Third-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer, who won a national championship as a Blue Devil guard in 2010 and as an assistant in 2015, is now gearing up for his first Final Four at the helm. He enters the weekend boasting an impressive 89-21 overall record as the program’s leader, including a 35-3 mark this season.
On Thursday, ahead of the showdown against the fellow No. 1 seed Houston Cougars (34-4) in San Antonio’s Alamodome at approximately 8:49 p.m. ET Saturday (CBS), the 37-year-old Scheyer spoke to the media and delivered the following opening statement:
“I think it goes without being said: I couldn’t be more excited to be here at the Final Four. It’s a special thing to be playing Houston. We understand what an amazing challenge this game will be.
“Look, for me, year one when I got the coaching job at Duke, you’re trying to figure out how to scrimmage, what you can do. We sought out scrimmaging Houston. That was the respect that I had for Coach [Kelvin] Sampson, Houston’s program, what they stand for. To be here competing against them, it’s an honor.
“Couldn’t be more proud of our team. We’re taking it all in and excited at the same time…
“I just want to comment on Coach Sampson and his team, just the culture they’ve had is something that I looked at right away when I became the head coach. We’re ready for the challenge.”
