bit of the control in this situation just because we've had it. But the younger guys were as frustrated as we were in our performance that day. So, I think it was more so just coming together and trying to talk through where we want to go through the rest of this year. That was really a breaking point for us, in terms of kind of where we were in the standings, where we had been, and we knew that we controlled our own destiny at that point. I think we went to Virginia right after that. And we were going to play a lot of the teams at the top of the conference. So, we knew that that was going to be an imperative time to say, 'the time is now'. Because I think it was pretty natural in terms of the development of it. But like I said, Jake, and myself and Jeremy, every year you have a few of those meetings and sometimes tempers flare, sometimes there's some tough love, but every team goes through it. And I think it's been great for us. It's made us come closer and play more together and it's led to a few wins in a row here."
FRESHMAN GUARD TYRESE PROCTOR
On his development over the course of the season in terms of ball-handling and defense:
"Yeah, I think it's sort of like Ryan said, just staying the course. Obviously coming over here, I knew it was going to be a challenge. It's a completely different game. I don't think I thought about it too much before I came over here how different it really was and I guess just kept working on my craft and kept watching film and just staying the course is the biggest thing. The defensive piece, I think just locking in and taking pride of not letting my man score on me has jumped a long way. Just realizing how important every possession is throughout a game."
On his and his freshmen teammates' ability to play high-pressure minutes:
"I think it just goes to show how locked in and ready we are. I think all of our guys are ready as soon as their number gets called to go out and perform. We trust one another and Coach Scheyer trusts us, so just having the trust to put us out there in those high high-pressure minutes."
On if he agrees with Coach Scheyer about him and other freshmen no longer being freshmen:
"Yeah. I agree with that. I don't think any of us feel like we are freshmen in a sense anymore. Just because of the roles that we've had on the team. And we all knew at the start of the season our roles coming into the team, and it was pretty clear early on that we'd have to grow up quick. And I feel like we have. I feel like our freshman group is one of the more mature freshmen groups in the country, and it just happens naturally, I guess, because of the situation that we're in. … Everyone knowing their roles, not trying to do too much. And just playing to our strengths. I think those are all three big things."
To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".
#GoDuke
HEAD COACH JON SCHEYER
On what lessons he learned as a player about the postseason that he can translate to his team:
"I think the biggest thing is that, no matter how you ended up the regular season, no matter how you did overall, it really has no impact on what you do in the ACC Tournament. And you need to address it like a new season. You can't think of it, you can't even think about Friday or Saturday. It's all about Thursday for us. It is different not knowing who you're going to play yet, but of course, we'll be watching and we'll be preparing. We'll see this game today and then obviously tomorrow, but that's the biggest thing. You can't assume it's just gonna happen. You have to go make it happen."
On Tyrese Proctor's journey and development:
"Yeah, he's grown as much as any player we've ever had as a freshman. From beginning to end of the season. His development has been terrific. The job that Jai Lucas has done with him, on a daily basis, hey have a great routine. And his confidence growing throughout the course of the year is what I'm most proud of because we throw him into the fire. He absolutely went through some growing pains early on in the year and he just stuck with it, man. Just stuck with it. And now he's become one of the best guards in our league and has a chance to be a really, really special player."
On what it's taken for Duke to playing their best basketball over the past three weeks:
"Yes, it's taken a lot for us. We've gone through, you guys have heard me talk about the ups and downs and the adversity that we've gone through this year. I truly don't think you can get to the maximum, the best potential of your team though, if you don't go through that stuff. And so for us, do you like to lose? No. Do you like to not play as well? No. But it does teach you what you can and can't do. But for us, that's the reason why we're at that point now. Our guys have been as consistent as any group in terms of the work ethic and the approach. And we've done it a different way. We've really done it with our defense, and we've had to play a little bit differently because of our roster and that's worked out to help us in a major way, especially in March."
On how quickly he noticed a change in the team's attitude after the player's meeting and how important player leadership is:
"I noticed it right away. I noticed it the day before the Virginia game. The practice that we had. And guys weren't hanging their heads. There was a seriousness and there was a hunger that I felt that those guys had. Whatever they said, it was something really good. I think it's just, you can't fake it. I guess that's the best way to put it. Other teams can have meetings and certain teams that even we've had where you meet, but if it's really from the heart, if it's really what you feel inside and you share with your teammates, then it translates into what we've seen on the court. Really, we've been a different team since that game. Look, I would be lying to you if part of this wasn't the continuity we've had too. It's the best stretch we've had of getting to have a set rotation and learning how to play with each other. But it's really more about the attitude and approach that we had from the leaders. Jeremy [Roach], Jake [Grandison], Ryan [Young] and then the rest of the group."
On the team's recent ability to close out close games and how that can factor into March:
"Well, in March you have to grind out close games, and we've been prepared. We've been in a lot of close games this year. And some of them weren't close, where it's a 10 point game and if you could figure out a way to put it away as opposed to it being a two or four point game down the stretch, but we've also learned from those experiences. And we haven't just learned what it's like to be in them but also how to win them. And so I feel that's given us a lot of confidence, making free throws at the end of games and also getting key stops. The Carolina game is a great example, being up three, to get one final stop. We have to use those. Literally after every game we've watched film and learned from each one. And I do think that's translated where it's given us an older group heading into the postseason."
