6. Jon Scheyer (Duke)
Scheyer succeeded the legendary Mike Krzyzewski back in 2022 and took the Blue Devils to the Elite Eight last season. Now entering year three, you could argue that there’s some pressure for even more success, especially after the culture and standard that Coach K created in Durham. Once again, Scheyer brought an elite recruiting class to Duke and it’s fair to say that this roster is playing up to their potential.
Duke lost close games against Kansas and Kentucky in November, but also have an awesome win over Auburn and a few other notable victories. Cooper Flagg is playing like the future #1 pick in the NBA Draft while other young pieces like Kon Knueppel are playing like veterans. The Blue Devils are blitzing their way through ACC play, winning all but one of their eight league games by double-figures with zero sign of slowing down.
There are many disappointing teams in the ACC this season and Duke isn’t apologizing for anything. There’s no competition right now in this league and the Blue Devils look like a sure-fire 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament in a few months. Flagg in particular has been awesome and should be an All-American and probably the ACC’s top player. Scheyer deserves plenty of praises for bringing this talent and aboard and putting them in this position, though what this team does in the postseason will obviously be very important.