Jon Scheyer had a chance to leave Duke for the Mavericks this offseason. He decided there was still too much he wanted to accomplish where he was.
Scheyer was among the coaches pursued by Dallas after it parted ways with Jason Kidd, as relayed by Austin Veazey of Mavs On SI.
The job came with some familiar faces. Scheyer coached Cooper Flagg and Dereck Lively II at Duke, and both are now part of the Mavericks’ young core.
Still, Scheyer stayed in Durham, while Dallas eventually hired former Michigan coach Dusty May.
“Anybody that knows me, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself not seeing this thing through,” Scheyer said on the “Glue Guys” podcast with Shane Battier and Alex Smith. “I mean, that’s just the bottom line.”
Scheyer took over for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke at age 33 and said he understands how unusual it was to land his dream job that early.
“I’m really proud of the start we’ve got off to, and the continuation of what has been built here,” he said. “But I think we’ve got so much left to do. I just think we’ve got so much left to accomplish.”
That includes winning a national championship. Duke reached the Final Four with Flagg in 2025, but blew a late lead against Houston in the semifinals. Scheyer has now been the Blue Devils’ head coach for four seasons without winning the title.
Perhaps the NBA eventually gets him. Dallas even offered the chance to coach some of his former players again. Scheyer apparently decided he’d rather finish what he started.
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