Jon Scheyer praises production of Mark Mitchell vs. Boston College

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer was big on Mark Mitchell and his production against Boston College.

Mitchell contributed 17 points, seven rebounds and two assists in the 80-65 in the win on Saturday. If he plays like that down the stretch, Duke just adds another consistent piece to, perhaps, a title worthy lineup.
Scheyer gave a glowing review after the game.

“Mark is special,” Scheyer said. “He’s guarding post on one end and switching on guards. A lot of our offense runs through him. The bursts that he came out with right away in the second half were impressive. He’s the one that got us separation. We’re at our best when he’s attacking. I just love how assertive he was. He’s always trying to make the right play. He’s always playing to win. Tonight was another great example of that.”

Mitchell was certainly a part of consistent improvement for Duke throughout the year.

“We have everything we need,” Scheyer said. “We have a very different team than earlier in the season. We are a hard team to match up with. We’ve seen a lot of different defenses already. We’re closer, but we’re not a final product. Sean Stewart is a great example of that. He gives us a different pop on the court. 

“With Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor, that gives us the closest we’ve had to four guards clicking. That’s why we tied our high with assists in conference play today. We’re getting closer and closer. We’re better than we were a week ago. By the end of it, our goal is to be as good as anybody. We can lose to anybody. We can beat everybody.”

Now with 18 wins, Duke is pushing for a higher seed at NCAAs. With a tough ACC schedule remaining, nothing’s easy.

However, the way Scheyer puts it, Duke has something that others don’t.

“Tonight, they showed that they have a killer instinct,” Scheyer said. “That could have easily been a one-possession game. When you have a killer instinct, that doesn’t mean you don’t make mistakes or don’t miss a couple of shots. Their mentality, it was close to a 40-minute game. I didn’t like the middle of the first half. Besides that, we played our butts off. They have a killer instinct, and they just keep coming at you. Anytime they’ve gotten knocked back, they respond. They stuck together.”