Jon Scheyer weighs the balance of playing freshmen, returners in NCAA Tournament

Duke freshman Jared McCain looked like a veteran in the Blue Devils’ second-round NCAA Tournament matchup against James Madison on Sunday. Scoring 30 points in a record-breaking performance to help advance Duke to the Sweet Sixteen for the 29th time in program history.

Freshmen aren’t always productive in March Madness, asked to perform on college basketball’s biggest stage just one year removed from high school basketball. But after Sunday’s win, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer spoke on the balance of playing freshmen versus more experienced players particularly in the NCAA Tournament.

“Well, it’s an art form. I don’t think it’s an exact science, right,” Scheyer said. “And when you recruit, especially in today’s day and age, there’s so much uncertainty, especially for us, at least, when you have multiple players that have a chance to hopefully go pro at some point. So everybody has their own journey.”

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From one and done’s to four-year starters, Duke has seen it all through their program’s history. A history that Scheyer has been a part of since 2006 when he was a player for the Blue Devils before joining Duke’s staff as an assistant coach in 2014.

“But you know, look, for me, should I not have recruited Jared McCain because he would be a freshman?” Scheyer asked. “At the end of the day, you go after the guys you believe in. Since I’ve been on the staff with Coach K, these last two years that I’ve been head coach, we’ve won a National Championship with a freshman-heavy group. We’ve gone to two Elite 8s where you’re right there.”

Not all teams have been created equal at Duke when it comes to experience, with some freshmen coming in to make an instant impact in the NCAA Tournament while experienced upperclassmen have also thrived in their roles. But at the end of the day in Scheyer’s eyes it all comes down to balance.

“This group, certainly helps to have a Jeremy Roach. The ’15 team had Quinn Cook. There has to be some balance of course, but you can’t sit back and say, this is exactly what you need, because when you have a chance to bring in the freshmen that we did this year, or the freshmen for next year, we’re going to do that every day of the week,” Scheyer explained. “I think anybody would, if they could, or they tried to. But you still need experience and returning players. So for me, you try to find that balance. But that’s the nature of being in college basketball in 2024.”

Scheyer’s current squad seems to have an excellent balance of young talent and veteran experience. And it will surely be interesting to see how Duke continues to manage that balance not just in this year’s NCAA Tournament, but in the future as well under their young head coach who will likely be challenged to constantly adapt.