Duke basketball: Jon Scheyer on Dariq Whitehead's latest injury
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Injury luck has not been on Duke basketball's side under first-year head coach Jon Scheyer.
Well before the campaign began for preseason No. 7 Duke, the now-unranked Blue Devils (14-6, 5-4 ACC) saw their two top-ranked five-star freshmen, center Dereck Lively II and forward Dariq Whitehead, sustain a calf injury and fractured right foot, respectively, that cost them all exhibition action and the start of the regular season.
In late November, lone Duke basketball captain Jeremy Roach sustained a toe injury that lingered, costing him four games later, including three straight earlier this month. And as Scheyer has noted several times recently, even though the junior point guard returned for the Blue Devils' past two outings, it may be a while until he's 100 percent.
That's not to mention sophomore guard Jaylen Blakes, who broke his nose during practice last week and now has to wear a protective mask during games.
Then less than three minutes after halftime in Duke's 78-75 road loss against the unranked Virginia Tech Hokies (12-8, 2-7 ACC) on Monday night, Dariq Whitehead went down with a lower leg injury on defense after trying to intercept a lob pass around the 3-point line.
Judging by the awkward landing on his left foot, which led to Whitehead's exit to the locker room at the next media timeout and eventual return to the bench on crunches, it wouldn't be a surprise if the 6-foot-7, 220-pound aggressive athlete misses considerable time.
After the loss, Duke's fourth in five games this season on an opponent's home floor, Scheyer addressed the latest injury to Whitehead in his press conference but noted it's too early to know a diagnosis.
"I haven't even talked to our medical team yet," Scheyer explained. "He felt something as he was jumping there. I need to get some clarity. I don't know the timetable. I don't know what we'll do other than get him back [to Durham], evaluate him, and go from there."
This time, the timing was particularly cruel. After all, Whitehead finished with double-digit points in six of his past eight outings, including 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting and a 2-for-2 clip from downtown before his injury at Virginia Tech; he hadn't scored 10 or more points once across his first eight games as he played catchup.
"It hurts because he's been there for us," Roach said about Whitehead in the locker room afterward. "He's had some big-time moments for us. We wanted to get this win for him, for sure. But just praying that he's okay and he'll have a speedy recovery."
Fortunately, the reeling Duke basketball squad has four days off before a road bout against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-11, 1-8 ACC) at 3 p.m. ET Saturday.
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