Duke basketball: Last-minute threat arrives in Dariq Whitehead race

Will Duke basketball lose out on a coveted recruit because of the G League?

Montverde (Fla.) small forward Dariq Whitehead, who ranks No. 6 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite, plans to announce his college destination on Sunday, his 17th birthday. But on Saturday, the 6-foot-8, 205-pound five-star revealed on Twitter that a new suitor has now entered the mix.

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This latest offer to Whitehead is from the G League. It comes with the promise of a one-year contract worth $500K, per Tipton Edits.

Uh-oh.

Right now, all eight 247Sports Crystal Ball picks — not to mention the four Rivals FutureCast predictions — still point to the Blue Devils coming out on top for the recent All-Peach Jam performer. Nonetheless, one must wonder whether the G League has suddenly shaken up the battle a bit with less than 24 hours until Whitehead’s big moment.

After all, the G League Ignite is fresh off tying Texas and Florida State by producing three NBA Draft selections on Thursday night. And two of them were high lottery picks (Jalen Green at No. 2 plus Jonathan Kuminga at No. 7).

Where 2022 Duke basketball recruiting efforts currently stand

Another five-star small forward who sits among the top 15 rising seniors, Mark Mitchell at No. 12, saw his Crystal Ball light up for Duke on Friday with the first expert predicting his landing spot.

Earlier this week, four-star power forward Kyle Filipowski, who ranks No. 33 overall, gave the Blue Devils their first 2022 commitment, which was the first for Jon Scheyer as Mike Krzyzewski’s successor-in-waiting.

Meanwhile, in addition to Whitehead and Mitchell, four others from the class hold Duke basketball offers: five-star center Dereck Lively, four-star point guard JJ Starling, four-star combo guard Anthony Black, and three-star shooting guard Jaden Schutt.