On why he focused on defense as the image for the first team he constructed:
"I can't tell you, there's where you're putting a team together, you have a feel and a vision for how the team may play and what we may do. The reality of what makes you successful, you find out once you're with them on daily basis. And so I think that's shifted for us throughout the summer and the fall and through the course of this season. But it became very clear to us once we got our team together, that we were going to be as big as any team we've had. I didn't know we'd be the rebounding team. I couldn't tell you that in the summer. All of a sudden, we start playing games and it's, wow, this jumps off the page at you. So then you adjust to it, you adapt to it. You adapt to the way Mark Mitchell has really played as of late, and so then there's some new things you have to do there. There's [Kyle] Filipowski, the improvement that he made. So, I think it's an evolution of what you expect. And then you have to adjust to, especially with the young team, how they develop and how they come along. But I can't tell you this is exactly the way that I thought it would be. But I do know the belief, that we are going to be in a place to be really successful, that never wavered."
GRADUATE FORWARD RYAN YOUNG
On his initial thoughts about his first ACC Tournament:
"It's exciting because I think it's pretty open right now. There's a lot of good teams and a lot of people are playing their best ball right now so it should be exciting to see who can make it to the top and claim the ACC Tournament. Obviously, I've played in a few Big 10 Tournaments myself, so it's going to be a good test for our group to see how both mentally and physically tough we can be over the next few days."
On what he tells the younger players that have not been in tournament basketball before:
"Yeah, I think the biggest thing, and we talked a lot about this before the last game, is staying the course. There's a lot of up and downs over the course of a few days. Especially just if you keep winning, obviously you gotta go from all the highs of emotion of a of a big-time win to immediately starting to scout for the next team, you have limited time. So, staying the course and staying poised, which has been a factor consistent for our whole season, but it's gonna be most important coming up here in tournament play."
On the player meeting after the Miami loss:
"It's funny, I've been in college basketball a while, so I've had a few of these player-led meetings that occur in the middle of the year. And they typically follow a tough loss. But it's an important part, there's no undefeated team in the country this year, everybody's taken some tough losses on the chin and that's what happened to us at Miami. I think a lot of us were really disappointed in the way that we came out. Obviously, Coach Scheyer and the staff expressed their frustration as well, but a lot of it came from everybody on the team, I guess naturally it was some more of the older guys, myself and Jake [Grandison] and Jeremy [Roach] that took a little bit of the control in this situation just because we've had it. But the younger guys were as frustrated as we were in our performance that day. So, I think it was more so just coming together and trying to talk through where we want to go through the rest of this year. That was really a breaking point for us, in terms of kind of where we were in the standings, where we had been, and we knew that we controlled our own destiny at that point. I think we went to Virginia right after that. And we were going to play a lot of the teams at the top of the conference. So, we knew that that was going to be an imperative time to say, 'the time is now'. Because I think it was pretty natural in terms of the development of it. But like I said, Jake, and myself and Jeremy, every year you have a few of those meetings and sometimes tempers flare, sometimes there's some tough love, but every team goes through it. And I think it's been great for us. It's made us come closer and play more together and it's led to a few wins in a row here."
FRESHMAN GUARD TYRESE PROCTOR
On his development over the course of the season in terms of ball-handling and defense:
"Yeah, I think it's sort of like Ryan said, just staying the course. Obviously coming over here, I knew it was going to be a challenge. It's a completely different game. I don't think I thought about it too much before I came over here how different it really was and I guess just kept working on my craft and kept watching film and just staying the course is the biggest thing. The defensive piece, I think just locking in and taking pride of not letting my man score on me has jumped a long way. Just realizing how important every possession is throughout a game."
On his and his freshmen teammates' ability to play high-pressure minutes:
"I think it just goes to show how locked in and ready we are. I think all of our guys are ready as soon as their number gets called to go out and perform. We trust one another and Coach Scheyer trusts us, so just having the trust to put us out there in those high high-pressure minutes."
On if he agrees with Coach Scheyer about him and other freshmen no longer being freshmen:
"Yeah. I agree with that. I don't think any of us feel like we are freshmen in a sense anymore. Just because of the roles that we've had on the team. And we all knew at the start of the season our roles coming into the team, and it was pretty clear early on that we'd have to grow up quick. And I feel like we have. I feel like our freshman group is one of the more mature freshmen groups in the country, and it just happens naturally, I guess, because of the situation that we're in. … Everyone knowing their roles, not trying to do too much. And just playing to our strengths. I think those are all three big things."
To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballCoach Scheyer Media Availability
Wednesday, September 24
Jon Scheyer Press Conference: Summer 2025
Tuesday, July 08
Duke vs Houston: Press Conference
Sunday, April 06
Duke vs Alabama: East Region Champions Press Conference
Wednesday, April 02
