opening remarks
I don’t have much to say other than we’re back to work. Learned a lot from last night. We’re focused on all the things we can control to get better, but for us it’s about getting us ready for game two against a really good TCU team that we’re excited about and ready to take the next step here.
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In terms of communication, the atmosphere before and during the game against Siena was poor
When you really, really want to win and you’re playing in a tournament for the first time, it brings up emotions that you can’t even prepare for. I think what happened to us yesterday made us very introverted. Our competitive spirit is not as high as it should be.
You have to step into this as the aggressor. That’s why we performed so well and had the year we had. For us, it’s all about getting back to ourselves and nothing else but doing what we’ve done, defense, rebounding, everything.
Our conversation and energy, I can tell you it will come back tomorrow. I know these people and everything will go back to the way it was.
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On Patrick Ngomba’s injury status
We’re going to practice soon. I hope he can play tomorrow. We’ll see what he can do in practice today. If everything goes well, I know – he was eager to play yesterday.
Right now, he doesn’t have what he needs to do to finish the game, but if everything goes well, we’ll see him get back there.
Track Ngomba
He needs practice. He needs to be on the field and move the way he needs to be successful. He’s been improving and doing really well. We just want to make sure he feels ready to play at a high level. Not just to be there, but to be him.
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Concerns about reinserting Patrick into the lineup and chemistry
We want Pat to play as much as possible. He is a game changer for our team. He is one of the most influential players in the country.
I don’t think what he’s doing is — again, I’m sure there’s going to be some drama that he hasn’t done in a while. I hate to call it rusty, but I’m sure he has some issues he has to work out. But at the end of the day, he just changed the dynamic of our team and other guys weren’t playing as well as they used to. We were able to get better rotations.
And you have a guy who is a huge threat to the rim. His passing, his pick-and-roll defense, his rim protection, he does a lot of things for our team and changes our dynamic.
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Again, we managed well without him, stepped up. We have seven really good players, but we need to be complete. This is what we want to do.
The Rise of Caden Boozer
I just think it’s his composure in these moments. Whether you have an opportunity to play in an ACC Championship game like the one we had yesterday against Siena, you’re either ready to play or you’re not, and he is.
And then he had the ability to make us go downhill and we personalized and changed some things to try to put him in a better position, but he was really the one that made it happen. I just love his aggression, but also his calmness.
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A message to Isaiah Evans at halftime on Thursday
I love the fact that – as Isaiah felt – he took that to heart last night. He just wasn’t himself in the first half. He just isn’t. His impact on scoring and shooting has been there from day one, but his defense, rebounding and energy have all grown as a player this year. We lacked his energy in the first half.
You think about what he did in the second half, I think his dunk, the left-handed dunk was the game that really got us going. So I’m very direct with him and our relationship will always be that way. I thought it was a good lesson for him after the game and I know he’s going to come back tomorrow in a completely different way.
On whether TCU reminds him of any teams in the ACC
Well, I’ve been following them from a distance. You see them playing certain games. When I first came to Duke, Coach Dixon was in Pittsburgh. Really understand his style and coaching style. He has a tenacious team.
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I can’t say they’re like a specific team. I think they’re just as tough a defense as Clemson, they’re just more disruptive. They created a lot of turnovers. They did a really good job though and I was really impressed with the way they competed and saw how they really knew where they were. It’s going to be a very tough game against a well-coached team.
About Xavier Edmonds and David Punch
They are really good. They are versatile. They smashed the glass really hard. They’re ball-friendly. As big men, they have the ability to step out, handle the ball and pass the ball.
But they’re better off putting pressure on the rim. I think their versatility is an important skill for them and they allow you to play throughout the game. You have to defend them one on one. You have to defend them on the post. You have to guard them when shots go up. You have to rebound and finish the game.
This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Everything Jon Scheyer had to say ahead of Duke vs. TCU game