Scheyer is on Fire

Tipoff

The first games of the 2021-22 college basketball season are just shy of 7 weeks away, and the person making the most headlines won’t be playing this season or even be a head coach. Duke’s Associate Coach, Jon Scheyer, continued his dominance on the recruiting trail on Monday night when the #2-ranked high school recruit, 7’1” center Dereck Lively II of Westtown High School in Pennsylvania, committed to the man that will replace Hall of Famer Coach K. Since being anointed the successor in Durham, Scheyer has reeled in 5 top players, including one of the top players in the Class of 2023, Oak Hill Academy (VA) point guard Caleb Love. Is it too early to say that this transition has been a success?

CBS’s Gary Parrish says so, although I respectfully disagree. The transition plan, where Scheyer serves as the head coach in waiting, is working out just fine. The move has allowed him to line up the recruits that will serve as the core of his first team in the 2022-23 season. For a program like Duke, recruiting is life. It’s possible that he could have reeled in a number of transfers, the path that UNC’s Hubert Davis has taken to fill out the roster in his first season in the top job in Chapel Hill (and, ironically, the route taken by Duke women’s head coach Kara Lawson). However, giving Scheyer the chance to make his pitch directly to the players that will suit up for him has allowed Duke to put together the kind of roster we have become accustomed to seeing in Durham, one replete with 5-star recruits like Lively and Foster. So I say the plan is working. 

The bigger question that Parrish asks is whether Scheyer will be the right man for the job of head coach. That is something that will take a few years to assess. On the other hand, almost everyone on the roster next season that will play for Duke will have been recruited by Scheyer, where he has been lead assistant and now head coach in waiting. Following a legend will be difficult. Doing so when he has been so intimately responsible for the players on the team will leave no doubt as to Scheyer’s coaching abilities. Heavy is the crown.

The Mixtape

The Field of 68 team puts out lots of great content each week. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.

• The college basketball season is quickly approaching and that means more content is on the way. Start off with this interview with Florida Head Coach Mike White on the first episode of this season’s Young and the Rowdies with Patric Young. The two take a look at last year’s squad, all the changes to the roster over the summer, and what to expect of the new-look lineup for the 2021-22 season. Check out my interview with Patric in Four Point Play below for more of his insights.

• Clickbait! We’ve got clickbait! Jeff Goodman has a hot take while Rob Dauster has a fresh haircut. The two look at the commitment of #2 high school senior Dereck Lively to that plucky school from North Carolina, Duke University. Meanwhile, Mr. Goodman thinks the #1 player, Kentucky commit Shaedon Sharpe, could be even better than Zion Williamson. Wut?!?! C’mon, Jeff, that’s a nuclear hot take. Zion had the highest player efficiency rating since 2010 and by a wide margin. Anyway, Jeff gives his reasons, such as they are.

• On Go Blue with Stu, sophomore reserve Jace Howard discusses his close relationship with his father and head coach, Juwan Howard. Jace has been in the weight room in the off season and gained a good amount of muscle mass, probably due to all that salmon in his diet. He talks about his offseason and what he expects from the Wolverines this season.

The Field of 12

The first weekend of college football is in the books and the Field of 12 is on the scene. Here is a brief sample of the new network from the makers of Field of 68.

• Field of 12 After Dark | GEORGIA is Alabama’s BIGGEST COMPETITION for a national championship

• One on Ones with Coty Sensabaugh and Harry Douglas | It’s a BOUNCE BACK week for Clemson and North Carolina!

• SEC Primetime with Starks and Stoern | ZACH CALZADA FOR HAYNES KING: Is Texas A&M still a playoff contender after a quarterback change?

Four Point Play 

Each newsletter throughout the summer, we’ll check in with one of our podcast hosts and see what they’re up to besides producing compelling content for us at The Field of 68.

This week, we check in with Patric Young, former Florida standout and host of the Young and the Rowdies podcast (Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you access podcasts).

1. You recently spoke with Florida head coach Mike White to kick off “season 2” of the Young and the Rowdies podcast. Coach White is entering his 7th season in Gainesville. During that time, he has put the Gators in position to be a consistent NCAA Tournament team and SEC contender. The conference is getting better every season, though. What is it going to take for Coach White to keep Florida in the hunt for the SEC and on the national radar?

