Jon Scheyer breaks down growth of Dariq Whitehead

Dariq Whitehead has had a long freshman season at Duke while trying to find his role amidst absences due to injury. Even so, Jon Scheyer still hopes to see one of his prized pupils grow into the star he always thought he could be.

Scheyer discussed Whitehead’s growth following a 79-62 win for the Blue Devils over Louisville. He said it’s no surprise how Whitehead shoots the ball but, in order to take the next step in his development, he needs him to get back to impacting the game in multiple ways like driving, passing, and defending.

“I think it’s just putting the value on himself that he’s more than just a scorer,” Scheyer said. “The way he shot the ball? He does that in practice too. That’s not just a fluke. He’s a legit, really good shooter. The thing for him is adding an attack to the basket. Because game plans are gonna try and take away the three from him. He missed some finishes. I think he’ll make those. The more he does that, the better.”

“I loved his passing. And that’s just the thing I loved about him as a player in high school. He could always impact the game in many different ways,” said Scheyer. “I thought this was probably one of the best defensive games that he’s played. So I want him to get a lot of confidence from this moment tonight.”

Whitehead had a poor shooting night against the Cardinals with just five points on 2-9 from the field. Even so, Scheyer appreciated how he is starting to leave his fingerprints on several aspects of the game. Now, with three games left in their regular season, Whitehead is averaging 8.6 points on 39.9% shooting from the field and 41% shooting from deep. He pairs that scoring with 2.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 0.7 steals in 21 minutes a game.

Whitehead has a lot of potential that he’s attempting to live up to. If he’s to truly do that, Scheyer says it’s all about fully unlocking the all-around player that he recruited to come to Durham.