'Sick bug': Duke basketball head coach explains freshman absences

Duke basketball's Dariq Whitehead and Dereck Lively II should be back soon.

Maybe the Duke basketball team would have beaten the unranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons (9-4, 1-1 ACC) on Tuesday night — rather than an 81-70 loss in the squad's first game on an opponent's court — had the No. 14 Blue Devils (10-3, 1-1 ACC) enjoyed the services of five-star freshmen Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead.

Or maybe not.

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As it is, though, it sounds like neither Lively nor Whitehead, who arrived in Durham this summer at No. 1 and No. 2 on the 247Sports 2022 Composite, would have been anywhere near 100 percent had they made the trip to Winston-Salem.

First-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer suggested to the media afterward that they were far from tip-top shape, leading to both staying home with a non-COVID illness.

"Really, [on Monday night], we were holding out hope that they could still play and give us some minutes," Scheyer explained. "And they just weren't in a position to help us, and we didn't want to put them in harm's way either. So they've been out the last few days, not being able to practice...

"They got just the sick bug the last couple of days. Unfortunate."

Now, the Blue Devils have 10 days to return to full strength before hosting the Florida State Seminoles at 1 p.m. ET on Dec. 31.

Scheyer implied that Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead, who missed a combined four games in November while recovering from a calf injury and fractured foot, respectively, aren't likely to miss any more outings as a result of their illness.

"We feel they'll be back to practice when we return from Christmas — from Winter Break," Scheyer said.

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