Duke basketball to be without top freshman in opener

It might be several weeks until Duke basketball operates at total capacity.

Duke basketball freshmen Dariq Whitehead and Dereck Lively II were out of commission for the team's 82-45 home exhibition win over Fayetteville State on Wednesday night. And both may miss the regular-season opener against Jacksonville at 7 p.m. ET Monday while recovering from their injuries.

By the sound of it, if the Blue Devils released injury reports like an NBA team, Whitehead would already have the word "out" by his name.

"Dariq definitely won't play Monday," first-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer told the media after the exhibition game about the status of the five-star small forward who finished No. 2 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite, one spot below the 7-foot-1 center Lively. "[Whitehead] is still a couple of weeks away."

That timeline for Dariq Whitehead, who fractured a bone in his right foot in late August and underwent surgery to repair it the next day, suggests he'll likely miss at least the first half of November.

Keep in mind that this month's daunting Duke basketball slate features the Champions Classic bout in Indianapolis on the 15th against defending national champion Kansas, the loaded Phil Knight Legacy tournament in Portland around Thanksgiving, and the ACC-Big Ten Challenge matchup in Durham against Ohio State just a few days later.

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As for Dereck Lively II, he strained a muscle in his calf a few weeks ago and, like Whitehead, did not participate in the Blue-White scrimmage at Countdown to Craziness on Oct. 21 or in the closed-door scrimmage against Houston on Saturday.

"With Dereck, he's still day-to-day," Scheyer noted. "He's been really ramping up."

Perhaps he will play against Jacksonville. That said, it wouldn't be a surprise if he doesn't.

Whenever Dereck Lively II or Dariq Whitehead returns to action, both might need a few games to work their way up to the relatively heavy load of minutes that should eventually be in store for the two projected one-and-done lottery picks.

"I think for both of those guys is not just being completely healthy, which they're right there, but you have to build up your game shape again," Scheyer added. "And we don't want to put them out there too early at all. But they're working hard. They were out here right after our walk-through today on the court and building up their conditioning, and they're working every day to get back out there with us as soon as possible."

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