Jon Scheyer reveals how close he came to choosing Arizona over Duke as a recruit

The Duke Blue Devils are set to take on the Arizona Wildcats in the Sweet 16. On the line is a trip to the Elite Eight, but for head coach Jon Scheyer, this is a game that comes with a unique connection to his own playing career.

Coming out of high school, Scheyer was a heavily recruited prospect. In the end, he went to Duke to play for Mike Krzyzewski. However, he very nearly did end up choosing Arizona as a recruit.

“Yeah, you’re taking me back now,” Scheyer said. “That feels like a long time ago. My final three were Duke, Illinois, and Arizona. I just love Coach [Lute] Olson. He was awesome to me to be around. I had a great visit there, although the visit was on the heels of Arizona actually playing Illinois, in I think, what, an Elite Eight game, I think it was.”

Scheyer was an Illinois native who had an excellent high school basketball career and is the fourth-leading scorer in Illinois history with 3,034 points. Unsurprisingly, he was also Illinois Mr. Basketball. He ultimately chose Duke, where he had a connection to assistant coach Chris Collins because they went to the same high school.

At the time, Arizona was also considered an excellent option. At the time, they were coached by Lute Olson, who held that role from 1983 through 2008. He ended up retiring in the middle of what would have been Scheyer’s college career. That came amid health issues, but by that time he had built Arizona into a college basketball power.

“But just loved Coach Olson, loved the way they played,” Scheyer said. “And ultimately wasn’t about what wasn’t right at Arizona, it was about what was right at Duke. That’s where I felt I belonged and where my heart belonged. But yeah, really respected those guys and loved the time there.”

In the end, choosing Duke seems to have worked out for Scheyer. He would go on to have a brief international playing career. After that, his connection with Duke and Coach K helped him get into coaching. In 2014, he became a Duke assistant before working his way up to being the head coach, replacing Coach K.

Since rising to the ranks of head coach, Scheyer has a record of 87-21. That includes an ACC regular season championship and two ACC Tournament championships. With a win over Arizona on Thursday, he could take Duke to its second Elite Eight under his leadership. However, expectations are even higher for this year’s team.