Jon Scheyer raves about Mark Pope, says college basketball is 'at its best' when Kentucky is good

Jon Scheyer was once in Mark Pope‘s shoes — and he still sort of is, taking over for a legend at a blue-blood program with championship expectations every year. He’s in year three of that journey at Duke, going 27-9 in back-to-back seasons with an Elite Eight finish this past go-round, picking up where Mike Krzyzewski left off.

For Pope, he took over a program that hadn’t been to a Final Four since 2015 or a second weekend since 2019. Recruiting was rolling, but the postseason results had fallen off, sparking the need for change. Different journeys between Duke and Kentucky, but the same destination.

The early returns on Pope from Scheyer’s perspective as a rival coach? Kentucky’s got its guy — but he’s felt that way since he got the job back in April.

“Honestly, nothing different,” Scheyer said of what he learned about Pope after facing him in the Champions Classic. “A ton of respect for him and them. Their offense has been impressive watching on film.”

The difference came in the second half, the Duke head coach recognizing Kentucky’s adjustments and execution down the stretch with Pope leading the charge. That’s a testament to the roster construction, the game plan and the coaching. His vision of being a veteran-led group capable of embracing the moment and stage paid off against a green team oozing with talent.

“I thought our guys in the first half did a really good job, and they just kept coming at us. A lot of credit to him, his team,” Scheyer added. “They executed really well down the stretch, really well. I think that’s where that experience for them really paid off. They shared it. They were patient. Give them all the credit in the world, all the credit. … I think they showed incredible maturity, and their experience came out in that second half, no question.”

Among those veterans who stepped up? A familiar face for the Blue Devils, Andrew Carr taking on Scheyer four different times during his time in the ACC at Wake Forest. He scored in double figures on all four occasions and followed that up with a fifth as a Wildcat, going for a team-high 17 points on 5-8 shooting and 2-3 from three with five rebounds and three assists.

“He made some big plays. Andrew’s a good player,” Scheyer added. “We’ve competed against him for a couple of years. He had the two and-one finishes. He’s capable from three. Those are two big plays, the finishes down the stretch. Give him credit. He’s got good size and does a good job inside.”

He can’t speak for Pope personally on how he’s handling the transition, but from his side of things, it appears things are going pretty well — clearly. The off-court success has been obvious and now the on-court production is coming in a hurry.

That’s good for the sport, he believes.

“It’s not for me to say. He’s been a head coach for a long time. He’s done a great job,” Scheyer said. “Obviously any time you’re a head coach at Duke or Kentucky, that means a lot to a lot of people. College basketball is at its best when those two programs are really good.

“I’m not surprised, the way the game went tonight in terms of it being a really back and forth and a high level basketball game. Obviously he’s doing a really good job.”

Credit where it’s due.