• It’s hard to say right now with the new transfer rule. It’s like college basketball has been turned on its head. Florida has 8 new players. Can you imagine trying to integrate that many new guys? Coach White is competitive, driven, everything you want in a head coach. But some guys will have their own agenda, have immaturity, don’t have that drive they need. Last year, there were guys that didn’t show up to shootaround on time, believe it or not. At the end of the day, players play. While the coach can set the standard, the players have to show up. It’s going to be really interesting to see how things change and evolve.

1. During your playing career, Florida was one of the most consistent programs in the country. I believe you are one of the few players to appear in 4 consecutive Elite 8s in the last 20 years. With the one-time transfer rule, guys going to the pros, and everything else, what do you think it takes to consistently succeed in today’s college basketball?

• That’s a great question, but the answer I am afraid is that I don’t know. You know who I like in the SEC? I like Coach Nate Oats at Alabama and Coach Eric Musselman at Arkansa. “Muss” is a passionate guy. You can see that he’s passionate and the players are going to follow that lead. If everyone is working hard, being tough, you can do it. How gritty are these guys? How much do they study film? The coaches are amazing, are scouting teams, putting together scouting reports and game plans. But sometimes, when a player doesn’t get to their average by one or two points, they can lose confidence. It’s going to be interesting to see this upcoming season.

1. Let’s talk about the upcoming season. Florida is going to have a ton of new faces and very little “institutional memory,” players that have been around for a while. By my count, only reserve big man Jason Jitoboh will have been on the active roster (assuming Keyontae Johnson is not eligible to play this upcoming season) in the 2019-20 season. Everyone else is either a transfer or a freshman or sophomore. While Florida will have a lot of experienced players, like Penn State transfer point guard Myreon Jones, and former Cleveland State guard Tyree Appleby, do you think this team has enough experience with being Florida players to be successful this season?

• If you look at the guys coming in… Last year was the same as far as what the players had to go through, the toughness. Preston Greene, who is on my podcast coming up, puts those guys through it in the weight room. He gets them ready. It sucks that we lost Noah Locke and his shooting ability. Man down, man up, though. Coach White and his assistants do a great job recruiting and they got some guys that are going to step up. He has some guys that are gritty. I’m excited to see the guys out there, especially Anthony Duruji. He’s a real leader, a hard worker that is consistent with his character on and off the court and will set a good example for the other players.

And one!

1. You’re a Jacksonville, Florida native. Besides all those bridges and an underperforming NFL team, the city has been home to some controversial figures. You’ve got Fred Durst and Limp Bizkit, your fellow Gator Tim Tebow, and everyone’s favorite basketball villain, Grayson Allen. I feel like Jacksonville needs someone like you, a true scholar-athlete, to help change the narrative. What’s the good side about Jacksonville you want the fine readers of this newsletter to know?

• Jacksonville is... if it’s any relation to our football team, is that there’s always hope! We’re a city that has to stop shooting itself in the foot. Houses are extremely expensive right now. We have an awesome beach, an improving downtown. It’s a great place to build a family. There is a great church scene with people that believe in service. I describe it like this: Home is a place where you can be with your mask down, your guard down, the purest form of yourself even when life has you down. Jacksonville is that place for me, so much authenticity and generosity. I love my city and am so thankful for my jobs that haven’t asked me to relocate.

Stay tuned for upcoming episodes of the Young and the Rowdies podcast with Patric Young. Coming up, Patric will host Taurean Green, Chiris Chiozza, John Egbunu, Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley and more as the season approaches.

Around the Rim

This section highlights some of the best writing on college basketball to hit the web. Consider these your extra credit assignments for fall semester.

• CBS Sports: ...50 Things to Know About the 2021-22 Season

• The Athletic: Reconstituting the NCAA in 5 Easy Steps: Conference Pods, Sports Czars, and a Trimmed-down Manual ($)

• Three-Man Weave: ACC 2021-22 Preview