Dereck Lively Displays Intriguing Skillset in First Duke Action

Duke freshman Dereck Lively has already shown his upside in limited minutes in his debut.

After being sidelined with a calf injury for Duke’s opener, Dereck Lively made his highly anticipated debut on Friday night.

From an NBA Draft perspective, Lively is as intriguing as they come. At 7-foot-1 with the ability to handle some, pass, stretch the floor and protect the rim at an extremely high level, Lively will offer any NBA team that takes a chance on him unlimited potential.

All of those skills were on display for Lively in his first action with Duke. He came off the bench, playing just 14 minutes, but still had plenty of impact.

Against South Carolina Upstate, Lively scored just four points on 2-for-2 shooting, but also grabbed two rebounds, nabbed one steal and finished with two emphatic blocks, which is likely what will keep him on-floor for the Blue Devils the most.

Across 16 tournaments tracked by Cerebro Sports, Lively averaged a 103.9 DSI, making him one of the more elite high school prospects in the country.

The No. 1 player in the class according to a few different recruiting websites, Lively’s skills at the rim should even match Mark Williams, who was drafted out of Duke in the lottery the year prior. While he didn’t take any looks from three in his initial action, he’ll undoubtedly be able to offer some much-needed spacing for Duke in the coming months.

One of the more talented big men in the class, Lively has a great chance at being a mid-first round pick off skillset and potential alone, but with a good season at Duke, could see his stock skyrocket even more.

Duke next faces their first true test, No. 5 Kansas, on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 8:30 p.m.

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