Dariq Whitehead declares for the NBA Draft

[MartyClark]

OMG, that is one of the best obscure historical references on DBR! I remember watching him as a high schooler (yup, I'm old) and he was high in my pantheon of tall white guys who could actually play basketball. But when I saw this I had to find his Wikipedia writeup and I had no idea! Left in a Dutch orphanage at age 3 when his family moved to America with his younger brother. Found by a Dutch TV show three years later, which arranged for him to move to America to be reunited with his family that had abandoned him (boy, there's some therapy bills involved here). The fact that you remembered he backed up Bill Walton at UCLA before becoming ABA ROY says something about your basketball IQ.

He could play. I saw him in person when he played with the spurs in the late 1970's. I had never heard of him and didn't know he was Walton's back up at UCLA.

Good rebounder, good hands, good inside game and IIRC a nice baby hook.

This guy could have been a college star if not for Walton

[kako]

I would have loved to have seen 1 healthy, full season from Whitehead. I think it would have been amazing, perhaps even Tatum-esque...

Hope he tears it up in the NBA!

9F

[SamHouston]

I hope Dariq has a fabulous NBA career. He is a gifted athlete. Regretfully, the only element of his game we saw was catch and shoot from three.

[Saratoga2]

Best of luck to him as he explores the NBA opportunities.

[Steven43]

Never played in the NBA. Was mainly in the New Zealand NBL, with brief stints in Poland and Australia. Career limited by injuries and apparently an Epstein Barr viral infection. Retired. Tough breaks throughout career.

But will always be loved by me for what is arguably the worst free throw ever perpetrated in a Duke game:
Jack Salt free throw vs Duke

I mentioned Jack Salt mostly in jest after Jack White was brought up. It’s an inside joke between Dan Brooks and I. Every time UVA and Duke would match up during the Jack Salt/Jack White years Brooks and I would laugh our azzes off whenever Salt and White were mentioned in the same sentence. For some inexplicable reason we thought it hilarious.

Good times! 😊

[kshepinthehouse]

I'm not putting any stock into Whitehead's NBA prospects based on this season where he started off in a walking boot and then had a 2nd injury late in the season.

He's a strong dude with an NBA-ready body, so that will help. And he can hit threes. Could be a solid 3 and D guy for someone.

Except he’s missing the d.

[dukelifer]

Both Patrick Williams and Scottie Barnes were 6th men for FSU and drafted 3rd overall. Barnes ended up as NBA Rookie of the Year last year while Williams is a consistent starter.

Zach LaVine only started 1 game his freshmen year at UCLA and was selected in the lottery. He has been a multiple-time All-Star in addition to Dunk Contest champion.

The NBA is weird. Players you wouldn't expect grow and develop into stars. Heck, Jack White has a role in the NBA right now while Jahlil Okafor and Jabari Parker are both out of the league. It's a crazy world.

Well Jabari tore his ACL twice - so that in part explains his situation.

[DukieInBrasil]

Except he’s missing the d.

Whitehead was a better than average defender at the collegiate level.

[lotusland]

Dariq had a disappointing season at Duke, based on his expectations. Why should he risk another, when there is most likely a guaranteed NBA contract for next year?

Right. My opinion was colored by 2023 mock draft which mentioned Whitehead’s “limited athleticism”. That stood out because it was not what I had expected from Whitehead. Normally one throw-away line from a Fansided article wouldn’t resonate so much but I noticed, from that point forward, that Dariq never exhibited more than average athleticism. Perhaps he was able to get to the hoop in HS with average athleticism more so than ACC level defense. Or maybe he was limited by injury. It’s possible that another non-injured season would reveal that he’s just not a strong slasher.

https://fansided.com/2023/01/16/nba-...amen-thompson/

[kshepinthehouse]

Whitehead was a better than average defender at the collegiate level.

I thought he got lost on defense quite a bit. Wasn’t really impressed by his D

[jv001]

I guess I can see the comparisons of Dariq and Cam. However, I see some of Dariq and AJ Griffin. Both were thought to be athletic and good defenders coming out of high school. I thought both players were hesitant after their injuries, especially going to the basket. AJ was a terrible defender at Duke, but I thought Dariq showed flashes of being a good defender, but sometimes lost his man. Both players proved the prognosticators wrong about their perimeter shooting. Reddish in my opinion was a good college defender.
Hoping Dariq has a great pro-career.

God bless you young man and thanks for choosing Duke University.

GoDuke!