Duke basketball's Dariq Whitehead is out against Georgia Tech with lower leg injury
Duke basketball freshman forward Dariq Whitehead is out for Saturday's game against Georgia Tech after suffering a lower left leg injury during Monday's 78-75 loss at Virginia Tech.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer updated Whitehead's injury status on Thursday before the Blue Devils (14-6, 5-4 ACC) travel to Atlanta on Saturday to face Georgia Tech (8-12, 1-9 ACC).
"He's not ready for Saturday," Scheyer said. "He's progressing, but we want to take it slow. I don't want to speculate on time, cause we don't know, but it won't be for Saturday. We're not rushing, just taking it a day at a time."
Scheyer added that the injury was a strain and "not any more than that."
Whitehead, a potential NBA Draft lottery pick, fell to the floor, wincing and holding his lower left leg after landing awkwardly while fighting for a loose ball with Virginia Tech’s Justyn Mutts. He was able to hobble off the court before collapsing to the floor near Duke's bench and exiting the court with the help of his teammates. He returned on crutches.
"It's next man up," junior guard and captain Jeremy Roach said Thursday. "But we're definitely going to miss him."
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Whitehead left the game with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting including 2-for-2 from 3 and an assist. After a slow start, the 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward had become one of the team’s most consistent offensive threats, scoring at least 10 points in six of the past eight games.
"I think he got a lot of relief once we got the MRI and (there) was no structural damage," Scheyer said. "We just need to make sure we make smart decisions and take our time with him."
Whitehead fractured his right foot during a team workout on Aug. 29 and underwent surgery the following day. He missed the Blue Devils' first two games.
Duke struggles on the road
It’s no secret that Duke has struggled on the road.
The Blue Devils are 10-0 at home, 3-2 in neutral site games and 1-4 – nearly 0-5 – in true road games. Saturday is a must-win matchup against struggling Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets have lost six in a row, including five of those by 10 points or more. Duke’s most recent road loss, a three-point decision to Virginia Tech, snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Hokies.
There are eight teams ahead of Duke in the standings with first-place Clemson (17-4, 9-1) holding a 3.5-game lead over the defending regular-season champion Blue Devils. A loss to Georgia Tech would drop them to .500 in league play with a four-game gauntlet of Wake Forest, UNC, No. 20 Miami and No. 7 Virginia next on the schedule.
"These next games are going to be big for us," Roach said.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Dariq Whitehead injury: Duke basketball forward out vs Georgia Tech
