Jon Scheyer still looking to add to 2022-23 roster
Jon Scheyer and the Duke coaching staff continue to evaluate players in the transfer portal, while also waiting for Trevor Keels' decision regarding the NBA Draft.
Jon Scheyer met with the media Tuesday for the first time as Duke’s head coach. The Blue Devils’ new head man spent more than 30 minutes discussing a wide array of topics. One of the first and most time sensitive issues he touched on is the 2022-23 roster.
As it stands today, there’s still work to be done in order to finalize who will be suiting up for the Blue Devils this coming season.
The six incoming freshmen — Dariq Whitehead, Dereck Lively II, Kyle Filipowski, Jaden Schutt, Mark Mitchell and Christian Reeves — have all signed and are prepared to arrive in Durham in late June. Jeremy Roach, Jaylen Blakes and Joey Baker are all set to return. And two transfers — Ryan Young and Kale Catchings — have been added to the roster.
Those 11 are all certainties for 2022-23.
“I think my goal from the beginning was to think about October of 2022 to feel like we are in a position to pursue a national championship,” Scheyer said. “And I think we are on our way there. We’ve still got some work to do, but first and foremost the thing I love about the position we are in is our roster.”
That brings us to the uncertainties — Trevor Keels and/or another potential addition via the transfer portal.
Scheyer said it plainly — there’s still work to be done.
When it comes to Keels, it’s a matter of waiting to see what happens. The freshman guard recently announced he would test the NBA Draft waters while maintaining his eligibility to return for his sophomore season if he so chooses.
Keels is arming himself with as much information as possible in regard to his pending status in the Draft. We’ve seen it in recent years where guys left early and the Draft didn’t pan out for them — DJ Steward and Matthew Hurt come to mind in terms of recent examples.
Keels does not want to fall into that category. So, he and his camp are doing their due diligence. Where he currently stands on the decision is yet to be seen. Some NBA scouts have told Bull City Hoops off the record that Keels projects anywhere between 18 and 35 in the Draft, but the workouts and interviews currently taking place will go a long way in narrowing those projections.
“We’ve still got some work to do …” — Jon Scheyer on the 2022-23 roster
For Scheyer and the Duke staff, they’re having to approach Keels’ decision and their own evaluation of available targets in the portal with some flexibility.
“Trevor, of course, we are supporting him going through the process of testing,” Scheyer said. “Look, any NBA team would be lucky to have Trevor and that’s the team we’re on. We want what’s best for him and we’re right behind him every step of the way. But obviously we are prepared to make sure whatever happens with that we’re ready to go.
“No matter what, there’s no substitution for Trevor Keels. He’s an incredibly special player and to be honest we haven’t even talked to Trevor about (him being back for 2022-23) — our thing with him has been about — act like you’re going. Go through it. Attack it. You can’t be half in.”
Now, that’s not to say Scheyer and company would not be excited to make an announcement that he’s returning. They certainly would.
But as it stands, they cannot approach the situation as if he were returning. If he does then that’s a bonus. For now, though, it’s either say you are going with what you have on the current roster and wait for Keels to decide or you’re trying to add to it.
Duke seems to be taking the latter approach.
“We’re not quite done,” Scheyer noted.
That said, he and the staff aren’t simply going to add someone for the sake of adding. No, they’ll be placing the same stringent approach to evaluating prospects in the portal was they do in every circumstance — though in a more condensed way.
“Constantly our staff is evaluating what’s out there in the portal,” he said. “It’s important you don’t want to just bring anybody in. You want to bring someone in that fits the core pieces we already have in place that can play a really good role. But it’s a small margin of players that can fit. So, taking it day by day evaluating it, but I can’t say right now that it’s exactly what we’re going to do. It’s constantly changing and evolving.
“I think we finally know everybody that’s in the portal. We know what we’re working with.”
Though many names in the portal have already made their decisions, there are still a high number of quality players still evaluating their potential landing spots.
Duke is no doubt pitching their case just as many other schools are. The staff is also continuing to do research on guys they could potentially aadd to the roster. Scheyer made that much clear.
“I think we’ve done a good job of (evaluating transfers) and we’ll have to continue to do a good job of it, because we’re not quite done. We want to make sure we evaluate everything we can before our roster is set for this upcoming season.”