Officially Offficial: Duke Hires Emanuel Dildy as Assistant Coach

Duke men’s basketball head coach Jon Scheyer announced Tuesday the hiring of Emanuel Dildy as an assistant coach. Dildy fills the position vacated by Amile Jefferson, who was hired as an assistant coach by the Boston Celtics in July.

Regarded in the coaching ranks as one of the nation’s top recruiters, Dildy spent three years on the staff as an assistant coach under Chris Collins at Northwestern from 2018-21. He comes to Duke after a two-year stint as assistant coach for Porter Moser at Oklahoma, having recently been promoted to associate head coach.“I have known Emanuel for quite some time and have great respect for his recruiting and on-court coaching abilities,” said Scheyer. “What stands out is his tireless work ethic, having most recently been on staff with two highly regarded head coaches in Chris Collins and Porter Moser. He’s a Chicago guy and someone that will bring tremendous energy and passion to Duke. We’re excited to welcome Emanuel and his wife Rebekah to Durham and look forward to seeing his immediate impact on our program.”

Dildy coached the Sooners wings, while playing a key role in the program’s recruiting efforts as OU signed four ESPN 100 recruits in the previous two years. In his three years at Northwestern, Dildy was instrumental in building the highest-rated recruiting class in program history, which included a pair of top-100 signees in the 2021 class.

“I am greatly humbled and excited to join Jon Scheyer’s staff and the Duke Basketball family,” said Dildy. “I have the utmost respect for the legendary tradition and standards established by Mike Krzyzewski and all of the great players who’ve worn the Duke Blue. I am grateful to Coach Scheyer for the opportunity and look forward to becoming part of the Brotherhood.”

The Chicago native has also served as an assistant coach at Valparaiso (2017-18), Missouri (2016-17), under Moser at Loyola Chicago (2013-16) and Eastern Illinois (2012-13). Dildy began his coaching career at Kennedy-King College in Chicago, serving as an assistant from 2008-10 and then as head coach from 2010-12. KKC went 35-27 in his two seasons at the helm and appeared in the 2012 NJCAA Region IV tournament championship game.

Dildy played for two seasons at New Mexico State before transferring to Eastern Illinois, where he was an All-Ohio Valley Conference selection as a senior. After earning his bachelor’s degree in communications from EIU in 2005, he played professionally in Germany for two years and stateside for one season in the International Basketball League before embarking on his coaching career.