Duke center Dereck Lively II — the No. 1 player in the 2022 recruiting class, per the 247Sports composite — will make his college debut tonight against USC-Upstate, the program announced on Friday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Lively has been nursing a calf injury for several weeks, which caused him to miss the team’s “secret” preseason scrimmage against Houston, its exhibition game and its season-opening win over Jacksonville on Monday.
- Head coach Jon Scheyer said Monday night that Lively had a “good chance” to play today, in line with Lively finally practicing through contact.
Scouting report
The 7-foot-1, 230-pound Lively was the nation’s top-ranked recruit for a reason. His tremendous size makes him a natural defensive force, both as a shot-blocker and general deterrent to players driving to the rim. For that reason, he’s drawn comparisons to former Duke center Mark Williams, a first-round pick by the Charlotte Hornets in this summer’s NBA Draft.
But if anything, Lively’s game is more advanced than Williams’, especially at this point in his career. Under first-year head coach Jon Scheyer, Duke plans to switch defensively on the perimeter, which means Lively will be asked to defend forwards and even wings in space on the perimeter; that’s something Williams struggled with in college, forcing the Blue Devils to primarily play drop coverage with him on the court. Lively’s athleticism makes him more of a complete defender, as opposed to a strict interior one.
Offensively, while Williams developed more post moves during the two seasons he spent at Duke, both he and Lively are still relatively raw. That’s not to say Lively isn’t skilled, but that at least initially, expect the majority of his offensive production to come in transition, as a lob threat, and a rim-rolling big in pick-and-roll actions. However, Lively did show at the high school level and this summer at Duke that he can step outside and knock down 3-point jumpers with some consistency. To what extent he’s asked — or allowed — to do that this season remains to be seen, but it’s encouraging that the option exists at all. Some NBA scouts and college coaches who saw Lively in high school compared his impact more to that of former Kentucky star Willie Cauley-Stein because of his potential to hit jumpers outside of the paint.
What’s fair to expect in Lively’s debut?
With the star freshman out, Northwestern transfer Ryan Young has been starting at center for the Blue Devils, and he’s looked exceptional doing so. Young made all six of his field-goal attempts in Duke’s season-opener, en route to 12 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and two assists on the night.
For as good as Young has looked in Lively’s stead, Lively is the superior talent, and he’ll be the team’s long-term starter at center. We’ll see if that’s a role he immediately assumes upon his return, or if it’s something he’s eased into more gradually. Seven players saw at least 20 minutes of action against Jacksonville, and while Lively might hit that Friday, Scheyer has maintained that he wants to bring the big man along slowly to avoid re-aggravating his calf.
GO DEEPER
How Duke’s Dariq Whitehead, Derek Lively II fit into Jon Scheyer’s vision
In addition to Young, Lively will pair with fellow five-star freshmen Kyle Filipowski and Mark Mitchell in Duke’s frontcourt, which should be one of the deepest in the nation. Lively is more of a true center than a stretchy 4-man, but Scheyer has said he wants to experiment with different frontcourt pairings, especially in the nonconference slate.
Required reading
(Photo: Rob Kinnan / USA Today)
