April 2nd Dariq Whitehead learned the true meaning of life’s peaks and valleys.
Earlier in the day, he received his fourth GEICO Nationals title and led Montverde (Fla.) Academy past Link Academy (Brandon, Mo.) 60-49.
The emotional climax was subdued later in the night as Duke fell to rival North Carolina in the Final Four. Whitehead committed to Duke last August and had high hopes that his future team would retire Mike Krzyzewski with his sixth national title.
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“It was a bad night,” Whitehead said. “It was really, knowing they beat us twice that season, and then it just added more because it was Coach K’s last season. It was definitely hard to see us take that loss. ”
Things started to look up on Thursday when Whitehead was named the SI All-American Player of the Year, hitting several SI99 prospects to achieve the prestigious honors.
“It’s a blessing,” Whitehead said. “As a kid, you look forward to that kind of thing. It was something I wanted to check off before my senior year started, but I didn’t think so much about it statistically; I just wanted to go out and play to win. It’s clear that it got the job done to win such a prestigious award as Sports Illustrated’s Player of the Year. “
Despite playing alongside more than seven major Division I prospects this season, the Whitehead Eagles led by 16.5 points, five rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals a game. He took home MVP awards at McDonald’s All American Game and led Team USA by 17 points to a victory at the Nike Hoop Summit.
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The experience of playing with stars is not new to Whitehead, he has been in Montverde since eighth grade and Kevin Boyle’s team never lacks top talent every year.
It should provide an easy transition to Duke; The Blue Devils will welcome the top tier of the SI All-American team rankings, including No. 1 overall prospect Dereck Lively.
“Right now, the most important thing we talk about every day is that we’re just excited to get there and get to work,” Whitehead said. “It’s frankly one of the most versatile groups I’ve ever seen.”
Whitehead is aware that there will be control for the first team in the post-Krzyzewski era, but Boyle said his experience in Montverde has prepared him for the magnifying glass.
“By being in Montverde, where we have won 7 of the last 10 national titles, the bar is high,” Boyle said. “If you do not win the national title, people will say what’s wrong with the team. Even this year we were number three for most of the year and people could not understand, so he is used to having high expectations. It will translate and transfer. It’s not a bad pressure it comes with and he is experienced and equipped to handle it. “
Whitehead is the first player in Motnverde’s history to include having a record-breaking seven players selected in last year’s NBA Draft to collect four national titles. He would almost certainly have gone 5 out of 5 if the pandemic had not canceled GEICO Nationals by 2020.
This group, led by Cade Cunningham and Scottie Barnes, is considered to be the best high school team of all time, rolling teams with an average of 40 points per game. match all season.
“It’s just been a pleasure to see him from eighth grade to now,” Boyle said. “How he matures as a person, student and player; he just kept getting better in all areas. He’s probably the most beloved boy on campus here by the faculty, college parents, students, teammates, everyone. He ends up having a great college career and an NBA career. ”
For now, Whitehead is laser-focused on the former and has his goal of earning his fifth national title at the next level.
“I think we’ll be a very good defensive team,” Whitehead said of next year’s Blue Devils. “A lot of people in the world say we’re too young, we do not get it done, but I feel like we’re all been combat tested somehow. I feel like if we can just be locked in and trust each other and lean on each other when things get tough, then I think we’ll probably make it. ”
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