Post game quotes from head coach Jon Scheyer following Duke’s loss in the Vegas Shootout to the Kansas Jayhawks.
DUKE HEAD COACH JON SCHEYER
Opening Statement
“Well, it has been a hell of a trip for us. Really proud of my team. Proud of our guys. I thought we battled like crazy. Give Kansas credit, they’ve had a week off and you could tell. The preparation and how ready they were to play, right away, I thought that was the best version of who they are. Their experience is legit. Their talent. Obviously, Coach [Bill] Self is one of the best. He’s done a terrific job, always. Ton of respect for them and give them credit. For us, it would’ve been easy to fold in that kind of game. The way they came out, I thought they made some tough shots, to be honest with you. I thought we missed some open ones. And we just stuck with it. Kept fighting, kept fighting. We’re asking a lot of 17, 18 and 19 year olds. We are. That’s what they want. I thought the character and the heart of our team really showed tonight. As much as I badly want to win – I think maybe at some point, I’ve thought about if I’m crazy for the schedule that we’ve had our first six games. But I did it with this group because I thought they could take it. They’re wired the right way. They have toughness about them. The growth that we’re going to have from this game, this whole trip – playing at Arizona and then playing Kansas on a neutral site – we’re going to grow so much. I’m disappointed. Wanted to win badly, for our guys, but we’re really going to learn so much and be better from this.”
On how this opening schedule will help the team in conference play:
“We focused, the whole summer, on being our best in March. That doesn’t mean we want to sacrifice winning in November. Every game, we’ve been coming in to win. That’s what we can do, and should do. Tonight was no different. But I think if you ask our guys, this road trip in particular, the lessons we’ll have learned from this is going to make us stronger. To be in this environment – [Dajuan] Harris Jr. and [KJ] Adams, in particular, how many games have they been in like this? I think it showed. Their poise down the stretch. Their toughness. It’s a big-time college basketball game, both ways. For our freshmen, to learn and grow from this, is going to be off the charts. You can’t simulate this in practice.”
On the second-to-last possession:
“[Cooper Flagg] and [Kon Knueppel], they had a great two-man game. They were making plays the whole second half. [Kansas] was getting messed up with the switching and whether they were switching or not. We were looking to get Kon downhill or right back to Cooper and he’d be getting downhill. End of the day, I feel as a coach, you want the ball in your best players’ hands. Kon and Cooper made so many plays throughout the second half. Didn’t go our way, necessarily. I’ll have to look back at it, too, to see how it unfolded. But I thought the play, I’m taking the ball in their hands any day of the week. We just have to execute better, and I think us being in these moments, we’ll understand how the game is called. We’ll understand how teams are going to play us. We’ll understand time and score. All those kinds of things, we need to continue to improve.”
On how the younger players have handled the high-profile games, even with some not ending with a win:
“They’ve handled it great. To play the schedule we have, the first six games, I’ve never been a part of this as a player or as a coach. To get tested this early, and to be in a position where you’re winning every game down the final stretch, it’s right there for you. All six games. I think it says a lot about the potential this team has, but also the character, right now, that we have. To me, it’s character. You either have a competitive spirit or you don’t. To come off a war against Arizona on Friday and come right back against these guys, I think it says a lot about our group. We just kept fighting. I know that we’ve got something. I know we do. I have to help them better. I have to make sure we continue to make jumps to improve. I have the confidence that we will.”
