DURHAM — The Duke Blue Devils closed the first week of the 2022-23 season by welcoming perhaps the best player on their roster.
Dereck Lively II, the 7-foot-1 five-star freshman who was voted the ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year, made his collegiate debut on Friday. Lively missed Duke’s opening game on Monday after suffering a calf injury during preseason practice. Lively also didn’t play in the Blue Devils’ Blue-White scrimmage or Duke’s exhibition game.
Lively didn’t start the game, but he entered at the first timeout, just over four minutes into the game.
“I wouldn’t say I had goosebumps,” Lively said. “I just felt anticipation and excitement. I was really just excited.”
The team needed an injection of excitement at the time as the upset-minded USC Upstate Spartans jumped out to an early lead. The Spartans stole the ball from point guard Jeremy Roach on Duke’s first two possessions and got fast break layups. A 3-pointer put USC Upstate up 7-0, and when Lively entered, along with sophomore guard Jaylen Blakes, Duke trailed 7-3.
On his second possession in the game, Lively dunked the ball to tie the game. A minute later, he dunked again to give Duke its first lead, which the Blue Devils wouldn’t relinquish.
By the time he went back to the bench just over four minutes later, Duke led 14-9 and was well on its way to a blowout 84-38 win.
Lively played limited minutes as the team cautiously tries to work him back into the lineup. He finished with four points, with the two successful dunks as his only shots of the night. He added a pair of rebounds, two blocks, a steal and plenty of energy off the bench.
“We’re really happy with Dereck being able to play 15 minutes,” coach Jon Scheyer said. “The biggest thing is just getting in game shape. But his dunks, running the floor, those things he can do allows us to play really fast.”
Lively gave the team a bit of a scare, coming down awkwardly on a play at the rim. Near the end of the first half, he seemed to be favoring the leg he had injured, but he was able to return to the floor without incident following halftime.
“Just a little tweak,” Lively said. “Just making sure everything was good. I feel great and got back out there and nothing happened. Nothing was different. It’s so great to be back.”
Lively offers Duke another mobile big man to pair with Ryan Young, a graduate transfer from Northwestern who is a more classic post player, as well as fellow 7-foot freshman Kyle Filipowski, who can protect the rim and also play the perimeter. Filipowski recorded his second double-double in as many games in Friday’s win.
But the priority is for Lively to get back to 100%.
“He’s got to continue to get back into game shape,” Scheyer said. “He’s not going to be back to full right away, and we’ve got to be patient with that. We told him to play hard and if you need subs, we’ll get them for you. But he did a good job pushing through tonight.”
Lively sounded like he felt closer to game shape than his coach did.
“Right there,” he said of his conditioning. “We’re definitely right there. I feel good physically. I feel good mentally. We’re just trying to make sure I stay on the court. I look forward to getting better every day.”
That last point is an area of agreement between player and coach.
“This isn’t all Dereck has in him,” Scheyer said. “He’s definitely going to get better and better and better.”
