Jonathan James Scheyer was born August 24, 1987, in Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Youngest of three children of Jim and Laury Scheyer. Raised Jewish, had a basketball-themed Bar Mitzvah, started dribbling at age three. Played in the Fellowship of Afro-American Men league in Evanston. Tom Crean offered him a Marquette scholarship in eighth grade.
Everyone told his parents to transfer him to a powerhouse. He refused. “We’ll just do it here. We’ll build the success at Glenbrook North.” His father got chills thinking about it.
At Glenbrook North (coached by Dave Weber, Bruce Weber’s brother): 3,034 career points — 4th in Illinois history. Led the Spartans to the 2005 state championship as a junior with 27 in the title game. The team had an all-Jewish starting lineup — the only state championship team in the country known to have accomplished that. Nicknamed the “Jewish Jordan.” Illinois Mr. Basketball 2006, McDonald’s All-American, one of the 100 Legends of Illinois Basketball. His coach compared him to Larry Bird and Pistol Pete.
The legend: at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament as a senior, he scored 21 points in 75 seconds during a one-man comeback. He scored 33 against a Lawrence North team ranked #1 nationally that featured Mike Conley and Greg Oden.
He chose Duke over Arizona, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Irony: in junior high, he disliked Duke because all his friends liked Duke and he wanted to be different. He chose Duke anyway — Chris Collins, a Glenbrook North alum, was an assistant coach. Being different is not the same as being stubborn.