Duke's Scheyer says watching SMU game from afar due to illness was 'bizarre, bizarre experience'

Duke coach Jon Scheyer said he's feeling better from an illness that kept him from coaching the Blue Devils' weekend win at SMU, adding that watching from afar was “a bizarre, bizarre experience.”

“Look, I felt horrible,” Scheyer said Monday on the Atlantic Coast Conference coaches' teleconference. “I felt very confident in the decision we made late at night right before the game, just because I had so much trust in our staff and players. I thought we were prepared. The game plan was in.”

Scheyer didn't travel to Dallas for Saturday's game, with associate head coach Chris Carrawell leading the team as Scheyer missed his first game since taking over in 2022 for retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski.

Scheyer said it was valuable watching his team, ranked No. 4 in last week's AP Top 25, beat SMU 89-62 from a different perspective.

“When you separate yourself or take a step back, you're able just to see things differently because you're not in a decision-making mode now,” Scheyer said. “And every day I'm in a decision-making mode, so it allows you just to see the team with where we're at and even the job the coaches did. It was amazing how locked in sync we all were as I'm watching. It was just seamless.”

Scheyer is set to return to the bench for Tuesday's home game against Pittsburgh.

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Aaron Beard, The Associated Press