Dr. Jeff Schutt recalled seeing his son, Jaden, running around the house wearing various college basketball jerseys when he was a kid.
Particularly one from Duke.
“Duke was always one of his favorites,” Jeff Schutt said. “We made the comment at the time — it would be cool if one of our kids played at that level.
“You never really think it could come about. When it did, that’s what’s surreal about this.”
Jaden Schutt received an offer from Duke over the summer and verbally committed Sept. 2. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Yorkville Christian made it official Wednesday, signing a national letter of intent to play for the Blue Devils.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to play at Duke,” Jaden said. “Even when I got the offers I did, it was always kind of the goal to keep working to play at the best spot I could.
“Duke is the top of the list for college. That’s what I always worked for, so when the opportunity came, I took it.”
Yorkville Christian coach Aaron Sovern remembered the moment he found out Schutt committed to Duke.
“It was our registration and open house night,” Sovern said. “He texted me 10 minutes before. I just put everything on hold and talked to him real quick.
“I said, ‘I know you have a million people to talk to, but congratulations, proud of you.’ We’ve always viewed him as that type of player. When he accepted, it was like, ‘Wow.'”
Schutt, who is ranked 47th in the nation by ESPN, averaged 26.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in the spring for the Mustangs.
Interest in Schutt gained steam over the summer with his AAU team, the Illinois Wolves. That’s where Jon Scheyer, who’s taking over the Duke program from the retiring Mike Krzyzewski after this season, first saw Schutt play.
“To be able to play in front of them, obviously they liked what they saw,” Jaden said. “That call after was kind of a relief and excitement at the same time.”
Scheyer, 34, was a 6-5 shooting guard at Glenbrook North. The 2006 Illinois Mr. Basketball went on to play at Duke before settling into coaching for the Blue Devils.
“Jon is a real similar player to what Jaden is, so they could relate well,” Jeff Schutt said. “He’s still young enough that he can get out there and show Jaden stuff.
“He said, ‘You’ve got a guy that reminds me a lot of myself. I can help him avoid some of the pitfalls and help him in the areas where he needs to succeed.’ They just really hit it off.”
Expectations are sky high for Yorkville Christian this season.
Having a player in Schutt who has signed with a program like Duke only ramps up the attention the Mustangs will get every time they take the court.
“We talk about that daily,” Sovern said. “Now, the target just gets bigger. How do you respond to things? He got that in the AAU season a lot, too. We see different defenses all the time geared toward him.”
Wearing an adult Duke shirt as opposed to the little jersey he ran around in as a child, Schutt welcomed the increased scrutiny that comes with such an accomplishment.
“It’s what I’ve worked for,” he said. “They’re always coming at me. I’m the top player. They come at me and give me their best shot. It’s an honor.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.