Bookstore Glossary Library Links News Publications Timeline Virtual Israel Experience
Anti-Semitism Biography History Holocaust Israel Israel Education Myths & Facts Politics Religion Travel US & Israel Vital Stats Women
donate subscribe Contact About Home

Jon Scheyer

(1987 - )

Jon Scheyer is a Jewish American former professional basketball player and current coach at Duke University.

Jonathan James Scheyer was born August 24, 1987 in Northbrook, Illinois. He is the youngest of three children and was raised in a Jewish household. Scheyer attended Glenbrook North High School, where he led his team to an Illinois state championship his junior year, a 3rd-place finish his freshmen year, and an Elite Eight appearance in the state playoffs three out of four years from 2003-2006. Scheyer was known as the "Jewish Jordan" and is the 4th-leading scorer in Illinois history, with 3,034 points.

Scheyer began his freshmen year at Duke University in 2006 and started in all 33 games his first year. His junior year he was named one of three team captains for the Blue Devils and was renamed captain his senior year by Coach Mike Krzyzewski. As Duke's starting point guard, he led his team to ACC regular season and tournament championships, and ultimately to the NCAA National Championship. He was a unanimous 2009–10 All-ACC First Team selection, and named to the 2010 ACC All-Tournament First Team and the 2010 NCAA South All-Regional Team. He has the the most consecutive games in Duke history (144), the third-highest free throw percentage (.861), the third-most free throws (608), and the fourth-most 3-pointers (297).

In 2006, Scheyer was an Inductee into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Though he was preliminarily projected to be drafted in the second round of the 2010 NBA draft, Scheyer went unpicked and was subsequently invited to the training camp of the Los Angeles Clippers but was waived before the start of the 2011 NBA season. In 2011, he played shooting guard for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA's Developmental League.

In June 2011, Scheyer signed a two-year contract with perennial Euroleague contender and five time champion, Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Though the team is limited to only four non-Israeli players, Scheyer's Jewish faith will allow him to receive automatic citizenship in Israel and he could then play as a native on the team. "I am really excited to take the next step in my basketball career and go play for Maccabi Tel Aviv," said Scheyer. "I am looking forward to the opportunity to play for a team with such great tradition."

In April 2013, Scheyer was announced as a special assistant to Duke University head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski.


Sources: Wikipedia; Photo: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic  License. Author: Deebee.