My entire life as a basketball fan flashed before my eyes Sunday, and not because Duke almost lost its first non-conference home game in 62 attempts.
No, my visions weren't from panic-it's only November, after all-but rather from this crazy sense of basketball déjà vu. You see, Duke's nail-biting 82-79 win over Rhode Island conjured up the images of two of the most iconic basketball figures stuck in my mind's eye: Valparaiso's Bryce Drew and Glenbrook North's Jon Scheyer.
The first guy was the consummate coach's son who couldn't miss a shot en route to a Sweet 16 berth before falling short of taking down, coincidentally enough, Rhode Island for a place in the Elite 8 in 1998.
The second was one of the greatest slashers I've ever seen play live. His floor sense was so astute it always appeared as if every other guy on the court was on a five-second tape delay. He saw passes and openings to the hoop that were invisible to everyone else. And on a freezing Chicago night his junior season, he lit up my high school's varsity team to the delight of perhaps everyone in the state, but especially to the Glenbrook North faithful who had been camping out all afternoon for a chance to see the game.
So when Rhode Island's Jimmy Baron, the coach's son, and Duke's Jon Scheyer, the older version of one of the greatest players in Illinois state history, squared off in front of a raucous crowd in Cameron this weekend, I couldn't help but imagine the two as the reincarnations of Drew and, well, the Scheyer of old.
To be frank, I've never seen anyone shoot like Baron did against the Blue Devils-a sizzling 8-for-10 effort from beyond the arc that almost single-handedly lifted his team to victory. And to be even more frank, I never thought I'd see Scheyer play again like he did in high school.
Because back when he was being recruited four years ago, I wondered and even argued with friends over whether Scheyer would ever be more than a catch-and-shoot kind of player (albeit a good one) in Duke's offensive system as it was then.
Through the guard's first two seasons, it seemed as if this question had salience, that Scheyer had been relegated to the role of long-range shooter. This is not to say he wasn't a prolific scorer-he averaged double-figure points both years-but the kind of production he had as a freshman and sophomore was different from what he put on display Sunday.
For example, in the 2006-2007 season, Scheyer attempted 167 3-point field goals. The following season, that number fell to 121. This year, if Scheyer continues shooting treys at the clip he has in his first three games, he'd be on pace to take only 88.
Conversely-and I believe, as a result of his ability to take the ball to the basket-Scheyer is on pace to shatter his total free throw attempt numbers from his first two years at Duke. As a freshman and sophomore, he went to the line 136 and 135 times. If he keeps playing as he has this year, Scheyer would take 198 trips to the charity stripe.
Again, three games probably isn't the most statistically significant of samples (and the guard's 13-of-13 performance from the line Sunday helps inflate those numbers), but as a point of reference, J.J. Redick took 209 and 256 free throws as a junior and senior, respectively. Drawing fouls and getting to the line is what great players do.
Judging by Sunday evening's performance, Scheyer has the potential to be a great player.
Trailing by three with six seconds left in the first half, Duke had one last shot at the basket. As Kyle Singler prepared to inbound the ball under the Rhode Island basket, I turned to my friend and said the play was going to be for Scheyer. Sure enough, Scheyer received the ball in the backcourt, took it the length of the floor and converted the buzzer-beating layup to bring his team within one.
And it was Scheyer who iced the win for the Blue Devils, sinking two free throws with three seconds remaining to put his team up three and ensure that the best the Rams could do was force overtime.
It seems the kid at whom I once marveled has become the man Duke needs him to be.
As a junior in high school, Scheyer led his Spartans to a state championship. Now that he's a junior in college, Scheyer can only hope for déjà vu all over again come April in Detroit.
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