Tag Archives: Mike Krzyzewski

Jon Scheyer officially named Duke basketball special assistant

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Former Duke point guard and national champion Jon Scheyer is returning to Durham for the 2013-14 season as a special assistant. The news has been rumored for a couple weeks now as Scheyer finished out his season playing for Gran Canaria in Spain.

Former Duke basketball player Jon Scheyer is returning to the team as a special assistant. (Chronicle File Photo)

Former Duke basketball player Jon Scheyer is returning to the team as a special assistant. (Chronicle File Photo)

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski glowed in his review of Scheyer’s return to the program.

“Jon Scheyer is one of the amazing champions we’ve had in this program and he’s certainly one of the greatest young men to ever wear the Duke uniform,” Krzyzewski said in a statement. “He’s universally loved by Duke fans. It is incredibly exciting to be part of his journey to become a coach. Jon will add all the things he brought to Duke as a player, this time as a member of our staff. We are so proud that Jon is joining us at Duke.”

Scheyer too is excited for his return to the Blue Devils.

“I am extremely fortunate to be able to come back to Duke,” Scheyer said in a release. “It is a tremendous honor to be on Coach K’s staff and it is something I will cherish. I want to continue to learn from the entire staff and bring whatever I can to help the program.”

Scheyer is taking Nate James’ role on the bench after James was promoted to assistant coach following Chris Collins’ departure to Northwestern.

Scheyer’s illustrious Duke career was capped by a senior season in which he was named All-America second team, All-ACC first team, and All-ACC Tournament first team. Though he never played in the NBA, Scheyer played three seasons of professional basketball for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League as well as abroad for Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Gran Canaria.

Duke basketball Ryan Kelly flashback: the White Raven soars over Miami

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Over the next three weeks, The Blue Zone will be counting down the top five performances from each of Duke’s graduating seniors during their collegiate careers. This week, we start with forward Ryan Kelly.

No. 5: Kelly registers a career-high against the Hurricanes

Ryan Kelly returned from his foot injury to score a career-high 36 points against Miami.(Chronicle Photo Illustration by Nicole Savage)

Ryan Kelly returned from his foot injury to score a career-high 36 points against Miami. (Chronicle Photo Illustration by Nicole Savage)

 

The date: March 2, 2013

Kelly statline: In his first game back from injury, Kelly poured in 36 points in 32 minutes on the court, shooting 10-of-14 from the field, including 7-of-9 from behind the arc, and 9-of-12 from the free throw line. The senior also grabbed seven rebounds.

The breakdown: After losing at Miami in late January and watching the Hurricanes’ home crowd storm the court, Blue Devil fans placed a special significance on March’s game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Not only did the rematch provide a chance for revenge against ACC-leader Miami, but Duke fans would also witness Kelly’s return after a 13-game hiatus due to a right foot injury.

With some speculation about whether or not Kelly would play, the Blue Devils faithful were on edge on game day; ready to see the forward back in action. When the senior come out onto the court to warmup rather than heading to the bench with a boot on his foot, the Cameron Crazies erupted.

And the White Raven did not fail to impress.

Kelly lined up for his first shot, a three-pointer, just 25 seconds into the game. 9,314 fans held their breath as the ball soared towards the basket and—missed. The senior forward would only fail to connect on two shots from the field the rest of the game.

Kelly’s next attempt, again a three-pointer, came 2 minutes and 26 seconds into the half. Once again, the crowd held its breath as the ball went up and—nothing but net.

With chants of ‘Ryan Kelly’ and ‘White Raven’ resounding throughout Cameron, the senior proceeded to put on a clinic for the rest of the opening period, pouring in 19 points in the first half. Kelly knocked down open threes, shots with defenders plastered all over him and buckets in the paint, confounding an athletic Miami defense that could not find an answer for the forward.

Despite Kelly’s monster first half, Duke trailed by two heading into the locker room.

The start of the second period went much like the first—Kelly remained relatively quiet for the first ten minutes as both teams traded baskets back an forth but failed to build any significant leads.

