Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer (Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports)
Duke Basketball Coach Looking to 'Probably Make Some Changes'
No Duke basketball team has racked up four losses before Christmas Day since Mike Krzyzewski's 1982-83 squad. But Jon Scheyer's second batch of Blue Devils, who should freefall from No. 7 in Monday's updated AP Top 25 Poll in light of back-to-back losses at Arkansas and Georgia Tech, is now officially in danger of matching that mark.
Duke has three games left on its pre-Christmas slate. The Blue Devils (5-3, 0-1 ACC) host Charlotte on Saturday and Hofstra three days later in Cameron Indoor Stadium before squaring off against now-No. 9 Baylor, currently undefeated at 8-0, in New York City's Madison Square Garden on Dec. 20.
Following Saturday's 72-68 upset defeat at the hands of the unranked Yellow Jackets, the 36-year-old Scheyer, now 4-8 as the Duke basketball head coach in true road games, explained his dissatisfaction from the loss in Atlanta during his opening statement to the media afterward:
"One, losing [starting sophomore guard Tyrese Proctor] right away [lower leg injury] is a thing you have to react to in real time. Really, from the start of the game, we gave [the Yellow Jackets] some life with the threes. I thought they hit some tough shots.
"Also, for us, we have to do a better job starting off the game. And we didn't start off well. So, for the entire game, we're fighting and clawing our way back.
"Look, we got something inside of us...We go up four [near] the end.
"But, for us, I can go back to a lot of little plays. And this is a time for us, for our team, we have a week of practice. We've got to stick together. We've got to get together even closer. And as a coaching staff, we've got to get together.
"There are some things we have to look at and probably make some changes.
"The biggest thing is really sticking together...I haven't liked the way we shared the ball the last two games. We had 11 assists [against Georgia Tech]. We have a team, I believe, that should have closer to 20 assists a game. It should come easier for us. But, for me, it was our defense. When we needed key stops, we didn't get them.
"Credit Georgia Tech. They were ready to play. They were ready to go, man. They did a great job. And we didn't do enough...
"Disappointing. It's a disappointing loss. And it's something we have to learn from."
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