Duke HC Jon Scheyer On Portal Recruiting: ‘There’s Tampering All the Time’

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer did not hesitate to answer a question about modern recruiting in college basketball when on The Devil’s Den podcast.

Scheyer was asked about his staff’s recruiting process in the transfer portal, and quickly referenced his experience trying to recruit players in the portal. However, with numerous players, even if Duke reached out quickly, the player oftentimes already had visits lined up and sometimes, commitments lined up.

“There’s a few different parts,” Scheyer said. “It starts with having our antennas up as a staff for who can go in the portal. There were a couple kids that we looked at, by the time we saw their names in the portal and reached out, they already had visits set up, and very shortly after they had commitments, they made commitments — and we’re talking days. In the portal, visit, and then being committed. There’s tampering all the time.”

Scheyer continued, referencing his own team’s outgoing transfers. Duke lost several key players to the portal, including Jeremy Roach, Mark Mitchell, and Sean Stewart. In addition, Blue Devils TJ Power, Jaden Schutt, Jaylen Blakes, and Christian Reeves all left the program as former highly-touted recruits. All seven players ended up at high-major programs.

“I can tell you, the seven guys that we had transfer were all contacted throughout the season. That’s the way it goes, that’s the era we’re in. You have to just be ready to attack those things in real time.”

Check out the full Devil’s Den podcast episode below.