The last roughly 10 minutes of the game, much like the second half of the opening period, turned into the White Raven’s show. Kelly scored 12 points over the time span, and also picked up two steals in the final four minutes, to carry the Blue Devils to victory in one of the most exciting games played in Cameron over the past decade.

The quote: “We were all privileged to see one of the performances of the ages, I think, by Ryan Kelly,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “[It was] probably as good of a performance as any Duke player has had at Cameron.”

Previous Kelly performances:

No. 5: Kelly scores 20 points against Wake Forest

No. 4: Maui Invitational Tournament

No. 3: Charity Stripe Clinic

No. 2: Kelly drops 22 against Wake Forest

Duke basketball Ryan Kelly flashback: 20 points against Wake Forest

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Over the next three weeks, The Blue Zone will be counting down the top five performances from each of Duke’s graduating seniors during their collegiate careers. This week, we start with forward Ryan Kelly.

 

Ryan Kelly burst onto the scene as a sophomore with 20 points against Wake Forest (Photo by Elysia Su/The Chronicle)

Ryan Kelly burst onto the scene as a sophomore with 20 points against Wake Forest (Photo by Elysia Su/The Chronicle)

No. 5: Kelly scores 20 points against Wake Forest

The date: Jan. 22, 2011

The game: Duke 83, Wake Forest 59

Kelly statline: 20 points on 6-of-6 from the field, including 4-for-4 from 3-point range, 6 rebounds

The breakdown: Just two weeks after star point guard Kyrie Irving went down with a toe injury that would keep him sidelined for the remained of the regular season, Duke desperately needed a player to pick up the scoring load alongside seniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith.

It was a lanky and unproven Ryan Kelly who would answer the call during his sophomore season.

Kelly had the first breakout game of his young career, pouring in 20 points—then a career-high—on perfect shooting from the floor in a blowout victory against Wake Forest. Singler said after the contest that Kelly “played an almost perfect game.”

In addition to a perfect 6-for-6 shooting from the floor, Kelly demonstrated his range and hit all four of his 3-point attempts and knocked down all four of his free throw attempts.

Kelly’s versatility was on display throughout the contest, a sign of things to come during the remainder of his career at Duke. His ability to stretch the floor at the power forward position was one of the keys for the Blue Devils to recover from the loss of Irving.

The Raleigh native’s performance was the spark Duke needed on a night where Smith and Singler both struggled from the floor and Mason Plumlee managed just one field goal attempt.

The quote: “I think he’s gotten better every game, and he’s a very reliable player,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He doesn’t get flustered, he knows where he’s supposed to be all the time and I think he’s become more aggressive and ready to take his shot.”

Photos and awards from Duke basketball’s end-of-season banquet

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The Duke basketball team ended its season Friday night with a banquet at Cameron Indoor Stadium, giving out awards and celebrating the team’s 30-6 season.

The Blue Devils lost in the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight to Louisville, the eventual national champions.

Seniors Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee shared the Swett-Baylin Award, annually given to the team’s MVP. In the trio’s four years, Duke went 124-23.

Plumlee, who averaged 17.1 points and 10.0 rebounds per game this year, also won other awards: the Dr. Deryl Hart Award for the top scholar athlete and the Iron Duke award for most minutes. He also led the team in field goal percentage and rebounding average.

 

Curry, who averaged a team-high 17.5 points per game, won the Pagliuca Family Coach’s Award for “exemplifying the commitment and values of Duke basketball while displaying overall improvement.” Curry played the entire season on a leg injury, which he had surgery on last week.

Curry transfered to Duke after his freshman season from Liberty.

Kelly tallied 12.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while missing 13 games during ACC play due to a foot injury. He came back from that foot injury with a career-high 36-point performance to lead Duke past then-No. 5 Miami at Cameron.

 

Kelly won the team’s Best Defensive Player award. He also had surgery after the season and will be out 10-12 weeks.

The banquet also served as Chris Collins’ goodbye to the Blue Devils. Collins was hired a few weeks ago to be the head coach at Northwestern:

 

From @dukeblueplanet’s Instagram, here are some of the best photos from the evening:

The banquet at Cameron:

This is where we usually play basketball. Cameron all dressed up for banquet.

