Player Dariq Whitehead

[DurhamSon]

I’m not sure if he’ll ever play more than mop up duty in the league with that handle but he has more of a chance than Westchester Trevor Keels with that stroke at least. Still wish he unpacked his bags a bit more

 

[2001Dukechamps]

Was a more enjoyable to watch version of Cam Reddish imo. Seems like he's tougher/less of a pussy as well.

I assume it's because Cam was on a team with actual title aspirations and played with a generational phenom who gave us a chance to win every game. So it magnified his weakness in contrast to how I perceived Dariq's hilariously bad ball-skills this season.

 

[CK86]

I honestly don't know if Duke's ever had a worse ball-handler relative to recruiting rank. Seemed like it was a guaranteed turnover every time he put the ball on the floor. This is me being negative for no real reason other than disappointment.

 

[Grit]

Even his high school highlights, his best offensive creation was a contested step back. I never understood a shooting guard having his ranking. He did have some good moments on defense in addition to his 3PT shooting.

I don't think I'd draft him the first round. I wouldn't trust his shooting to translate to the next level (unless his high school numbers were awesome), and without that he has no value.

 

[deepdarkblue]

There's a good chance that I'm going to forget he was ever at Duke.

 

[Hammy-O]

There's a good chance that I'm going to forget he was ever at Duke.

He is similar to Frank Jackson for me.

 

[childress22]

Dariq is a little like Cassius to me.

I will say, though, that I always feel closer/warmer to the guys who commit early because they know they've always wanted to be Blue Devils -- and Whitehead is certainly that. He and Flip did something really badass when they basically around the same time, as top players in their class, well before their senior year, committed to a just-hired coach-in-waiting.

 

[TyusStones5]

 

[Pantone287]

Dariq is a little like Cassius to me.

I will say, though, that I always feel closer/warmer to the guys who commit early because they know they've always wanted to be Blue Devils -- and Whitehead is certainly that. He and Flip did something really badass when they basically around the same time, as top players in their class, well before their senior year, committed to a just-hired coach-in-waiting.

Yeah, I'll always have some love for him and Flip for essentially kickstarting Scheyer's career and creating a positive narrative/momentum around the hire. IIRC, Dariq actually committed first, and Flip just went public before he did.

Separately, it's very hard for me to square HS Whitehead with the version we saw this year. Not that he didn't have some nice moments - and you can't really complain about an athletic freshman who shoots 43% from 3 and defends pretty well - but he just looked so incredible in HS, even against the best competition.

Seems like he's gone, but I would have loved to see what would have happened with a healthy offseason here. He's super young - will only be 18 for this draft - and honestly think it might be a smart long term decision, rather than risking getting lost in the G-League. But alas.

 

[CK86]

Announced this morning he's declaring for the draft. Good luck to him.

 

[Hammy-O]

Wish we had more games with him!!

 

[DurhamSon]

I liked him out there when he didn't have to dribble the ball more than once. He was the only guy who seemingly had a prayer of shooting 45% from three

 

[best4heisman]

Generally enjoyed watching him. Don't think he'd be on a single mock draft if evaluators only watched him play in college, but I'll be rooting for him to recapture whatever it is that made him such an intriguing prospect.

 

[mkvl04]

Tired of freshmen coming in, putting up 1 mediocre season, and leaving us

 

[CK86]

I liked him out there when he didn't have to dribble the ball more than once. He was the only guy who seemingly had a prayer of shooting 45% from three

Great shooter but absolutely horrible at dribbling the basketball. That should be his biggest focus more than anything on where to improve. I've never seen such a highly ranked prospect suck that much at dribbling.

 

[Devilsforlife]

I liked him out there when he didn't have to dribble the ball more than once. He was the only guy who seemingly had a prayer of shooting 45% from three

Great shooter but absolutely horrible at dribbling the basketball. That should be his biggest focus more than anything on where to improve. I've never seen such a highly ranked prospect suck that much at dribbling.

It’s a close race between him and Cam Reddish.

 

[CK86]

I liked him out there when he didn't have to dribble the ball more than once. He was the only guy who seemingly had a prayer of shooting 45% from three

Great shooter but absolutely horrible at dribbling the basketball. That should be his biggest focus more than anything on where to improve. I've never seen such a highly ranked prospect suck that much at dribbling.

It’s a close race between him and Cam Reddish.

Good comp in dribbling awfulness. I'm still voting for Dariq only because he played fewer minutes and felt like a liability any time he dribbled it more than once.

 

[DurhamSon]

It's weird, you would think that fundamental type of skill would have been weighed pretty heavily in his ranking evaluation by scouts out of HS!

 

[best4heisman]

Apparently off the dribble creation was the main reason he was so highly rated. I heard one scout say that they were surprised he excelled as a catch and shoot guy.

 

[best4heisman]

I liked him out there when he didn't have to dribble the ball more than once. He was the only guy who seemingly had a prayer of shooting 45% from three

Great shooter but absolutely horrible at dribbling the basketball. That should be his biggest focus more than anything on where to improve. I've never seen such a highly ranked prospect suck that much at dribbling.

It’s a close race between him and Cam Reddish.

Good comp in dribbling awfulness. I'm still voting for Dariq only because he played fewer minutes and felt like a liability any time he dribbled it more than once.

You could put together a few minutes of tape of Reddish looking like a great driver at Duke. Not so for Dariq.