Duke vs. UNC: Jon Scheyer Embraces the Rivalry’s Weight - and the Opportunity
Jon Scheyer knows the Duke-North Carolina rivalry inside and out - first as a player, now as the man in charge in Durham. And as the Blue Devils prepare to head into Chapel Hill for another installment of college basketball’s most iconic showdown, Scheyer’s message is clear: soak it in, stay focused, and don’t run from the moment.
Scheyer’s first taste of this rivalry as a freshman guard back in 2007 didn’t go his way. Duke lost both matchups that season, including a hard-fought home game at Cameron Indoor where Scheyer poured in 26 points.
But now, as a second-year head coach, his experience has flipped. Last season, he led Duke to a three-game sweep of the Tar Heels - home, away, and again in the ACC Tournament.
Still, Scheyer isn’t leaning on last year’s success as any sort of cushion heading into Saturday’s clash at the Smith Center.
“Any time you’ve had success, it makes the other person want it even more,” Scheyer said Thursday. “For us, it’s completely about this year’s group.”
And this year’s group is rolling. Duke enters the weekend ranked No. 4 in the country, sitting at 21-1 overall and a perfect 10-0 in the ACC.
Their only blemish? A one-point loss to Texas Tech back in December.
Since then, the Blue Devils have been locked in - balanced, battle-tested, and steadily evolving.
“The funny thing is I think this team has developed better than I could have imagined from where we were in the fall,” Scheyer said. “I think this team has really grown and come a long way. Where we are now is not the finished product, either.”
That’s a scary thought for opponents. Because if this Duke team is still getting better, they might just be scratching the surface of what they can become.
From VHS Tapes to the Big Chair
For Scheyer, this rivalry has always been personal. Growing up, he didn’t just watch Duke-Carolina games - he studied them. If he couldn’t catch them live, his dad would record them on VHS so he could rewind and rewatch every moment.
“That’s how I watched Chris Duhon making a layup and all those moments that I had growing up,” Scheyer said. “So I was ready. That’s what I dreamt of.”
Now, he’s living that dream - but with a lot more responsibility. Scheyer admitted that coaching in this rivalry carries a different kind of weight than playing in it ever did.
“I felt the responsibility even more than as a player,” he said. “At the same time, you appreciate the attention.
I never run from that. You have to appreciate that as a coach at Duke.”
His first game as head coach in the rivalry came almost exactly a year ago - February 4, 2023 - and it was a gritty 63-57 win at Cameron. Jeremy Roach led the way with 20 points, and Dereck Lively II pulled down 14 rebounds. A few weeks later, Duke went into Chapel Hill and won again, this time 62-57 behind Kyle Filipowski’s 22-point, 13-rebound performance.
That core - Filipowski, Lively, Tyrese Proctor, Mark Mitchell - was all freshmen last season. Now, it’s a new wave of first-year talent stepping into the fire: Cameron and Cayden Boozer, Dame Sarr, Nikolas Khamenia. For them, Saturday will be their first real taste of what this rivalry feels like from the court level.
A Stage Like No Other
Make no mistake: the Smith Center will be rocking. ESPN’s College GameDay will be in the building.
The crowd will be loud, the atmosphere electric, and the stakes high. It’s Duke vs.
Carolina - the game that always delivers, no matter the rankings, no matter the records.
Much of the pregame buzz will center around the matchup between Duke’s Cameron Boozer and UNC’s Caleb Wilson - two elite freshmen with sky-high ceilings and legitimate national player of the year potential down the road. But for Scheyer, the focus is less on individual battles and more on embracing the moment as a team.
“There’s no denying the fact that when you think about the success of both of these programs and what this game stands for in college basketball, I think people would be jealous of what this game means,” he said. “But ultimately, it’s a helluva thing to be a part of.”
And that’s the message he’s trying to pass on to his players. This isn’t just another game - it’s the kind of opportunity that comes with real pressure, real attention, and real meaning. And that’s exactly what you want.
“I want them to understand that, God willing, you can play more games going forward where people care and there’s the spotlight and there’s noise and there’s attention,” Scheyer said. “And what comes with that is amazing opportunity.”
The lights will be bright on Saturday in Chapel Hill. The rivalry will be fierce. And Jon Scheyer, now fully settled into the big chair, isn’t just ready for it - he’s embracing it.