Status of injuries to Duke basketball's two top-ranked freshmen
Nobody expected five-star freshman small forward Dariq Whitehead to play in Duke basketball's 16-minute Blue-White scrimmage at Countdown to Craziness on Friday night. But when the program announced a few hours beforehand that five-star freshman center Dereck Lively II would also be on the bench, it surprised most folks.
Still, Whitehead and Lively appeared in good spirits during the night's festivities and even showed off their dance moves during the player introductions.
Whitehead, who finished No. 2 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite, continues to recover from a fracture in his right foot that he suffered — and underwent surgery to repair — in late August.
And Lively, who arrived at Duke this summer with a No. 1 composite ranking in tow and is the ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year, recently strained a muscle in his calf during practice. In the locker room following the scrimmage, the 7-footer said he anticipates returning to full strength in a few days.
"We're being really cautious with both of those guys," first-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer told the media.
While it seems likely that Dereck Lively II will play for the Blue Devils in their home exhibition game against Fayetteville State on Nov. 2 and in their season opener against Jacksonville in Durham on Nov. 7, there's no telling if Dariq Whitehead will be ready in time.
"Dariq is really progressing well," Scheyer noted. "I think you can see by both of their dance moves that they're doing just fine. They're moving along here. But Dariq is still a few weeks away. And really, we don't want to get ahead of setting exactly when he's going to be back because he has some steps he has to make. But he's doing great. He's back on the floor. He's able to shoot. He's able to handle the ball. And I think that's picked up his spirits being able to do some of that."
As for Lively, it sounds like his absence from the Blue-White scrimmage was purely precautionary.
"And then Dereck, his [injury status] is more week-to-week," Scheyer said. "It's a calf strain, and we're being really cautious with him. Again, you can really see with his dancing that he's good. But we want to be really smart. Both of them have bright futures ahead. We have a long season, so we're not trying to rush them back here for practice or one game. So we'll take it step-by-step with each of those guys."
The Blue Devils, who rank No. 7 in the preseason AP Top 25, will participate in a closed-door scrimmage at No. 3 Houston on Oct. 29.
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