Jon Scheyer shares Mark Mitchell's impact on Duke

Mark Mitchell had quite the impact on Duke basketball this year, according to head coach Jon Scheyer. After the Blue Devils won their 20th game of the season, Scheyer thanked his big man.

Mitchell put up 13 points, four rebounds and one assist in the win over Louisville earlier this week. Duke came out with a 79-62 win to boost its NCAA Tournament resume.

But one of the unsung heroes of the team had to be Mitchell. Scheyer broke down why:

“People call him Easy, his family calls him Easy,” Scheyer said. “Depends on the moment whether I call him Mark or Easy. Usually during the games, I call him Mark. But he’s easy to play with. You know he’s a guy that just blends, he’s all about winning. He actually had, I think he missed a dunk and another finish, he could have had even more tonight. But for him he’s made a jump.

“He kind of got a little knocked back a couple of weeks ago, and he has just stuck with he’s been so consistent as far as from a work standpoint, and it’s translated. What he does on the floor, he got one through five literally, and offensively, he can hit open threes, slashes, rebounds, he does it all. So, just proud of him.”

This season (28 games), Mitchell averaged 8.7 points per game, 4.2 rebounds per game, 1.3 assists per game, shot 46.8% from the floor and 36.6% from three-point range.

The win over Louisville proved Duke could win on a quick turnaround.

“To me, it just speaks to our growth,” Scheyer said. “That’s what we’ve harped on to our guys all year round. Let’s continue to grow, let’s continue to be at our best when our best is required and when our best is needed down the stretch. You know when they start saying it to each other the message is getting through. They’re taking great ownership because they really want to get this one tonight, just to keep this thing going. 

“We’ve had a good stretch this last couple of weeks– not to say we haven’t had a game where we haven’t played as well. But we’re trending in the right direction and we’ll continue to learn and grow.”

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Duke plays at home Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET against Virginia Tech.