Mike Krzyzewski's shadow? Duke coach-in-waiting Jon Scheyer embraces 'hardest job in the history of the sport'

Jon Scheyer walked into his introductory news conference Friday at Cameron Indoor Stadium with his wife, Marcelle, daughter Noa, and son, Jett. Duke's coach of the future took the podium as the new face of the program for the first time.

The spotlight shined brighter than in the national championship games he won as a player (2010) or piloted as an assistant coach (2015). "A pretty cool moment," Scheyer said.

The 33-year-old confidently addressed the elephant in the room right off the bat, acknowledging his succession of Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski to be the "hardest job in the history of the sport."

"I don’t expect it to be easy," Scheyer said. "I don’t expect anything to be given to me. I'm always going to show up. I realize how important of a time it is for this program. I'm going to relish this opportunity. We’re going to be relentless in our pursuit of championships."

Coach K will retire at the end of the 2021-22 season, meaning Scheyer will spend one more season under his mentor as associate head coach before he takes over in April. But Scheyer made it clear that his mentor's towering legacy will be more of a blessing than a burden and that the culture Krzyzewski cultivated will live on.

"Coach, one of the best gifts you've given all of us is each other. The Brotherhood," a teary-eyed Scheyer said, making eye contact with Krzyzewski, who was sitting in the crowd. "One of the most important things to me moving forward is to make sure that every former player knows they always have a place here and are a part of what we’re doing."

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Scheyer, who beat a plethora of Coach K disciples for the job, was asked by reporters what his legacy will be. He said "only time will tell" and he will have to "earn trust." He also was asked how he'll eventually coach in Krzyzewski's shadow. He said he won't.

"It’s no secret the amazing success coach has had here," he said. "Following him is incredible because of the foundation. I know expectations come with that. One of (the) best (pieces) of advice coach has ever given me: Follow my instincts fully. That’s what I’m going to do. I'm secure in who I am.

"Coach K is one of one. I'd be unsuccessful if I tried to be him. Nobody can be Coach K. That said, I’m not stupid, I have the best resource in (the) history of college basketball, I’m going to go to him if I need to. I see that as an advantage. Frankly not worried about that at all.”

Duke University president Vincent Price said beforehand there's "no one better prepared to carry on Coach K's legacy." And fittingly, Scheyer even paid homage to Krzyzewski's introductory news conference when no one could pronounce his name.

“He’s 33," Krzyzewski told reporters Thursday. "I was 33 when I got here. … He is one of the smartest coaches in the country. Nobody knows that as well as I know that. The players know that.”

A student of the game, Scheyer said before he became one of the most prolific scorers in Illinois high school basketball history he "always wanted to be a coach" and was filling out fake rosters on his notebooks. He looked back on two moments of destiny — both in Las Vegas — that drew him to Duke as a player and a coach.

The first was at a basketball camp when Krzyzewski told a younger Scheyer to dream big. A photo of a prepubescent Scheyer posing with Coach K went viral Thursday and he said that was the start of a long relationship before his eventual recruitment.

"When I was 16 years old, coach set out a vision for me that went beyond basketball," Scheyer said. "I wasn’t sure this was what you had in mind."

The other was at the 2010 NBA Las Vegas Summer League when Scheyer suffered an eye injury that ultimately played a part in his professional career being cut short.

"I had an injury to my eye. Instead of being teammates with LeBron, I had doctors telling me I may never play basketball again because of losing permanent vision in my right eye. … That set me on a path this way … into coaching at a young age."

Duke athletics director Kevin White — who is stepping down in August and is handing the torch to Nina King – said Scheyer undoubtedly "won the job" over any other candidate in a search that only took 10 days but began long before Krzyzewski told administration about his retirement plan. White said he "long studied the marketplace."

White said Scheyer "represents the best in class relative to the next generation" with his prowess on the recruiting trail and feel for the sport's future with players eventually being compensated and competing in professional leagues set to lure away one-and-done talent.

"Duke as a program is in the best position to move forward in this landscape," Scheyer said. "It's great to have (other) options for kids. Great to have that option for kids. The right kids will still want to come to Duke."

Follow college basketball reporter Scott Gleeson on Twitter @ScottMGleeson

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jon Scheyer embraces challenge of following Mike Krzyzewski's path