Dariq Whitehead’s 3-point shooting has given Duke basketball a surprising boost

DURHAM, N.C. — Lone voices rarely, if ever, cut through the chaos of a Cameron Indoor Stadium crowd. Once Whitehead progressed to jogging and moving more, Duke sports scientist Nick Potter would work with him every day — “I don’t know if got sick of Nick,” Scheyer jokes — on basketball-related movements: sliding his feet, changing direction, and other specifics, with the help of the program’s Catapult system. “I’m sure,” Scheyer adds, “a scouting report is gonna say, try to take away the 3 for him.” Understandably so, because the impact of Whitehead’s shooting has been profound for Duke’s offense. “You’re sometimes kinda skeptical to do certain things, so I feel like I haven’t fully got that pop yet,” Whitehead adds, “but I can feel it coming back for sure.” Carrawell sees it, too, estimating that Whitehead is about two weeks away from “getting that pop back, that boom, where he can get up in the air and finish.” In the meantime, they’ve now shifted the focus of their individual sessions to drives, and putting Whitehead on the free-throw line. “I want to do whatever I can to help the team win, but it’s just also something deep down in me: that I want to hurry up and get back,” Whitehead says.