History may be repeating itself in Brooklyn.
The Nets certainly hope it is.
Seven years ago, in need of an infusion of talent on their underwhelming roster, they took a gamble in the draft and picked a player who was dealing with a serious injury and wouldn’t have otherwise fallen to them.
Caris LeVert, taken 20th overall in the 2016 draft, worked out.
Dariq Whitehead is the latest roll of the dice for general manager Sean Marks.
A one-time projected top-five pick, Whitehead tumbled all the way into the 20s after an underwhelming, injury-marred season at Duke.
“I can only imagine had he been at strength, he would’ve gone a lot higher and so forth,” Marks said Friday, as the Nets introduced Whitehead and fellow draft picks Noah Clowney and Jalen Wilson.
Whitehead, a 6-foot-7 Newark native who developed into a top-three high school prospect at powerhouse Montverde (Fla.) Academy, has undergone two surgeries on his troublesome right foot to repair a fifth metatarsal Jones fracture.
The latest surgery, in May, scared off teams.
Not the Nets.
They see in Whitehead, who won’t turn 19 until August, a top-10 talent who will take patience, which could be rewarded in time.
The highly skilled wing, despite the foot injury, still shot 42.9 percent from 3-point range and averaged 8.3 points in 28 games for Duke.
He was the MVP of the 2022 McDonald’s All-American Game, the Naismith Prep Player of the Year and, some felt, as talented as any freshman in college basketball entering last season.
“I think I can definitely get back to that guy who I was,” said Whitehead, whose most recent operation performed by Dr. Martin O’Malley, the Nets’ official foot and ankle specialist. “I feel like people definitely from last year, they tend to think that I’m not athletic, and that was due to me pretty much playing on one leg. But I feel like I can definitely show the athletic part, and then really my playmaking.”
His brother Tahir, a former NFL player, described the selection as relief for Whitehead and the family.
The draft process was stressful and full of uncertainty.
The last year was trying, the setbacks difficult. Draft night wasn’t easy as he waited for his name to be called.
But that it happened so close to his hometown made it that much better.
“Being away from home at a young age, going to high school in Florida, this is the first time where my family is going to be able to fully watch me play with everybody, friends and family,” he said.
Whitehead said there is some level of motivation because of how far he fell, but he understood it.
His focus is more on the present and the future than the past.
He doesn’t necessarily want to prove the teams that passed on him were wrong.
He wants to show the Nets were right.
“I’m a big believer in things happen for a reason and God has everything set in the right path, so it’s definitely gonna fuel the extra motivation, but I’m just here to think about what’s here now,” he said. “I’m here to focus on the future, so I’ve gotta put that behind me and help try to contribute to this team and [playing] winning basketball as much as possible.”
Both the Nets and Whitehead are on the same page about his recovery from the latest operation.
Both stressed the need for patience.
There is no rush.
The Nets operated the same way with LeVert.
He didn’t play his first game until December of his rookie year.
That worked out pretty well for both parties.
Whitehead has been proactive, speaking to Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum, who dealt with a similar injury, about the road back.
O’Malley, the Nets’ doctor, explained to him the process with LeVert, giving Whitehead confidence about his own recovery.
“That’s kind of the same thing I’m trying to do,” Whitehead said. “I’m trying to just trust Dr. O’Malley. I’m sure that he’s gonna get me back to 100 percent and get out there doing what I need to do.”
