Looking ahead to Duke Men’s Basketball

We are closing in on the NBA draft. There will be two Duke players almost certainly to go in the first round. For a lot of people, and for Duke, that's like an off year. We kid. And is it possible that even with the Blue Devils making it to a Final Four, you could feel almost cheated?

Not that there could have been more as a team, but there could have been more from both players who are in the first round. Chris Carowill, associate head coach at Duke to talk about Derek Whitehead and Derek Lively the second. I want to start with Whitehead. And I appreciate your time, sir. By the way, before we even start, and I know I've texted this to you, but at the basketball camp next week, you've got somebody coming out there who thinks he's better than he is. So I want you guys to run my child up and down the court for four days. I'm looking forward to it, man.

I'm looking forward to it. Can't wait to get him in camp. Jack, you know, and watch him play. Maybe score a couple buckets on him. But I'm looking forward to seeing him.

Yeah, he's looking forward to seeing you guys. Let me get to Derek Whitehead. Now, he had a foot injury coming in, and he had foot problems throughout the year.

And that is so hard, especially when you're a shooter and you're accustomed to being able to do so much. So how much did we not see of Derek Whitehead this year? You saw 20%, really, you know, and you missed out on 80 because he broke his foot the first day of fall workouts. And Adam, you know this, injury is just tough. Injuries are tough. So when you have a major injury like that, your first day really in workouts, you know, summer workouts are different.

You know, summer workouts, you're learning guys. And, you know, it's an adjustment. But once you get back for the fall, you kind of know how, you know, a player is, the intensity revs up a little bit more. And, you know, I thought, you know, I thought he was having his best day. And then he breaks his foot.

And so trying to come back from that really the whole year, the entire year. And as you see, it didn't heal the right way. And so he ended up getting another surgery. So to let you know that he was basically playing on one leg. And with that being said, he shot 43% from the three-point line. Crazy.

It's crazy. Just imagine if this kid was healthy the entire year. He would have got, he had been a top 10 pick. That's what I've been telling teams, you know, because these teams, they do, they get their intel.

And so they call us and I'm pretty sure they call everybody who's ever been associated with them. But I'm telling, I tell the teams that you're getting a top 10 pick. He's a top 10 pick. And so if you don't look, don't let the injury get away from getting a really good player. Like don't judge him off the injury. Judge him off of what he did in high school and small sample size in college. Any kid who shoots, if you, if you would have shot 38% this year from three, that'd have been incredible. He shot over 40. That's, that's saying a lot. Chris Carrowell is joining us here on the Adam Gold show. Does he have the ability?

Cause we are not being one who watches high school mixtapes or anything like that. So all I'm going by is what I saw this past season. Does he have the ability to create offense off the dribble?

Yes. Yes, he does. He's a, he's more of a, you know, coming in, he was more score. He was a guy who, you know, if you would've told me on a list of things that I thought he was going to have to improve shooting was the one that I was like, if he could become a better long range shooter, you know, he had a chance because the one thing he could do was create. But saying that, that's the one thing I think he needs to improve on as well. He was a more, he's a creator, you know, in high school of a guy who would create his shot, but he was a guy who could make difficult shots off the bounce.

Um, but that's the one thing when you have a lower leg injury where, you know, balanced base, uh, he, he wasn't able to exploit those things and college because of the injury. But one of the things that, uh, that if he takes the next step and that, I mean, you're going to have, look, he's 18 years old. He won't be 19 to August 1st. He's the youngest, if he's not the youngest player in the draft, he's in the top two or three. Um, so you're getting a player who, whose game is still developing, but what do you already have and what you going to get? I mean, he's really, really good, man. All right, let's move on to Derek Lively the second, because he was obviously a game changer defensively for you guys, but we, I think we all know that there's more offense that he just for, because you guys didn't need his offense at times, uh, that there wasn't a ton, uh, for him to do. He didn't really have to run plays for Derek, but he's such a good defender and he seems like such a good athlete. Um, he also had some injury issues early in the season. Uh, if he give me a scouting report on what he is at the next level. You know, to me, I compare it to, to like a Jabelle McGee, Tyson Chandler type player, uh, who, who's, who's more skilled than he gets credit for.

He had a lower leg injury at the beginning of the fall workouts. And so now you see a guy who, uh, each week we dive into the mind of the con artist and covering the secrets behind the biggest Ponzi schemes. You never heard about, we're not talking about Bernie Madoff or Charles Ponzi.

