Jon Scheyer raves about growth of Mark Mitchell

The Duke Blue Devils postgame press conference following their dominant win over Louisville on Wednesday night was filled with some emotion by head coach Jon Scheyer. Scheyer used that time to provide an update on the injury status of freshman guard Caleb Foster. But he also used it to praise the growth he has seen from sophomore Mark Mitchell.

Mitchell is one of the better 3-point shooters on the Blue Devils roster. However, he started the 2023-24 campaign in a funk. But since then, he has greatly improved his efficiency from downtown, and Scheyer couldn’t be happier for the growth that he’s seen out of his second-year player.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of Mark. For me, as a head coach, there’s a few of these guys that have been there from day one,” said Scheyer. “From the minute I got the job that I called, that first day, I wanted to be a part of this, and Mark is one of those guys.”

“You know where you commit to somebody [and] vice versa. He commits to us; we commit to him. You go through ups and downs together. And Mark literally always responds. He always lets you coach him. We need to get on sometimes to be more aggressive, and halftime did that today.”

Mitchell started off the season struggling from behind the arc, connecting on just one of his first 22 shot attempts. But since then, the sophomore from Kansas City, KS, has been on point from long range. According to Scheyer, Mitchell had a moment over the Christmas break that helped spark his improved play.

“You asked about his 3-point shooting; it was Christmas break. [It] was a big thing. He came back and just trusting your work and being decisive. And he’s done that… he’s a complete player. Like, he just does so much. I don’t know that he gets the credit that he probably should nationally or even in our league.”

Scheyer shares Duke will be without Caleb Foster for ‘some time’

After the Blue Devils’ 84-59 win over the Cardinals, Scheyer discussed Foster’s status going forward, and it wasn’t at all what Duke fans were hoping to hear.

“Unfortunately, for us, we just have to adjust without Cable,” said Scheyer. “And my heart breaks for him that he couldn’t play today. Like he’s had such a good year, and he impacts winning in so many ways besides just the box score and stats. We’re going to be without him for some time. I don’t know what that time is. But we have to adjust; we have to step up just like we’ve had to do throughout the year with different injuries, whether it be Jeremy (Roach), Mark (Mitchell) or Tyrese (Proctor).”

Foster was seen sitting on the bench with a boot on his foot during Duke’s game against Louisville. Currently, there is no additional information on the type of injury he is dealing with or a projected recovery timetable. For now, Duke fans will have to be without one of their key contributors during this year’s run.

Wednesday night’s contest against Louisville was the first missed game for Foster this season.