Kelvin Sampson commends Jon Scheyer's job as Duke coach: 'Nobody talks about him replacing Coach K anymore'

Jon Scheyer has Duke in the Final Four for the first time in his three seasons as the Blue Devils head coach. For Houston‘s Kelvin Sampson, it will be his third trip to the final weekend of March Madness, and his second with the Cougars.

It took Sampson roughly two decades of head coaching experience to reach the Final Four for the first time. The swift success Scheyer has enjoyed in his short time leading the Blue Devils led Sampson to praise the work the Duke coach has been able to accomplish in Durham following the Mike Krzyzewski era.

“Jon and his staff have done an excellent job developing this team,” Sampson said ahead of the Final Four. “I think they lost to Kansas. Lost to Kentucky early. That was probably part of the plan. You may lose those games. People lose their minds. People [who] lose their minds ain’t coaching the team. He is. I think he had a plan. Let’s throw ’em out there, if we have some success, fine, if we have some failure, that’s fine, too. We want to be the best version of ourselves when we get to February, March, and now we’re in April, so… I have a ton of respect for him.

“I’ll tell you how good Jon Scheyer has been. Nobody talks about him replacing Coach K anymore. He’s Jon Scheyer. He’s got his team in the Final Four. I think that speaks volumes for him. Good for him.”

Scheyer himself commented on having to follow what Mike Krzyzewski was able to create in Durham during his legendary coaching career after Duke’s win over Alabama in the Elite Eight. He admitted that in most cases, coaches aren’t lucky enough to have similar success following a great, longtime head coach.

Now in his third year coaching the Blue Devils, he already has Duke in the Final Four. To Scheyer, this year’s success is just as much a part of his legacy as it is to Krzyzewski’s. Duke’s sustained success under Scheyer may not be possible if Coach K didn’t set the tone for what success looks like in Durham for all of those years.

“I want his legacy to be how our program continues to be right there as a top program,” Scheyer said. “That’s something Coach K and I have talked a lot about.”

However, getting to the Final Four may not satisfy the hungry Duke fanbase, who has gone a decade without winning a national championship. They’ll have first have to go through the Houston Cougars to get there. Tip-off between Duke and Houston is set for Saturday at 8:49 p.m. ET and will air live on CBS.