It can be difficult to gauge players who are injured. Whitehead fits into that category. On one hand, he was a brilliant high school player with an NBA body that was a touted recruit to Duke. On the other hand, he has had two foot surgeries in a span of nine and a half months. Whitehead averaged 8.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1 assist per game in 2022-23. He only played a shade over 20 minutes per contest. The one skill he showed at Duke was his ability to hit three-point shots. He made 42% 3-pt. FG. He shot 79.3% FT. On defense, Whitehead really struggled. Duke was 4.1 points per 100 possessions better on defense with Whitehead off the floor. Likewise, Whitehead's foot injury kept him from going to the basket very often. He attempted just 29 free throws in 577 minutes. He had more turnovers than assists by a wide margin. He has a 6'10.25" wingspan. We expect Whitehead to be picked late in round one. It seems clear that he was never "right" after his late August 2022 foot fracture. He went from being the MVP of the McDonald's All-American game to a player that was a spot-up shooting specialist at Duke. He comes from a family of athletes (brother Tahir is a NFL linebacker and his Uncle, Willie Whitehead also played in the NFL). At some point, we think Dariq is worth the gamble, betting that modern medicine can get him back to his prep form.
