Duke basketball fills vacant assistant coach position with former Blue Devils captain
Another of Duke’s former captains will be on the sidelines this fall when Jon Scheyer coaches his first games as the Blue Devils’ head coach.
Tuesday, Duke officially promoted Amile Jefferson to the role of assistant coach, filling the void left when Nolan Smith left for Louisville the previous week.
Jefferson, a member of the Blue Devils’ 2015 NCAA championship team and an integral part of Duke’s 2017 ACC title, was hired by former head coach Mike Krzyzewski in 2021 to be the team’s director of player personnel.
”Having a front-row seat for the evolution of Amile’s career has been special,” Scheyer said in a news release. “His passion, knowledge, and ability to relate to our guys is second-to-none. He played a valuable role for our team this season, particularly in the development of our frontcourt, and this promotion allows him to make an even bigger impact in the years ahead.”
A stout defender while at Duke, Jefferson’s role in 2021-22 included working with ACC Defensive Player of the Year Mark Williams.
”I’m deeply honored and excited to be here and be a part of this team that Jon Scheyer is building,” Jefferson said in a news release. “I feel a special bond and connection to Durham, our fans and our entire Duke family. Being here means the world to me. I want to extend my appreciation to Coach K for the opportunity to begin my coaching career last year, and I’m grateful for Jon for allowing me to continue it.”
Jefferson was a three-time team captain — the only player under Krzyzewski to be so named. Off the court, Jefferson was named to the All-ACC Academic Team four times, also the only player in program history to be so honored. During his four years, Jefferson played in a program-record 150 games with the Blue Devils from 2012-17, averaging 7.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest. He then went on to play in the NBA G-League with the Iowa Wolves (2017-18), and in the NBA with the Orlando Magic (2018-20) and Boston Celtics (2020) before finishing his playing career with the Turkish Basketball Super League’s Galatasaray (2020-21).
Jefferson joined head coach Krzyzewski’s staff in July 2021 and helped guide the Blue Devils to a 32-7 record, an ACC regular-season title and a run to the program’s 17th Final Four.
Duke’s current coaching staff of Scheyer, Jefferson and associate head coach Chris Carrawell all served as team captains during their Duke playing careers.
Scheyer also added former Elon coach Mike Schrage as a special assistant earlier this offseason.
Duke still has to hire another assistant coach to fill out its staff.
This story was originally published April 12, 2022 at 11:32 AM.
