Will freshman Dariq Whitehead be ready when Duke basketball season starts? The latest
With Duke’s first regular-season game in 42 years under a coach not named Mike Krzyzewski less than four weeks away, freshman Dariq Whitehead’s availability for that game remains uncertain.
Projected as a possible NBA draft lottery pick next summer, the 6-6 forward from Newark, New Jersey, fractured his right foot in late August and is in the midst of a deliberate recovery.
Six weeks into that process, he’s still not a full participant in Duke’s basketball practices.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer hasn’t provided a firm timeline for Whitehead’s return, only saying he’s expected to play “this fall.”
Duke plays an exhibition game on Nov. 2 with Fayetteville State and opens its first season with Scheyer as head coach on Nov. 7 against Jacksonville.
On Wednesday, Scheyer said Whitehead is moving into another phase of his treatment and rehabilitation and said he’s “doing great.”
“He’s able to get on the floor a little bit more,” Scheyer said. “We’re not at a point yet to say exactly when he’ll be back, but he’s progressing in a great way and he’s working hard, and I know he’s anxious to be out here with these guys practicing every day.”
On Sept. 27, the day after Duke started practices, Whitehead’s test results allowed him to walk without using a protective boot on his right foot. While not jumping or running, he joined teammates on the court to stand at the top of the key and throw passes during a drill involving guards.
Four days later, though, Whitehead was back wearing the boot again, watching from the sidelines while Duke practiced.
Whitehead was injured during a team offseason session on the court when he said he landed wrong on his right foot.
On Sept. 27, he said he hoped to play when the regular season begins.
In the meantime, the Blue Devils work with the healthy players they have to form a rotation of ball handlers that doesn’t include Whitehead.
Junior guard Jeremy Roach, the lone returning starter from last season’s Final Four team, is a key part of that group. So, too, are 6-5 freshman guard Tyrese Proctor and 6-2 sophomore guard Jaylen Blakes, who was a deep reserve last season.
Whitehead figures to play a wing, or small forward, position, along with 6-5 graduate transfer Jacob Grandison and 6-8 freshman Mark Mitchell.
“We need Dariq to be a ball handler for us as well,” Scheyer said. “Now our wings, they can really handle, too. But I think you see the need for Dariq. You see how much better he can make us.”
In Whitehead’s absence, Duke is often pairing Roach and Proctor together in the backcourt while using Grandison at a wing with 6-11 Kyle Filipowski and 7-1 Dereck Lively as bigger players. In that grouping, all five players can handle the ball and score on offense, but Roach and Proctor would be facilitators.
A healthy Whitehead would certainly be in that mix.
“It’s definitely changed some things for our team,” Scheyer said. “You hope you can be in a better position by the time that Dariq is back in the mix, where, you know, other players have found something that they might not have found.”
Roach said he’s praying for a speed recovery for Whitehead and is glad to see him back on the court for some drills. But he likes the depth Duke is building while working without him.
“We have so many guys that could fill them for him,” Roach said. “Whoever we need to fill in that spot I know is going to be ready.”
The Blue Devils have five games over the season’s first two week, including home games with Jacksonville (Nov. 7), South Carolina-Upstate (Nov. 11), Delaware (Nov. 18) and Bellarmine (Nov. 21).
Duke’s highest-profile game in that early stretch, though, is Nov. 15 against reigning NCAA champion Kansas in the Champions Classic at Indianapolis.
This story was originally published October 12, 2022 at 4:54 PM.