On Saturday night, Jon Scheyer will guide the No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils into his first Final Four as head coach, following his takeover of the program from the legendary Mike Krzyzewski after the 2022 season.
Ahead of their matchup against the Houston Cougars, Scheyer was recently named the 2025 John McLendon National Coach of the Year. In light of this honor, he received a heartfelt message from former Butler Bulldogs head coach and current Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations, Brad Stevens, who is also a close friend of Scheyer’s.
"Hey, Jon, congratulations on being the John McLendon National Coach of the Year," Stevens said. "It's been fun to follow your career. From the first time walking into the gym at that Glenbrook North-Glenbrook South rivalry game to following your time at Duke, up until that last game where you ripped our hearts out.
By the way, do you know how hard it is to do a video for someone who ripped your heart out the way you did ours? But that just shows how fond I am of you and how much I think of you. I’ve been so impressed by your journey from assistant coach to now head coach. Nobody deserves this more. Congratulations, super happy for you."
The game Stevens was referencing in his message was the 2010 national championship, where his Butler Bulldogs faced off against Duke. In a gut-wrenching finish, Butler lost 61-59 after former Butler star Gordon Hayward's buzzer-beater attempt from just beyond half court narrowly missed. Jon Scheyer was a key player on that Duke team and served as the senior captain.
Boston Celtics general manager Brad Stevens on the court before the start of the game against the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden.
Since then, he has steadily worked his way up within the program. Now, as head coach, Scheyer has Duke just two wins away from securing the program’s first national title since 2015.
