RALEIGH — Jon Scheyer wiped away a tear, and the press conference fell silent.
Duke had just shelled Baylor 89-66 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Tyrese Proctor stole the show, draining a career-high seven treys and joining his head coach as the first Blue Devil since 2010 to make five or more 3-pointers in back-to-back NCAA tournament games.
Moments earlier, a smiling Scheyer had leaned over to pat Proctor on the shoulder while he responded to media questions. Now, as the junior guard headed back to the locker room to celebrate with his teammates, Duke’s normally unflappable coach needed a moment to regain his composure.
“I think it’s what I’m most proud of, or as proud of as anything,” Scheyer said. “The journey Tyrese and I have been on.”
His emotion was palpable. Both Blue Devils had come a long way to play that Baylor game.
They started their chapter together in 2022, when Scheyer took over as the program’s head coach and Proctor reclassified to start his freshman season a year early. The Sydney native had a noteworthy debut season, tallying double-digit points in 18 separate contests and often shooting at 3-point clips above 50%. He scored 31 points across three ACC Tournament games, then scored 16 against Tennessee in Duke’s second-round exit from the NCAA Tournament. With the season over, he could have chosen to declare for the 2023 NBA Draft.
Instead, he chose to stay.
Proctor placed his trust in the program Scheyer was building. Duke’s 2010 star had managed to guide the team to an ACC championship and No. 5 seed in his first year as head coach. He still saw ample room for the team — and Proctor — to grow.
“He and his family … They had such maturity to understand it's more important to be ready than just be drafted,” Scheyer said. “So he doubles down. Comes back. Huge expectations, and me and Tyrese both would say his sophomore year didn't go the way we wanted.”
Proctor fizzled his way through the next season without much improvement. A lingering ankle injury also affected his play. Even in his best game — a 24-point outing against Louisville — the NBA Global Academy product went 4-for-10 from the 3-point line. When Duke suffered a heartbreaking loss to N.C. State in the Elite Eight, Proctor’s season ended with zero points. His future seemed uncertain.
Scheyer, on the other hand, found his stock rising. He became the program’s fastest coach to reach the 50-win mark (doing so in 65 games), then posted the most overall wins, conference wins and NCAA Tournament wins of any Duke head coach in their first two seasons. With Cooper Flagg on the way to Durham, Scheyer knew he could build an incredible roster for the 2024-25 season.
Proctor needed to decide if he wanted to take part in that.
“It's easy to split, and I was not in a convincing mode,” Scheyer said. “We had honest conversations, like we always do. I think the difference is for a guy in that position to take it, as opposed to making excuses or running away from it. I think that's the special part.”
Even with lingering questions about the role he would play on a team packed with superstar freshmen, Proctor elected to return to Duke for his junior year. He was one of only two players to do so. The junior found his stride as a leader, stepping up when the Blue Devils needed him most.
When his younger teammates faltered in tight situations, Proctor kept his team competitive. He sank five threes against Kansas and four on the road against Clemson. But when Cooper Flagg and Maliq Brown both exited the ACC Tournament with injuries, Proctor’s shots dried up. He went 0-for-10 from deep across the first two games.
So the Australian made up for it in the ACC championship, nailing six treys against Louisville to secure the title. He followed up with six against Mount St. Mary’s and seven against Baylor to open NCAA Tournament play.
“When Tyrese plays with the type of confidence that he's been playing with this whole second half of the season, it’s just really good for our team,” Cooper Flagg said. “He’s just such a talented player, such a weapon for us, when he's being confident, looking for a shot.”
But Sunday, as Proctor netted threes up and down the court, he wasn’t the only one grinning. Scheyer matched his smile from the sidelines. Here was his No. 1-seed team, finding rhythm against Baylor. Here was his now-veteran guard, leading the way.
As the Blue Devils danced around the Bears, they found openings on the floor as if directed by neon signs. Five of Proctor’s 3-pointers came off assists from his newest teammates — two from Flagg, two from Kon Knueppel and one from Sion James. The junior also shared the wealth, assisting Knueppel on a trey and Khaman Maluach on a slam.
Duke’s ability to connect on the right plays made it one of the most dominant teams in Sunday’s slate. The Blue Devils now top the tournament leaderboard at a combined 67-point margin of victory.
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A lot of that credit goes to Scheyer’s roster construction and coaching, which have improved exponentially over the last three years. He has helped the Blue Devils capitalize on their offensive wealth and bulldoze their way through the first two rounds.
And a lot of credit goes to Proctor, who has made a name for himself in the tournament with 13-of-16 threes and 44 points. He’s much improved from the freshman who first shook hands with Scheyer — by nearly 9.5% from three and 7% from the field.
“I've never been the person to sort of jump off a ship,” Proctor said. “In a sense, I’m just trusting myself, obviously trusting coach Scheyer and the program here.”
“For this to happen, for Tyrese to hit seven threes, and to be our key guy after going through all these moments … I think that speaks a lot to his character,” Scheyer said. “The relationships you can build with a guy for three years … Man, I'm obviously really proud of him.”
Abby DiSalvo is a Trinity sophomore and assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.