Scheyer returns to site of 2010 title looking for second ring

INDIANAPOLIS—Duke assistant coach Jon Scheyer doesn't bring out his championship ring often. On the rare occasions that he does, it brings back a lot of memories.

Those memories were made at Lucas Oil Stadium five years ago, as soon as Butler forward Gordon Hayward's halfcourt prayer careened off the backboard, then harmlessly fell off the front of the rim. The miss sent Scheyer running in to the arms of teammate Lance Thomas, having secured the fourth national championship in Duke history.

Each of the three Blue Devil assistants have experience playing in national championship games—Jeff Capel's Duke team lost in 1994 to Arkansas and Nate James captained the 2001 squad to head coach Mike Krzyzewski's third national title against Arizona. But Scheyer is the most recent member of the coaching staff to get to the promised land.

"I try not to talk to them too much about my playing days. I think we have enough time where we're just talking casually and it'll come up, but these guys listen," Scheyer said. "I know Quinn [Cook] multiple times has come up to me. He's watched our NCAA tournament games and asked me questions about that, so I love talking to him about it, but I love talking to them more about their experiences and what they're going through."

Back at Lucas Oil Stadium for the Final Four again in 2015, Scheyer can earn his second national title ring Monday night with a win against Wisconsin—this time, as a coach.

The Northbrook, Ill., native stuffed the stat sheet against Butler, pouring in 15 points, grabbing six rebounds and adding five assists to help Duke stave off Cinderella, 61-59. His Blue Devils were a veteran bunch, powered by Thomas, Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith and Brian Zoubek. Duke went only eight men deep that night and did not get a single bench point—Krzyzewski can only play eight scholarship players Monday night and will need continued success from Grayson Allen, Amile Jefferson and Marshall Plumlee to topple Wisconsin for the second time this season.

The Blue Devils' shortened roster and youth have presented unique coaching challenges for the Duke staff this season, which makes their postseason success all the more impressive in Scheyer's eyes. Krzyzewski has adapted his practice plans to accommodate his team by cutting down the length and intensity of practice, and has thrown in defensive wrinkles such as various zones when man-to-man wasn't working.

"The one aspect that this group has that my team had is complete belief. I think this team has such a strong belief in one another, in Coach," Scheyer said. "The poise they've shown all year....it's incredible what this group has done and where we're at today."

Scheyer is not the only member of the 2010 title team that the current Blue Devils can go to about what to expect when they hit the floor Monday night.

Marshall Plumlee has his two brothers, Miles and Mason, to ask for advice, seeking a national title in his home state. For Cook, his source of advice and encouragement is Smith, his longtime friend.

"Any time Nolan gets a chance to talk about his experiences or himself, he's going to take that opportunity—and make sure somebody puts that somewhere where Nolan can see that, please," Scheyer said. "Quinn and Nolan are like brothers, so they talk about everything. I think it's great having a guy outside the program—[in the sense that] Nolan isn't on staff or anything—just the fact that he's around, these guys love to pick his brain."

Like Scheyer, Capel remembers a very different Krzyzewski when he was preparing for the 1994 championship game. Specifically, the associate head coach said the 68-year-old yelled more at his team than at the current collection of Blue Devils.

The message, though, remains the same.

"I just remember him saying 'Trust your instinct. Be who you've been all year, and go out there and fight,'" Capel said. "It's kind of the same message as we'll give our team."