Duke Basketball Product’s Draft Stock Takes Potentially Massive Blow
In late August, Dariq Whitehead sustained a right foot fracture (fifth metatarsal bone) and underwent what first-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer called a "successful procedure."
Yet according to a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday, Whitehead's foot never fully healed. So after recently meeting with foot specialists, he's now set to undergo another procedure but expects to be 100 percent before the start of the NBA regular season in October.
Presumably, though, the 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward won't participate in any on-court activities at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago later this month. And that could ding his draft stock.
Most mock drafts currently project Dariq Whitehead to hear his name in the second half of the first round at the NBA Draft on June 22.
Will he fall to the second round? It seems possible.
When the New Jersey native arrived in Durham last summer at No. 2 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite, he was seen as a future lottery pick, then appearing as high as the top five on some way-too-early 2023 mock drafts.
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But the preseason foot surgery hampered his development and led to him sitting out the first three games of his one-and-done campaign. Then a lower leg injury in late January sidelined him for four more games. In the end, his season averages — 8.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists — were well below what most expected from him.
Still, Whitehead is only 18 years old and possesses many qualities that NBA franchises desire.
Those upsides include his pre-injury explosiveness, which was on full display during his senior season at Montverde Academy (Fla.), and his Duke basketball team-leading 42.9 shooting percentage beyond the arc.
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