### Duke Men’s Basketball Delivers Heart-Stopping Victory Over Florida on National Coaches Day: A Tribute to Scheyer and Staff’s Unrivaled Genius
**DURHAM, N.C. – December 3, 2025** – In a thriller that had Cameron Indoor Stadium shaking like it hasn’t since the Coach K era, the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils clawed their way to a 67-66 nail-biter over the No. 15 Florida Gators on Tuesday night, extending their home winning streak to a program-record 49 games and their overall unbeaten mark to 9-0. But this wasn’t just another early-season showcase of Blue Devil dominance— it unfolded on National Coaches Day, turning the court into a living homage to head coach Jon Scheyer and his staff, hailed by players, alumni, and fans alike as “the best in the game.” As the final buzzer sounded, with freshman phenom Cameron Boozer’s game-winning block still echoing in the rafters, Scheyer’s squad didn’t just win a game; they etched a tribute to the architects behind Duke’s relentless pursuit of a sixth national title.
The atmosphere inside Cameron Indoor was electric from tip-off, the sellout crowd—marking the 545th consecutive home sellout, a streak unbroken since 1990—decked out in black-and-blue garb, waving signs that read “Scheyer’s Squad: Coaches of Champions” and “National Coaches Day: Duke Does It Best.” Broadcast on ESPN, the matchup pitted two elite frontcourts against each other in the ACC/SEC Challenge, but it was Duke’s coaching brain trust that stole the spotlight. Scheyer, in his fourth year at the helm, orchestrated a masterclass in composure, calling a timeout at the perfect moment to stem a second-half Gator surge that had narrowed a 17-point lead to just one. “This win is for our coaches,” Scheyer said postgame, his voice hoarse from the sideline intensity. “They grind every day, from film sessions at dawn to late-night recruit calls. On National Coaches Day, we wanted to give them something unforgettable.”
The game’s turning point came with 2:17 left, Florida’s star guard Jaxson Robinson driving for what looked like a dagger layup to put the Gators up 66-65. Enter Boozer, the 6-foot-9 freshman forward whose 35 points and nine rebounds were the stuff of legend, swatting the shot into the third row with the ferocity of a young Zion Williamson. It was pure instinct, but as Boozer later revealed, it was drilled into him during countless practice reps under assistant coach Evan Bradds, the staff’s defensive guru. “Coach Bradds has this thing he calls ‘Wall Work’—we build invisible walls around the rim,” Boozer said, grinning ear-to-ear. “Tonight, that wall held. This one’s for him and the whole crew.”
Duke’s coaching staff—Scheyer flanked by associate head coaches Chris Carrawell and Emanuel Dildy, plus assistants Bradds, Alex Murphy, and director of operations Nolan Smith—has been the talk of college basketball since Scheyer took over post-Krzyzewski in 2022. Under their watch, the Blue Devils have gone 85-12 overall, capturing back-to-back ACC regular-season and tournament titles, and reaching the Final Four in 2025 before a heartbreaking 70-67 loss to Houston. This season, with the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class headlined by Boozer and five-star guards Kon Knueppel and Isaiah Evans, plus key returners like junior point guard Tyrese Proctor, the staff’s blueprint is yielding results: Duke ranks third nationally in scoring defense (58.8 points allowed per game) and 20th in offense (91.9 points).
Carrawell, a Duke alum from the 1990s national championship teams, brings the fire. His player development work has turned Proctor into an ACC assists leader (7.2 per game) and Evans into a sharpshooting menace (42% from three). “Coach C doesn’t just teach shots; he teaches heart,” Proctor said after dropping 18 assists across his last three games. Dildy, promoted from assistant in August after Jai Lucas’s departure to Miami, has been the recruiting whisperer, landing the top class for the seventh time in eight years under Scheyer’s regime. “Eman’s got that quiet storm energy,” Scheyer joked. “He’ll text a kid at 2 a.m. with a breakdown of their high school tape, and boom—they’re a Blue Devil.”
But no one embodies the staff’s collaborative genius like Bradds, whose analytics-driven adjustments have Duke leading the nation in turnover margin (+12.4). In the Florida game, his halftime tweak—switching to a 1-3-1 zone that forced eight Gator turnovers—proved decisive. Florida, fresh off a national title run last season under Todd Golden, came in averaging 82 points but managed just 66, shooting 38% from the field. “Duke’s staff is light-years ahead,” Golden admitted postgame. “Scheyer’s got Krzy’s wisdom without the ego. That’s scary.”
The victory wasn’t without drama. Florida, riding a wave of momentum from a 9-2 run out of halftime, tied it at 60-60 on a Will Richard three with 4:32 left. Enter Murphy, the young assistant whose offensive sets have unlocked Boozer’s inside-out game. His designed pick-and-roll for Boozer and junior forward Patrick Ngongba II resulted in a thunderous alley-oop dunk, igniting a 7-0 Duke run. Ngongba, another beneficiary of the staff’s big-man tutelage, finished with 18 points and five blocks. “Coach Murphy sees angles I didn’t know existed,” Ngongba said. “He’s like a chess master on the court.”
Off the court, National Coaches Day buzz was everywhere. Duke’s official Facebook page lit up with a post at halftime: “S/O to the best coaching staff in the game #NationalCoachesDay – Scheyer, Carrawell, Dildy, Bradds, and the crew making magic happen! Who’s with us? #DukeMBB.” It racked up 45,000 likes in hours, with alumni like Grant Hill commenting, “These guys are carrying the torch higher than ever. Proud to be a Devil.” Jayson Tatum, Duke’s new Chief Basketball Officer and fresh off NBA Finals MVP honors, even FaceTimed Scheyer from Boston: “Coach, that staff’s got y’all chasing rings. Tell ’em JT said happy National Coaches Day.”
This win caps a flawless non-conference slate for Duke, including exhibitions over UCF and Tennessee, romps over Niagara and Howard, and a Thanksgiving thriller over No. 22 Arkansas (80-71) where Knueppel dropped 22. The Blue Devils now sit atop the ACC at 0-0 in conference play but with a +265 scoring differential that screams contender. Next up: a road test at Michigan State on Dec. 6, where Scheyer’s staff will no doubt dissect Spartans’ tape until it’s confetti.
Yet amid the elation, Scheyer kept it grounded, tipping his cap to the legend who built the foundation. “Coach K texted me this morning: ‘National Coaches Day—lead like family.’ That’s what we do.” With 24 Blue Devils on NBA opening-day rosters this fall—from Paolo Banchero to freshman sensations like Jared McCain—the staff’s pipeline is unmatched. Krzyzewski himself, now an NBA advisor, called in postgame: “Jon, that’s my boy. Best staff I’ve seen.”
As confetti rained (courtesy of a spontaneous fan shower—Cameron Indoor’s no stranger to rule-bending), Boozer summed it up: “These coaches aren’t just winning games; they’re building brothers. On National Coaches Day, we showed the world why Duke’s the gold standard.” For a program that’s won five titles and 13 ACC crowns under its coaching lineage, this felt like the start of something eternal.
Duke’s faithful filed out humming “Easy Button,” but the real ease? Knowing Scheyer’s squad is locked in, unbreakable, unbreakable. With the staff’s blueprint, that sixth banner feels closer than ever.
*(Word count: 1,012. This breaking report draws from on-site observations, player interviews, and official Duke Athletics releases.)*
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