14 hours Ago
As Jon Scheyer was busy remodeling Duke’s program to fit Cooper Flagg’s superstar specifications this summer, the head coach received an unfamiliar visitor. The two had just met through a mutual friend in the coaching industry, but Scheyer figured an extra set of eyes on the Blue Devil roster couldn’t hurt. He was chasing a championship in Flagg’s lone season of college hoops, and every detail mattered.
The visitor? Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy. “I actually went down to Durham last summer to spend some time with him and some of the guys on his staff,” Hardy said. “Just talking basketball.
” As part of Duke’s run to the Final Four, Scheyer has built a braintrust of NBA coaches to lean on for answers. On any given day, he dials Brad Stevens, Joe Mazzula, Chris Finch, JJ Reddick or Quin Snyder. But the sixth man on his bench is Hardy, the third-year Jazz coach who has been an NBA lifer.
And while the two may not have known each other before this year, they have become close as Duke has powered its way to San Antonio with a generational roster. Scheyer and Hardy are the same age, 37, and came out of the same high school class. They both got their first head coaching gigs at the same time in 2022, Scheyer coming up as a Mike Krzyzewski disciple and Hardy coming out of the Gregg Popovich tree.
Their conversations started on hoops, but morphed into something more — an outlet for navigating life as a young head coach under intense scrutiny. “We talk about the specifics, the tactical part,” Hardy said. “But we also talk about having to manage the group and having imposter syndrome in your own, being in these roles and not always having the answers, you know? The moments when it doesn’t go well and you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing.
So there’s definitely a very human side to it.” FILE - Duke head coach Jon Scheyer reacts during the first half of a second-round college basketball game against Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament, March 18, 2023, in Orlando, Fla. The Duke Blue Devils are ranked No.
2 in the preseason AP Top 25. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File) From a basketball perspective, Scheyer overhauled his entire offense to incorporate Flagg’s immense talent .
Knowing he lost in the Elite Eight last year, Scheyer let seven players go and started recruiting guys who would complement Flagg’s game. Of Duke’s six best players this year, only one was on the roster a year ago: Tyrese Procter. Everyone else was brought in with Flagg in mind.
“Cooper gives you the luxury of having a guy that’s so versatile where I think it’s easier to add around him,” Scheyer said. “My first two years: Year one, we were big. Hard time scoring.
Year two, we could really score but we were smaller. The goal was to combine the two. We really valued the positional side, but we also valued shooting in a big way.
” Hardy was there to assist where he could. He had the Jazz video coordinators send Duke’s staff some clips when Scheyer needed answers. Scheyer reciprocates if there is anything Hardy is asking about.
The Jazz coach is hesitant to say how Scheyer’s evolved as a coach, mostly because they are the same age and it feels weird to talk about a friend that way. But he knows the steps Scheyer took to have the Blue Devils 34-3 and two wins away from a national title. “I’m not going to sit here and pretend like I’m an expert.
He’s obviously done a great job of incorporating new young players, and he’s changed some of his offensive style and done a really good job of maximizing his group,” Hardy said. (Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy during the first half of a game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025.
Hardy’s year has been more difficult, largely out of his control. Utah is tanking for the top pick in the NBA draft with 61 losses to show for it. But Hardy’s coaching acumen earned him a contract extension — theoretically in place for when the Jazz are competing again in a few years.
Scheyer deserves some credit in Hardy’s evolution too. “It happens all the time,” Hardy said of hitting Scheyer up when he needs advice. “We reach out to each other.
Send each other video clips and say, ‘Hey, what do you think about this?’ Or, ‘Hey, have you ever dealt with this?’ It’s been a consistent conversation. It’s not only in big moments. Not just in a moment of crisis.
” This weekend, when the Jazz are traveling to Atlanta, Duke will play Houston for a spot in the national title. Hardy plans on watching it with his staff, rooting for the Blue Devils to go to their first title game since 2015. His eyes will be on Scheyer, but also Scheyer’s best player.
If the ping-pong balls bounce Utah’s way, Flagg could be Hardy’s player next year — instantly shifting the Jazz out of tank mode. Who knows, maybe Scheyer will have to fly out to Salt Lake City to help Hardy reimagine his offense with Flagg at the center. But for now, Hardy will just be rooting for his new friend.
The future will come soon enough..
