Scheyer's Extra Work Pays Huge Dividends for Duke
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The way Jon Scheyer figured it, he had two ways to look at his subpar shooting. He could do what most people tell great shooters to do -- forget about it, keep taking aim at the rim and have the confidence that eventually the ball will slip through the twine -- or he could do something about it.
Jon Scheyer tied a season high with 23 points in Duke's win over Xavier.Scheyer chose all of the above.
He kept shooting but he also slipped into the gym. With exams over and school out last week, he grabbed a spare 20 minutes whenever he could and concentrated on his stroke.
Scheyer always has been a shooter. He was the tallest kid on his youth team, but his coach, Scott Lidskin, didn't let that dictate where he should play. He put Scheyer at the point, slid him over to 2-guard and told him no matter his size, to keep his outside game alive.
Blessed now with one of the sweetest strokes in the college game, Scheyer wouldn't seem like a guy in need of any after-school lessons on shooting mechanics. But he was just 13-of-38 from beyond the arc through Duke's first 10 games and didn't think the ball was dropping for him like it ordinarily does.
So on Saturday against Xavier, when a Scheyer 3-pointer came up short, yet caught some sort of gravitational force to fall back into the net -- despite a wacky spin that defied all logic -- all the junior could do was smile.
"That felt great," he laughed. "Those are the kinds of shots I haven't been getting to drop."
Who knows? Maybe it was the ghost of Jimmy Hoffa giving a heavy breath to help the Blue Devils win yet another game in their favorite home outside of Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke has played 19 games at the Meadowlands and won 18 of them.
But none quite like this. Scheyer's 3-pointer gave him 14 points. There were still 11 minutes to play against Xavier.
In the first half.
Duke put together what the players and coach Mike Krzyzewski agreed was its best game of the season, an offensive masterpiece and defensive beatdown, that left the No. 7 Musketeers tread-marked under a 22-3 deficit and ultimately, an 82-64 loss.
"We played great today," Krzyzewski said. "Not good. Crazy good."
Two games ago, Duke went to Michigan, home of this year's Final Four, and played the kind of uninspired and unsatisfactory game that has turned the Blue Devils into Barcalounger residents come the last weekend of the season. Duke took an eight-point loss to the Wolverines and with it, the knowing nods of critics everywhere who insist the Blue Devils can't win without a big man and with their slobbery love affair with the 3-point line.
Krzyzewski benched his starters the next game and the Blue Devils responded with a 44-point pasting of UNC-Asheville. But that was directional Carolina, not Carolina, and truth be told, Duke's second five should be able to beat Asheville's top five.
Xavier probably isn't the seventh-best team in the country. The Musketeers' top-10 berth hinged on a buzzer-beater against Virginia Tech and a win over a Memphis team that has spiraled downward from its top-15 mark since that game in Puerto Rico. They are relying on a rookie point guard in spurts and no true point guard for most of the game.
But Xavier also isn't the 16-side of a 1-versus-16 game and that's exactly what this game looked like. Sean Miller tried blistering tirades and every sort of lineup change he could muster. Musketeers fans even tried a shout-out to university president Father Michael Graham, but not even the Jesuit's pipeline to the man in charge could stop this freight train.
Because here's the thing about Duke: When they're good, they're very, very good. Against Xavier, the Blue Devils admit they were the best they've been.
"Absolutely our best game," said Gerald Henderson, who finished with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
Duke opened with an 18-1 run and never looked back as the Blue Devils dominated Xavier in every facet of the game.Miller lamented the impossibility that is defending the Blue Devils when they're in that type of mood. With four guys who can drive and handle the ball, they are a pick-your-poison team.
Do you follow Henderson to the rim and leave Scheyer alone or do you jump out on Scheyer and leave Henderson to roam? What about Kyle Singler, who can do both, or sharpshooting Greg Paulus off the bench? And Brian Zoubek may not give Duke a star big man, but he does give the Blue Devils a big-man presence. In his most active game in front of his home state crowd, Zoubek had nine points, five rebounds and four blocks.
"I hope they said this is one of the best games they played," Miller said. "Because when they get Gerald and Scheyer going like that, they're in a whole new category as to how good they can be."
Scheyer knows just how critical his role is. A lethal sixth man last season, he is now an even more vital starter. With Paulus coming off the bench to make room for Nolan Smith, Scheyer is the guy who can best stretch a defense. He knocked down three 3-pointers plus scored off a turnover before the first TV timeout, pushing the Xavier defense about to midcourt. He finished with a season-high 23 points, shooting 5-of-7 from behind the 3-point line.
Against Michigan, Scheyer wasn't the problem, as he led the Devils with 16 points. But he was just 1-of-5 shooting 3s, making his teammates imminently more guardable.
And so while Krzyzewski sent his message by pointing the starters to the pine, Scheyer decided to deliver one to himself in a few lonely minutes in the gym.
