Blue Devils filling a coaching vacancy from outside the school’s ‘Brotherhood’
For the second time in two years, Jon Scheyer will add a coach from outside the Duke basketball family to his coaching staff.
Multiple sources confirmed Thursday Duke plans to hire Emanual Dildy to fill the vacancy on the Blue Devils’ staff created when Amile Jefferson left for the Boston Celtics last month.
Dildy, who turned 42 in May, has been on Porter Moser’s staff at Oklahoma since April 2021. A Chicago native like Scheyer, Dildy played college basketball at New Mexico State and Eastern Illinois.
He’s lauded in coaching circles for his solid recruiting and strong work ethic. His hiring could be completed in time for Dildy to accompany the team back to Chicago for Saturday’s player-organized 312 Run event, which will include a practice, reception and dinner with the coaches and players. Tickets for 312 Run cost $2,500, with proceeds going to the players through NIL rules.
Dildy joins associate head coach Jai Lucas as coaches on Scheyer’s staff with no previous ties to Duke. Lucas joined Scheyer’s staff for his first season after previously coaching at Kentucky and Texas. Scheyer rewarded him in June by promoting him from assistant coach to associate head coach.
Jefferson played on Duke’s 2015 NCAA championship team and, after working in a player personnel role during Mike Krzyzewski’s final season as head coach in 2021-22, became an assistant coach when Scheyer took over the program last year.
Dildy’s arrival will give the Blue Devils their full allotment of coaches who can work on the court with players as well as recruit off campus. In previous years, that’s included the head coach and three assistant coaches.
As of July 1, the NCAA changed the rule to allow two additional coaches who can work with players on the court but are now allowed to recruit off campus. Scheyer hired former Duke point guard Will Avery for one of those positions.
Because Scheyer had yet to hire a replacement for Jefferson, Avery was allowed to recruit off campus earlier this month via an NCAA waiver. Now he’ll revert to the new role.
Prior to coaching at Oklahoma, Dildy previously coached with Moser at Loyola (Chicago) from 2013-16. After coaching one season each at Valparaiso and Missouri, Dildy was an assistant under former Duke player and assistant coach Chris Collins at Northwestern for three seasons.