Duke basketball scrimmage: Top NCAA freshmen miss practice

Durham

With ups and downs in the roster and coaching staff, Duke Basketball’s scrimmage showed who could help John Shyer win this season and who the Blue Devils are waiting for.

During the team’s annual Countdown to Crazy preseason event, acclaimed freshmen Derek Lively and Darik Whitehead were ruled out of a 16-minute scrimmage at Cameron Indoor Stadium due to injuries.

Lively, a 7-1 center and the No. 1 player in the 2022 recruiting class, injured a calf muscle in practice last week. No, but Lively described his absence as a “precautionary measure.”

“I’m doing well,” Lively said. “Take it daily. I take precautions to not aggravate the injury. It put a little strain on my calves. It should be back in a few days.”

Neither Lively nor Whitehead participated in the scrimmage, but both participated in elaborate introductions that included climbing ramps to high podiums and dancing for the crowd.

“We’re very careful with these two,” Shire said after the scrimmage. “As you can see from both dance moves, they’re doing great.”

The 6-6 forward is still recovering from a broken right leg sustained during team training on August 29. He had surgery the next day. He wasn’t using the protective boot on his right foot on Friday, and Shire said he was making progress on the court.

However, with the opening game against Jacksonville scheduled for November 7, Whitehead is still not allowed to practice or play without restrictions, and it is doubtful whether he will be able to play in that game.

“Darik is still a few weeks away,” Shire said. “He’s got a few steps to take, so I don’t want to get ahead of myself before setting exactly when he’ll be back, but he’s doing well. He’s back on the floor. He can shoot, he can handle the ball, and I think that gives him a lot of spirit and he can get things done.”

Both Lively and Whitehead are predicted to be lottery picks in next summer’s NBA Draft.

Duke’s first regular-season game may come Nov. 7 since Shire replaced retired Mike Krzyszewski as head coach, but the Blue Devils have two more games before that. We have an important preseason event.

On October 29, the Blue Devils will take part in a closed scrimmage at No. 3 Houston in a battle between two of the AP’s top 10 ranked teams. Duke’s only exhibition game of the season will be against Fayetteville State University at Cameron Indoor Stadium on November 2nd.

Lively declined to say whether he would be able to participate in Houston’s scrimmages.

Other things to look out for in scrimmage include:

Roach the Steady Hand

Coach Jeremy Roach Jr., Duke’s only captain and only starter returning from last season’s Final Four team, was predictably outstanding.

A preseason All-ACC pick, the 6-2 junior guard scored 12 points in 16 minutes of scrimmage for the blue team. He shot 4-of-9 and also had 3 assists . He didn’t turn the ball over.

After shooting just 32.2 percent from 3-pointers last season, Roach hitting all three 3-pointers in scrimmage bodes well for the Blue Devils.

the proctor looks smooth

Freshman guard Tyrese Proctor from Australia, just 18 years old, played for the White team opposite Roach. But having them together in the backcourt looks like a strength for Duke.

Proctor scored 10 points in scrimmage and shot 3-of-7. He was 1 of 3 at 3-pointer and in one turnover he had two assists.

“Tyrese is really ready,” Scheier said. “As for Tyreese, he didn’t necessarily hit every shot. I think the defense is at its mercy when we’re out there.”

surprise!Reeves is having a big night

Duke brought in three freshmen who stand over seven feet: Lively, Kyle Filipowski, and Christian Reeves.

Both Lively and Filipowski were rated as 5-star recruits among the top 10 players in their class, but Reeves was not as highly rated as the 3-star players. It looks like he’s headed for a particular redshirt season, but Friday night he showed the decision wasn’t going to be easy.

Reeves scored 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting with five rebounds in 14 minutes of play. He also blocked three shots. He did it all without a foul being called.

“He had some sequences and he was defending the basket when he was running on the floor. Not many 7-1 players can do that,” Shire said. “It’s been unbelievable how he’s grown since he stepped foot on campus.”

Of that redshirt decision, Scheyer said, “We have anything for us now.”

This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 7:43 PM.