Okay, let’s talk about this Jon Scheyer basketball thing. It caught my eye, you know, seeing him step into those massive shoes at Duke.
Getting Started Watching Him
So, first thing I did was just start watching the games. Plain and simple. Sat down, turned on the TV whenever Duke was playing. Wanted to get a feel for it myself, not just read what others were saying. You gotta see it with your own eyes, right?
I wasn’t looking for anything super technical at first. Just the vibe. How did the team play? Did they look tight? Did they look like they were playing for him? Basic stuff.
Initial Observations
- The offense felt… different sometimes? Hard to explain. Maybe a bit more movement before the main action.
- Seemed like he was letting the young guys play through mistakes more than I expected.
- Defense still looked like Duke defense, intense on the ball.
Trying to Understand the Plays
After watching a few games, I started trying to actually follow the plays more closely. Paused the playback a lot. Rewound stuff. Tried to see the patterns. It’s tough, ’cause TV angles don’t show you everything. But I was looking for simple actions they repeated.
Saw a lot of high pick-and-roll, obviously. But also noticed some interesting off-ball screens they used to free up shooters. Took some mental notes, just jotting down ideas on a notepad I keep nearby when I watch games seriously.
Connecting it to My Own Experience (Sort Of)
It reminded me a bit of when I used to play pickup. We never had set plays really, but you could feel when a team clicked. When everyone kinda knew where to cut, where the pass was going. Watching Scheyer’s team, especially later in the season, I started seeing glimpses of that kind of flow. It’s not something you can just draw up; it takes time.
I even went out to the driveway court one afternoon. Wasn’t trying to run Duke’s offense, obviously, just me out there. But I practiced some of the simple moves I saw. Like, attacking off a screen, reading where the help would come from, and making a pass to an empty spot. Just working on the decision-making part of it in my head. Felt good to just move the ball around, thinking about those concepts.
Final Thoughts (For Now)
So yeah, that’s been my process. Just watching, thinking, trying to connect it to the game I know. It’s interesting seeing a young coach handle that kind of pressure cooker job. You see the adjustments game to game, sometimes possession to possession. It’s not like flipping a switch. It’s a grind. And watching that grind, that’s been my “practice” with this whole Jon Scheyer basketball situation.
