Report: Duke freshmen Dariq Whitehead and Dereck Lively could miss opener vs Jacksonville

Duke is limping into the start of the 2022-23 basketball season. Ahead of their season-opener on Monday against Jacksonville, College Basketball insider Jeff Goodman reported that two of the Blue Devils’ top freshman may not play in the first game of the season.

Goodman seems fairly certain that Duke won’t have five-star freshman Dariq Whitehead’s services vs. Jacksonville, as he’s dealing with a lingering foot issue. Meanwhile, five-star freshman Dereck Lively II is questionable with a calf injury, but may still play.

Here was the original report from Goodman, which he tweeted:

“Duke expected to be without one of its star freshmen in Dariq Whitehead (foot), source told @stadium. Another one of the Blue Devils’ star-studded frosh class, Dereck Lively II (calf), is questionable for tonight’s game against a Jacksonville team picked to finish 2nd in ASUN.”

Not ideal news to lose two of your best players and top freshman just before the start of the season, and with a brand new face coaching the program for the first time in four decades. Lively and Whitehead were also two of the top recruits in the entire country in this past class, with Lively finishing as the No. 1 player in the On3 Consensus while Whitehead was just behind at No. 2.

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So, the top two freshmen in the country are dealing with injuries as the season kicks off for Duke. Not ideal, but at least they have a week or so to heal up before the first big game of the season takes place in the Champions Classic.

However, as Goodman noted, defeating this Jacksonville team without two top players and with a new coach is a little-envied challenge. Blue Devils obviously should take care of business anyway, but a game worth monitoring.

Hopefully, Lively and Whitehead will be back on the court in a hurry. Perhaps even tonight in Lively’s case.