What Jon Scheyer Learned From Coaching Cooper Flagg: A Year That Changed Duke Basketball
In just his third year as head coach, Jon Scheyer experienced a season at Duke that he may never forget not just for the wins or the Final Four berth, but for the rare privilege of coaching a generational talent in Cooper Flagg.
Flagg, the Naismith Player of the Year and consensus No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, took the college basketball world by storm. The 6-foot-9 freshman averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game, leading Duke to a 35-4 record and a return to the national semifinals. He has since joined the Dallas Mavericks, where he’ll play alongside future Hall of Famers Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis. But even after his departure, the impact Flagg left behind in Durham on and off the court is still resonating with Scheyer.
During a media session this week, Scheyer opened up about what he learned from coaching Flagg and managing the intense spotlight that followed Duke throughout the season.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned is to not skip steps,” Scheyer said. “So much is thrown at these kids now money, branding, promotions. Cooper was the prime example of keeping the main thing the main thing. If you knock it out of the park at Duke, everything else takes care of itself.”
Scheyer praised Flagg not just for his talent, but for his focus and maturity. He credited Flagg and the rest of the 2024–25 roster for remaining grounded despite the enormous pressure they faced internally.
“He was present. He wanted to be the best version of himself every day,” Scheyer said. “And so did the rest of the team. There’s always pressure not just external, but internal. Our guys were chasing greatness. It was my job to take some of that weight off their shoulders.”
And greatness, they nearly reached. After starting 2-2, Duke won 33 of its final 35 games, losing only at Clemson and to Houston in the Final Four. Flagg wasn’t alone in powering the Blue Devils fellow lottery picks Kon Kneuppel and Khaman Maluach anchored Duke’s perimeter and paint but he was the engine.
Still, with all three now off to the NBA, the question naturally turns to what’s next.
Scheyer and his staff didn’t waste time. They brought in the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the country, headlined by Cameron Boozer, the No. 3 overall player in the 2025 cycle and the son of Duke legend Carlos Boozer. Alongside his twin brother Cayden, and fellow top-tier recruits Nikolas Khamenia, Sebastian Wilkins, and Dame Sarr, the Blue Devils are already reloaded and ready for another run.
Boozer, a dominant force at Christopher Columbus High in Miami, is expected to follow a similar path to Flagg’s one dominant season at Duke before heading to the NBA. On3’s Jamie Shaw projects him to post 18 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists right away.
“Cam Boozer is going to put up astronomical numbers from day one,” Shaw said. “He’s built for the stage, and he’s about to be on the biggest one in college basketball.”
Now, Scheyer gets another chance to mold an elite freshman talent but he does so with new wisdom gained from coaching Flagg.
“Coaching is as much about helping young men navigate pressure and noise as it is about X’s and O’s,” Scheyer said. “Cooper taught me that. And I think it made me a better coach.”
While the 2025–26 season will have a new cast, the expectations in Durham remain the same. Another phenom has arrived. Another title run begins. And Jon Scheyer, still just 38 years old, is already writing the next chapter of Duke basketball’s blue-blood legacy one superstar freshman at a time.
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