Duke basketball freshman wisely enters NBA Draft

Duke basketball forward Dariq Whitehead is ready for the next step.

On Wednesday morning, two days after Tyrese Proctor announced his decision to become a Duke basketball sophomore, fellow freshman Dariq Whitehead declared his entry into the 2023 NBA Draft. In doing so, he became the first Blue Devil this go-round to confirm an early departure; expect at least one more to follow suit.

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It's a wise move from the former five-star recruit who arrived in Durham at No. 2 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite and as a projected high lottery pick. Simply put, it looks like the safest route for a guy with so much potential and an abundance of bad luck as a collegian.

The explosive game he displayed in high school, which should thrive with greater floor spacing at the next level, seems better suited for the NBA than college anyway.

In HoopsHype's most recent aggregate mock draft, which came out the same day as Duke's early NCAA Tournament exit at the hands of Tennessee, Dariq Whitehead appears at No. 19 overall. Of course, that alone is no guarantee he'll go in the first round and thereby secure a guaranteed contract, but it feels like a safe bet that he will.

Whitehead began his lone Duke basketball campaign on the bench in a protective walking boot due to a right foot fracture he suffered in late August. He sat out the first three games, not to mention the entire preseason. And in late January, the 18-year-old suffered a left lower leg sprain that cost him to miss four more games.

Furthermore, in mid-December, Whitehead dealt with an illness that resulted in him not making the trip with the team to Wake Forest.

So in all, the New Jersey native, who played his prep ball at powerhouse Montverde Academy (Fla.) and became the Naismith High School Boys' Player of the Year as a senior, was sidelined for eight games for the eventual ACC Tournament champion Blue Devils (27-9).

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With that in mind, many front-office decision-makers across the league will likely overlook that his season averages as a Blue Devil — 8.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists — weren't nearly as impressive as most folks expected. After all, the unfortunate injury bug plagued pretty much his entire season.

It's not as if his box scores were altogether lousy, though.

No, Duke's primary sixth man emerged as the squad's most dangerous long-range threat, shooting 42.9 percent from downtown with an average of 1.5 makes per game. Furthermore, his defensive rating ranked No. 14 in the ACC; the 6-foot-7, 220-pound small forward showed flashes of being an aggressively sneaky perimeter defender.

Had he not understandably dealt with confidence issues involving his bounce and overall explosiveness, there's no telling how dynamite he would have been. By the time the NBA Draft Combine rolls around in mid-May, chances are he'll be ready to turn some heads and may even leave some onlookers in awe.

NBA next, Duke forever. S/O @dariq_whitehead! pic.twitter.com/zC57CMKPPZ

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 29, 2023

If Dariq Whitehead had decided to return, he could have tightened up his skill set and probably elevated into a bonafide contender for ACC Player of the Year. Then again, his return might have caused a logjam on the wing, considering he plays at or near the same position as several of Duke's five incoming five-star recruits.

And, of course, he might have gone down with another significant leg injury next season that could have further impeded his development and perhaps even left him with no hope of reaching the next level.

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