Inside The Nets

What if Dariq Whitehead Stayed One More Year at Duke?

Ajayi Browne

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Before getting selected with the No. 22 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets, Dariq Whitehead was arguably the best player on a very talented Blue Devils team at Duke. Whitehead was a consensus five-star recruit for the 2022 class, playing his final high school season with Montverde Academy.

If the former Blue Devil stays with the Brotherhood for one more year, how different would Duke have been in the 2023-24 campaign?

There would have been a chance that freshman Jared McCain and Whitehead would have been butting heads to see who would be starting. McCain played around 31.6 minutes as a freshman, while Whitehead played around 20.6 as a freshman for Duke. By the time March hit, Whitehead could have been the game changer versus NC State in the Elite 8, but instead, Duke lost and was humiliated by NC State forward DJ Burns afterward.

Duke managed to defeat the Wolfpack on March 4 by a convincing 15 points, but after that, the margin between these two teams started going in favor of NC State. When the Blue Devils and the Wolfpack faced off in the ACC tournament, it was a close call for NC State, merely surviving by five points with their season on the line if they were to lose this game. When the two teams faced off for a final time in the Elite 8, the margin between them was too much for Duke, and it was the end of the road for the Blue Devils before it was the end of the road for the Wolfpack. It was quite the change of events.

Understandably, Whitehead has not yet showcased his best as a Brooklyn Net because he was a rookie jostling for minutes with the more proven veterans. However, Montverde and Duke know firsthand what Whitehead is capable of. In fact, if Whitehead were to have stayed one more year at Duke, he likely would be a projected lottery pick for the 2024 NBA Draft right now. He possesses lightning-fast athleticism, adequate size for a wing and a nice jumper -- but prefers to drive. The former Nets rookie is a three-level scorer that could easily fit on any NBA team.

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Ajayi Brown

AJAYI BROWNE

Ajayi has covered the NBA for several years, most notably covering the league at large for SLAM and the Brooklyn Nets at several outlets before joining Inside the Nets.