Amile Jefferson, Quinn Cook and Rodney Hood getting ready inside Cameron. Cook won the team’s most assists award with 5.3 per game:

Almost showtime at team banquet @amilejefferson @qcook323 @hood_foe

Juniors Tyler Thornton, Scott Lamson (manager) and Josh Hairston. Thornton won the Glenn E. “Ted” Mann Award for the reserve contributing most to team morale. Hairston won the True Blue Award for the most charges taken:

Banquet is a wrap. @tythornton3 @jhairston15

Cook, Todd Zafirovski and former Blue Devil Nolan Smith, who just finished his NBA season with the Portland Trailblazers:

Look who we found in the locker room... @ndotsmitty also @qcook323 @tdotzaf

Duke basketball Andre Dawkins flashback: Dawkins leads Coach K to 903

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Duke basketball guard Andre Dawkins announced last week that he will return for the 2013-14 season. After Dawkins spent this season redshirting, we’re counting down his top-five performances as a Blue Devil.

No. 1: Dawkins big night at Madison Square Garden helps give Coach K 903

The date: Nov. 15, 2011

The game: Duke 74, Michigan State 69

Dawkins’ statline: 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting, 6-of-10 3-pointers, four steals and zero turnovers

Andre Dawkins' 26 points against Michigan State helped deliver Coach K's record-breaking 903rd win. (Photo Credit: Chris Dall/Chronicle File Photo)

Andre Dawkins’ 26 points against Michigan State helped deliver Coach K’s record-breaking 903rd win. (Photo Credit: Chris Dall/Chronicle File Photo)

The breakdown: People hardly remember Dawkins’ game-high 26 points against Michigan State under the bright lights at Madison Square Garden. People remember instead what it gave Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski: his record-breaking 903rd win, passing his former mentor Bob Knight. Following then-No. 6 Duke’s win against Michigan State, Knight and Krzyzewski embraced, but that moment wouldn’t have happened if Dawkins didn’t go off.

Dawkins was Duke’s most reliable offensive weapon in the first half, as the team went a period of 5:36 with just two field goals, both by the junior. Four of his six 3-pointers came in the first half.

Then with 18:03 left in the second half, Dawkins hit a 3-pointer to put the Blue Devils up by three. They never relinquished that lead as the trey sparked a 22-5 run.

And when Michigan State tried to make a run late, Dawkins helped ensure Duke wouldn’t give it up with two free throws in the final minute.

The quote: “Dawkins played his tail off,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said. “He was a difference maker with hitting some tough threes.”

Previous Dawkins performances:

No. 5: Dawkins scores 16 off the bench against Miami

No. 4: Dawkins hits two threes to help send Duke to the Final Four

No. 3: Dawkins drops career-high 28 points against Bradley

No. 2: Dawkins’ 3-point shooting fuels revenge over Florida State

Towerview: A look at Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s ties

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This month’s Towerview, The Chronicle’s monthly magazine, takes a look at Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s neckties from this season.

Coach K wore 18 different ties in Duke’s 36 games.

This one is “The Bright Raven,” named such because of its color and the fact that Ryan Kelly—aka “The White Raven”—had his best game of the year when Coach K wore this against Miami.

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From Towerview:

The Bright Raven

Although Krzyzewski steered clear of loud ties all season, he went with an almost-metallic fuchsia in the home game against Miami, which marked the return of senior forward Ryan Kelly.

After missing 13 games with a foot injury, Kelly—a.k.a. “The White Raven”—scored a career-high 36 points against the Hurricanes, leading the Blue Devils to a 79-76 victory. When Duke played Miami without Kelly, they lost by 27 while Coach K donned a gray tie that he wore in no other game during the season. Coach K rode The Bright Raven hard down the stretch, also throwing it on for the final game of the regular season—a 16-point win against North Carolina. The Bright Raven’s luck ran out, though, when he wore it for a third time in the season finale against Louisville. But Coach K stuck firm with it, never even loosening it as the team returned to campus at 1 a.m. that night.