WRAL Sports Fan

Duke

Duke's Scheyer excels in move to point

By Jake Lloyd

Feb 25, 2009

Durham, N.C. — Jon Scheyer has worn many different hats during his playing career at Duke.

As a freshman, he started at shooting guard in all but one game. As a sophomore, he accepted a role as the team’s sixth man, coming off the bench to make room for Gerald Henderson in the starting lineup.

That change didn’t faze the 6-foot-5 guard, who was Duke’s most consistent player all year.

So it’s no surprise, really, that in his third year, when he came back to the start rotation, Scheyer is flourishing in another new position for the seventh-ranked Blue Devils (22-5, 8-4 ACC): point guard.

The move was made after Duke lost its second consecutive game— and third out of four — at Boston College. The loss sent a strong message to the coaching staff that a major change was needed to avoid falling out of the race for the conference title and enduring a season-ending slump like the past two years.

And when the Devils took the floor at Madison Square Garden last Thursday night against St. John’s, there was a glaring lack of a true point guard. Instead, freshman Elliot Williams, an athletic defensive stopper, and Scheyer manned the backcourt.

Point guards Nolan Smith and Greg Paulus sat on the bench.

“We thought it would shake things up with Elliot and his energy and enthusiasm to give him a chance and to slide Jon over to the role offensively of bringing the ball (up the court), getting us into our offense,” assistant coach Chris Collins said.

The surprise of the two games played with the new lineup has been Williams, who has emerged out of oblivion to become a big part of Duke’s success.

But the Devils wouldn’t have defeated then-No. 8 Wake Forest Sunday night, 101-91, if not for Scheyer’s career-high 30 points and five 3-pointers.

It was his second consecutive superb game at his new position — a spot he has become acclimated to quickly.

“I feel comfortable with this,” Scheyer said prior to the win over the Demon Deacons. (It’s) something that I’ve done in practice a lot throughout the year and that can give us some advantages on the offensive end for our team.”

He backed up his words Sunday night, not only shooting extremely well but also dishing out three assists and committing just one turnover in 37 minutes. In Duke’s 76-69 win over the Red Storm, he had zero turnovers also in 37 minutes.

Scheyer shouldn’t be mistaken for an expert ball-handler, but he doesn’t need to be in Duke’s new alignment. With Williams, Henderson and Kyle Singler also on the floor, he has plenty of able teammates to help against pressure defenses.

He also doesn’t have to continuously dribble the basketball in the Devils’ motion offense. In a change from earlier in the season, Duke attempts to create move movement and less stagnation on offense by continuously moving and passing the ball as opposed to setting lots of ball screens.

This usually begins with Scheyer passing as soon as he gets a few feet past midcourt. At that point, he becomes just another player in a lineup of almost interchangeable parts.

“For me, it’s something where I’m not going to be playing 40 minutes with a guy pressing me full-court the whole game,” Scheyer said.

If two games are any indication, Duke’s ball-handling hasn’t been a problem despite decreased minutes for Smith and Paulus. The pair combined to play just 44 minutes in the wins compared to 63 minutes for Williams.

But Duke committed only 19 turnovers in the victories, including just six against Wake’s lightning-quick guard duo of Jeff Teague and Ishmael Smith.

And Scheyer has been able to take easier shots and get to the free-throw line more often because of who has guarded him. As opposed to facing bigger guards while on the wing, he’s taken the ball at smaller guards he can shoot over.

Even L.D. Williams, one of Wake’s best defenders who guarded him, gives up an inch to the wiry Scheyer. And in possibly the biggest play of the game, with Duke clinging to a narrow 80-78 lead, Scheyer found himself guarded by the 6-foot Smith on the left wing.

Smith didn’t want to give up the 3-pointer to Scheyer, who had already connected on four. So the point guard went for Scheyer’s pump fake. Scheyer quickly reacted by thrusting his upper body into Smith to draw a trip to the free-throw line, where he connected on three crucial freebies.

“I think it does help him, because once he gets rid of the ball then he’s guarded by a point (guard),” coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “That’s something we looked at to get his offense going.”

Added Scheyer: “I think the main thing it should do for me is give me better shot opportunities. Better shots, more open shots — I think that’ll be a big thing.”

The switch has given Scheyer new life, helping to rejuvenate him during what he referred to as a “new season almost in a way.” He would rather forget January, when he made just 21 of 74 field goals (28 percent).

Scheyer attributed the worst shooting slump of his career to not being aggressive and assertive enough on the court, instead content to play sidekick to Henderson. And in that role, it was hard to find any kind of offensive rhythm.

But before Duke’s Feb. 7 overtime win over Miami, he told himself he needed to step up and work as hard as ever to be a scorer for the Devils.

“Obviously, I'm focused for every game, but I was really (focused) going into that game really wanting to play well, really wanting to win,” Scheyer said. “And the one thing — ‘G’ has been playing so great recently he's been carrying us at times.

“And that's something, for myself it shouldn't be like that. I want to be right there with him, helping him out. I think I lost a little bit during that stretch. I was too worried about resting. And I've gone back and worked as hard as I ever have as before.”

Collins, a former outside shooter for the Devils, has worked extensively with Scheyer during his career, taking him under his wing. But, he said, the key was to let him fight through the slump.

“As someone who played the game as a shooter, anytime you’re not shooting well, everyone becomes an expert on the subject, everybody’s got something to say to you about your form or about this or about that,” Collins said. “I was pretty sensitive to trying to let him work through it himself.”

Scheyer scored 22 points in Duke’s emotional win over the Hurricanes, his highest output in a month. But even as he started to regain his shooting touch, the Devils lost three of four games.

Now, however, he is scoring as well as he has all season — and getting easier shots, too — while Duke also gets the boost of defensive enthusiasm and energy from Williams.

That combination, along with the continued excellence of Henderson, has the Devils feeling refreshed and optimistic as they ride a two-game winning streak into Wednesday’s game at Maryland.

And their new point guard is proving what his coach said back in December spot-on.

“I’m comfortable with Jon doing anything on the court,” Krzyzewski said on Dec. 31. “Not maybe giving a speech, but Jon’s a good player. Jon knows how to play and Jon’s a winner, and he’ll figure things out.”