It is with a protective boot that Dariq Whitehead posed in his Nets jersey. Selected in 20th position, the Duke winger was promised a place in the Top 5 of the Draft last September, but two foot operations caused his rating to drop. But in Brooklyn, we believe in him, as we believed in Caris LeVert in 2016, despite major concerns about his physique.
“I dare not imagine that he would have been chosen much higher if he had been in full possession of his means” recognizes Sean Marks, about Whitehead. But at the Nets, we therefore remembered that LeVert had experienced the same galley, but also that Whitehead was simply the best high school student in the country and the MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game.
“I really think I can go back to being the player I was,” said Whitehead, whose last operation was performed by the Nets’ resident surgeon. “I feel like people tend to think I’m not athletic since last year, which is because I played on one leg. But I feel like I can really show the athletic part, and then really my creativity.”
Operated a second time in May
Aged 18, like Bilal Coulibaly, Whitehead knows you can recover from a Jones fracture. He called Jayson Tatum, who went through the same thing. He knows that Kevin Durant also experienced this injury. This is why he is optimistic even if the two operations have stopped his road to the NBA.
“I truly believe that there is a reason for everything and that God is keeping everything on track… It will definitely give me extra motivation, but I’m just here to think about the present,” he said. -he declares. “I’m here to focus on the future, and I have to put that behind me and try to contribute to this team. I try to trust the doctors, and I’m sure they’ll allow me to come back 100% and do what I know how to do. »
As of now, there is no return date set for the former Blue Devil…