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Subscribe to the Ponzi playbook, wherever you get your podcasts. That takes a while, you know, to get the time in, because his game was built off athleticism, what he could do on a defensive end. Offensively, he was raw in high school, but, uh, you know, now, and then, so he was a live threat for us. He didn't get to shoot a lot of threes, but in high school he could make threes and, you know, he didn't, he didn't shoot the ball well for us this year, but it was a small synthesized.

Now you start to get, you start to get his timing back, um, around the Carolina game, the first Carolina game, that's where he was. He was a hundred percent healthy and you saw what he did. Four points, uh, eight, 14 rebounds, eight blocks in the Duke Carolina game for young.

No, that hasn't happened. And so the impact that he had on that end of the floor was incredible. And you're going to see a guy who's going to be better in the NBA on an offense event because he has a skill set. He's going to be stronger. Uh, he's going to be, he's going to be a better shooter. He's a guy who has good touch. So, and you know, in the NBA, they, those touch shots, not going to be able to dunk everything. And then he had a workout.

I don't know if you guys saw that it was posted on social media. He made 14 threes in a, in a workout, 14 consecutive NBA threes, um, and winning his, uh, his draft day workouts. And so you're getting a player who can defend. He's already an NBA defender, but he has untapped potential on the offensive end.

Chris Carroll is with us. You, you mentioned Tyson Chandler. I don't know how many people remember who Tyson Chandler was, but he played in the league a long time. Uh, and he, I believe he was the second pick. I think the bulls had both picks, right? They took Eddie Curry and Tyson Chandler, I think in the same draft. And Chandler filled out his upper body to the point where he became a very strong and powerful, certainly a defender.

I don't think he was ever a great offensive player, but that wouldn't be a terrible, uh, you know, lot in life for Derek lively to be, to be somebody who has as good defensively as Tyson Chandler. Also a great teammate, by the way, can Derek put on that kind of muscle to, to, and fill out in that way? Absolutely.

Absolutely. Um, he's already had, he's already had, he put on some muscle with us. He had the shoulder. So if you look at his shoulders and his back, he has the potential to put on a lot of muscles. And, you know, when we're out in California, not too long ago, we got a chance to see him.

He's like, man, he's put on more size. And when I tell teams also with him that the recent white hair would have been a top 10 pick and Derek wisely comes back to the school, he'd have been a top five hit in a 24 draft. So if he comes back, because now, you know, if he's healthy, he's going to average 10 points, nine, 10 rebounds, three or four blocks. So now you get Mark Williams, right? Now you get Mark Williams who came back as a sophomore who's now starting in the NBA.

He's starting in the NBA for the Horn. So amazing stuff. All right. Well, I got one more thing to ask you before I let you go. Chris Carroll, I appreciate your time. You guys, Jeremy Roach comes back.

You have an embarrassment of riches, I believe, in the back court. But when I, when I last saw you, I asked you about Tyrese Proctor. And you said to me, and it was like in January and you, you basically, you put your thumb and your forefinger together and you said, he's this close. And it was right then that he really took off in that season. How has the offseason been?

I don't know how much time, whether he went back to Australia or not. But how has his offseason been and what are your expectations for him and what he can become next year? Yeah, I think Tyrese has the chance and opportunity and the talent to be the best guard in the country. You know, a lot has to go into a team success.

You know, I pray to God, you know, he's healthy. But I'm telling you, man, this guy has it all. And it's the thing that I did.

I come in here like, you know, you raise a bottle, you know, on the offensive end. He was an incredible defender for. And so he had it now. He had the chance to really, you know, he got his feet wet. And in America this past year, you know, playing in the ACC, playing some high level games. So now he knows what to expect. If you look back at him, we didn't get him into the to the ball. So he didn't come on campus into the ball.

So you come here to America and campus and everything's new. Man, you know. Yeah. So now he's adjusted. He's a hard worker.

He puts in the time. And, you know, you get just a natural like progression. Freshman year now come back. I know what to expect. I get stronger.

I'm older and then now I'm ready. And so now you should see a huge jump from a really good freshman year. To a chance for a player who can be, like I said, like one of the best guards in the country, not the best guard.

I mean, he certainly has all the tools and he looks like he loves to defend as well. And I know that's going to be your calling card again next year. Chris Carrowell, I'll see you very soon, my friend. I appreciate your time. Good luck to the whole crew on draft night, but I'll see you before then. I appreciate it. Take care, buddy. You got it. Chris Carrowell, associate head coach, Duke basketball.