Jon Scheyer tied a season high with 23 points in Duke's win over Xavier.Scheyer chose all of the above.
He kept shooting but he also slipped into the gym. With exams over and school out last week, he grabbed a spare 20 minutes whenever he could and concentrated on his stroke.
Scheyer always has been a shooter. He was the tallest kid on his youth team, but his coach, Scott Lidskin, didn't let that dictate where he should play. He put Scheyer at the point, slid him over to 2-guard and told him no matter his size, to keep his outside game alive.
Blessed now with one of the sweetest strokes in the college game, Scheyer wouldn't seem like a guy in need of any after-school lessons on shooting mechanics. But he was just 13-of-38 from beyond the arc through Duke's first 10 games and didn't think the ball was dropping for him like it ordinarily does.
So on Saturday against Xavier, when a Scheyer 3-pointer came up short, yet caught some sort of gravitational force to fall back into the net -- despite a wacky spin that defied all logic -- all the junior could do was smile.
"That felt great," he laughed. "Those are the kinds of shots I haven't been getting to drop."
Who knows? Maybe it was the ghost of Jimmy Hoffa giving a heavy breath to help the Blue Devils win yet another game in their favorite home outside of Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke has played 19 games at the Meadowlands and won 18 of them.
But none quite like this. Scheyer's 3-pointer gave him 14 points. There were still 11 minutes to play against Xavier.
In the first half.
Duke put together what the players and coach Mike Krzyzewski agreed was its best game of the season, an offensive masterpiece and defensive beatdown, that left the No. 7 Musketeers tread-marked under a 22-3 deficit and ultimately, an 82-64 loss.
"We played great today," Krzyzewski said. "Not good. Crazy good."
Two games ago, Duke went to Michigan, home of this year's Final Four, and played the kind of uninspired and unsatisfactory game that has turned the Blue Devils into Barcalounger residents come the last weekend of the season. Duke took an eight-point loss to the Wolverines and with it, the knowing nods of critics everywhere who insist the Blue Devils can't win without a big man and with their slobbery love affair with the 3-point line.
Krzyzewski benched his starters the next game and the Blue Devils responded with a 44-point pasting of UNC-Asheville. But that was directional Carolina, not Carolina, and truth be told, Duke's second five should be able to beat Asheville's top five.
Xavier probably isn't the seventh-best team in the country. The Musketeers' top-10 berth hinged on a buzzer-beater against Virginia Tech and a win over a Memphis team that has spiraled downward from its top-15 mark since that game in Puerto Rico. They are relying on a rookie point guard in spurts and no true point guard for most of the game.
But Xavier also isn't the 16-side of a 1-versus-16 game and that's exactly what this game looked like. Sean Miller tried blistering tirades and every sort of lineup change he could muster. Musketeers fans even tried a shout-out to university president Father Michael Graham, but not even the Jesuit's pipeline to the man in charge could stop this freight train.
Because here's the thing about Duke: When they're good, they're very, very good. Against Xavier, the Blue Devils admit they were the best they've been.
"Absolutely our best game," said Gerald Henderson, who finished with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
"We're at our best when we're using each other, there's no way around it. Everyone on this team knows that. When we do that, we're a very sharp team and
tough to beat." - Gerald Henderson, Duke
Duke opened with an 18-1 run and never looked back as the Blue Devils dominated Xavier in every facet of the game.Miller lamented the impossibility that is defending the Blue Devils when they're in that type of mood. With four guys who can drive and handle the ball, they are a pick-your-poison team.
Do you follow Henderson to the rim and leave Scheyer alone or do you jump out on Scheyer and leave Henderson to roam? What about Kyle Singler, who can do both, or sharpshooting Greg Paulus off the bench? And Brian Zoubek may not give Duke a star big man, but he does give the Blue Devils a big-man presence. In his most active game in front of his home state crowd, Zoubek had nine points, five rebounds and four blocks.
"I hope they said this is one of the best games they played," Miller said. "Because when they get Gerald and Scheyer going like that, they're in a whole new category as to how good they can be."
Scheyer knows just how critical his role is. A lethal sixth man last season, he is now an even more vital starter. With Paulus coming off the bench to make room for Nolan Smith, Scheyer is the guy who can best stretch a defense. He knocked down three 3-pointers plus scored off a turnover before the first TV timeout, pushing the Xavier defense about to midcourt. He finished with a season-high 23 points, shooting 5-of-7 from behind the 3-point line.
Against Michigan, Scheyer wasn't the problem, as he led the Devils with 16 points. But he was just 1-of-5 shooting 3s, making his teammates imminently more guardable.
And so while Krzyzewski sent his message by pointing the starters to the pine, Scheyer decided to deliver one to himself in a few lonely minutes in the gym.
"No, you can't take it for granted," Scheyer said of his shooting ability. "Even now, this is one game. I've still got to keep working on it." - Jon Scheyer, Duke
No comments:
Post a Comment