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Tyrese Proctor’s persistence and Jon Scheyer’s faith in it have Duke soaring into the Sweet 16 on a heater
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RALEIGH, N.C. – Tyrese Proctor missed the first 10 3-pointers he attempted this postseason. Five against Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. Five more the next day against North Carolina.
But shooters don’t stop shooting just because a few don’t go in. So the Duke guard kept shooting his shot.
No adjustments. No tweaks. Just the confidence to believe that the next one is going in.
Which it did.
And it hasn’t stopped going in yet.
Over the past 3 games – in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte last week and the first 2 rounds of the NCAA’s East Region in Raleigh this weekend – Proctor has drained 19 of his 30 shots from beyond the arc.
That includes a blazing 7-of-8 performance in Sunday’s 89-66 second-round win against Baylor in which he became the first Blue Devil since his coach, Jon Scheyer in 2010, to make 5 or more 3-pointers in consecutive NCAA Tournament games.
The impressive display of sharpshooting prowess is all the more remarkable because of the futility that preceded it.
It’s a progression that mirrors the eventful 3-year odyssey that’s taken Proctor from Down Under as an early enrolling 5-star prospect struggling to fulfill his high expectations to the cusp of college basketball’s pinnacle.
“I think that’s what I’m most proud of, or as proud as anything, with the journey Tyrese and I have been on,” Scheyer said Sunday, stopping for several moments to collect himself after getting overcome by emotion, “because it’s harder to go through those journeys now.”
Given the current landscape of college sports and the mindset of today’s players, Proctor could easily have entered the NBA Draft after a freshman season that started slowly but finished with a flourish and an ACC Tournament championship.
It would have been just as understandable had he chosen to enter the transfer portal and started over someplace else after a disappointing sophomore campaign that went sideways early because of an ankle injury and never fully got back on track.
But after holding what Scheyer described as “honest conversations” about his future Proctor decided to keep shooting his shot at Duke.
And he’s hit nothing but net.
“I think from a young age I’ve never been a person to sort of jump off a ship in a sense,” Proctor said, adding that he never stopped trusting himself, Scheyer or Duke’s storied program. “Everyone’s on a different journey, whether it’s 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years. I’m just making sure I’m level-headed and always trying to get better every day.”
He’s succeeded by sticking to the same process that helped him turn that 0-for-10 slump into his current can’t-miss heater.
“It’s just my preparation, just behind the scenes putting in the work and trusting myself,” he said. “When I’m on the court, I’m just playing free and having fun out there, just trying to cherish every moment I get with these guys.”
That attitude has helped Proctor improve his 3-point accuracy from around 33% for his first 2 seasons to his current .415, which ranks among the top 30 nationally.
But not all that progress can be measured in numbers.
Not only has the 6-6 junior upped his game on the court, but he’s also developed into an effective leader whose presence in the locker room and in games has been a steadying influence on a roster dominated by 1-and-done freshmen stars.
Proctor’s growth from inconsistent teenager to trusted veteran and the adversity he had to overcome along the way are the reasons Scheyer had to work so hard to hold back tears on Sunday when talking about his longest-tenured player.
“I was not in a convincing mode after (the 2023-24) season. It was just matter-of-fact, where I saw it for him and the opportunity,” Scheyer said. “We had honest conversations like we always do. But the difference is for a guy in that position to take it, as opposed to making excuses or running away from it. That’s the special part.
“So for this to happen for Tyrese, to hit 7 3s and be our key guy and all that after going through those moments. That speaks a lot to his character.”
So does the fact that he’s willingly deferred the spotlight of stardom to his younger teammate Cooper Flagg. And to a lesser extent, fellow freshman Kon Knueppel.
Individual accolades or not, Proctor is content to keep shooting his shot. And if they keep going in as often as they have lately, he’ll finish his eventful Blue Devil journey in the best way possible.
As a national champion.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
