Vigil time

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I hope Whitehead didn’t tear his Achilles.

[Music man55]

Hate it so much for that kid. Just when he was getting past the foot injury, now this.

[gofurman]

What was his prior injury / injuries???

[flyingdutchdevil]

What was his prior injury / injuries???

Broken foot. Then sickness (flu, COVID, something like that).

[dukelifer]

I hope Whitehead didn’t tear his Achilles.

I think it was a calf. But that injury can lead to an Achilles as KD found out.

[jipops]

Drink!

[CDu]

Fingers crossed that he was back out there with ice on the ankle. If it was an Achilles year I would guess he wouldn’t have returned. But we will see. Would be surprised to see him any time soon though.

[Sam Spencer]

I'd be pretty surprised if he plays college basketball again.

[SavDukeGrad]

I won’t speculate, but man that looked….bad. Prayers.

[UrinalCake]

I thought they showed him pointing to the outside of his calf when he was on the bench talking to the trainers. Right after the injury happened he contined hobbling on the court, but by the time he left the floor it looked like he couldn't put any weight on it at all. Really sucks for him as he has been slowly improving each game and was having one of his best performances up until the injury happened. We really lack shot creation and he was someone capable of providing that. I don't know if Duke is cursed by the recruiting gods but between Kyrie, Harry Giles, Zion, and now Whitehead we've had pretty terrible luck with top-ranked players.

[weezie]

I'm so sad for Dariq. Poor kid.

[Music man55]

I hope Whitehead can come back and play. But I’ve already geared my mind that he most probably is done. I certainly hope my feeling is wrong.

[arnie]

I hope Whitehead can come back and play. But I’ve already geared my mind that he most probably is done. I certainly hope my feeling is wrong.

I suspect you’re correct. The injury looks serious and he’s best served sitting out the season and fully recovering for the pre-draft workouts.

[dukelifer]

I hope Whitehead can come back and play. But I’ve already geared my mind that he most probably is done. I certainly hope my feeling is wrong.

Well that is a multi week injury even if a sprain. Time for Grandison or Schutt to step up.

[UrinalCake]

If it's something like a sprained ankle with a 3-4 week recovery time, which is honestly on the more positive side of potential outcomes, then at that point it's mid to late february, the regular season is winding down and he'd be practically starting over. It's unlikely that coming back would help his draft stock, more than likely it would hurt it as he would probably struggle when he first returns. I wouldn't blame him one bit for shutting it down, I think he's still a late lottery pick based on what he's shown so far.

I'm not going to give up hope until hearing an official report, but also not feeling optimistic at the moment.

[CameronDuke]

Not sure we’ll get a timeframe for Dariq from the usually guarded Duke coaching staff. Man, this is going to be frustrating the more time he misses if he starts missing weeks and not just days.

Duke and feet/leg injuries, man. Wouldn’t be Duke Basketball without them.

[jipops]

Watching the play again, his ankle never turned so highly doubtful this is a regular ankle sprain. Could be a high ankle sprain but really it looks like an achilles injury especially with where he immediately holds his leg. If that’s the case we’re done seeing Dariq in a Duke uni.

[JayZee]

Watching the play again, his ankle never turned so highly doubtful this is a regular ankle sprain. Could be a high ankle sprain but really it looks like an achilles injury especially with where he immediately holds his leg. If that’s the case we’re done seeing Dariq in a Duke uni.

Agree. And if a high ankle sprain, he’s probably done too. Right as he was starting to really put it together. Feel really bad for him. He will surely get good care. Hope he heals up in time for the pre draft stuff.

[jv001]

Agree. And if a high ankle sprain, he’s probably done too. Right as he was starting to really put it together. Feel really bad for him. He will surely get good care. Hope he heals up in time for the pre draft stuff.

Or, Dariq could do a Pat Mahomes and tough it out. Just kidding. I have no idea what the injury might be. I thought he was holding his shin when he first went down. I don't expect much info from Duke based on prior injuries.

GoDuke!

[JasonEvans]

Absolutely looked muscular, not a twisted ankle or high ankle sprain. The ice appeared to be on his calf, but that is the same kind of place where you might ice if it was an Achilles strain or tear. Regardless, it certainly looks like something that will require months, not weeks, of recovery.

I would love love love to be wrong about this, but I suspect he is done for the season. The big question is whether he will be healthy enough to work out for teams ahead of the draft. If not, it could really make his draft decision complicated. I am sure there will be a team willing to draft him anyway and hope he fully recovers, but I'm not sure a team will be willing to use a first round draft pick to do that.

If it is something muscular that will be months of recovery, I suspect Duke will announce that. They won't play coy if they know for certain that he is done for the season. There's just no reason to do so. I actually hope we get some vague reports from them as that would indicate there is some chance he could come back.

-Jason "worth noting that Dariq's family is doing just fine... his brother Tahir played linebacker in the NFL for a decade and made more than $26 million" Evans