Flash Forward: Duke W Dariq Whitehead
The Naismith Prep POY is a natural scorer and a threat to be a top-five pick in 2023
It’s time to look forward!
We’ve got almost a year until the 2023 NBA Draft, but getting a head start on the prospects coming into college helps us hit the ground running when the season starts in November. This Summer and into the Fall, we’ll be doing some deep dives on fascinating prospects who are either international targets next year or one-and-done contenders coming into the collegiate ranks. The goal with these breakdowns is simple: provide a measuring stick for where they are at the time they enter, frame their draft stock for what they may need to improve to rise up boards and help provide a window to peer through into how we go about the evaluation process.
The idea for a series like this is directly inspired by the results of the 2022 NBA Draft. Some guys — like Patrick Baldwin Jr., Peyton Watson, and Shaedon Sharpe — got drafted in the first round this year based partially on their high school and AAU film, reputations, and preseason buzz. The teams that drafted them felt comfortable enough with what they saw at those levels to overlook poor seasons (PBJ and Watson) or nonexistent ones (Sharpe). If NBA Draft scouting is so heavily reliant on pre-college film to provide context, we should be putting more effort during the off-season to master what each prospect put together ahead of their college career.
Jon Scheyer’s first year at the helm of the Duke Blue Devils will bring him an embarrassment of riches. Atop the list of powerful players is incoming freshman Dariq Whitehead from Montverde Academy in Florida. Whitehead was one of the most highly sought-after recruits in the country and chose Duke over some fantastic options. Known as a scorer, Whitehead should be the primary option for the Blue Devils and operate with a really strong core of players. If his scoring can pop the way it did last season and continue to take strides forward as a 3-point shooter, Whitehead can easily be a top-five selection.