Tag: Khaman Maluach

The best photos from Jon Scheyer’s playing career with Duke basketball

Before he succeeded Coach K, Jon Scheyer led the Blue Devils to a national title on the court. Here are some photos from his playing days.

The [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] era is off to a promising start in Durham.

The Blue Devils made the NCAA Tournament in both of Scheyer’s first two seasons, reaching the Elite Eight in year two after a second-round exit in 2023. The ascension looks destined to continue in year three with [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag], and the best recruiting class in the country headed his way.

However, before Scheyer took the clipboard from Mike Krzyzewski, he played for Coach K from 2006-10. He even won a national championship with the Blue Devils as a senior, and he averaged double-digit points in all four of his college basketball seasons.

We ranked the 10 best Duke basketball players from the 2000s this weekend, and Scheyer ultimately ended up just on the outside looking in as an honorable mention. However, his playing career still defined an era of hoops at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Here are some of the best photos from his playing days.

Team USA confirms Jayson Tatum not held from Olympic opener for health reasons

With fans questioning why Jayson Tatum didn’t play against Serbia during Sunday’s Olympic opener, Team USA confirmed that he’s healthy.

Former Duke basketball star Jayson Tatum didn’t play in Team USA’s Sunday victory over Serbia, a surprising scratch for the newly crowned NBA champion.

The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn reported after the game that Tatum was available for the United States and not sitting out for injury-related reasons. In two separate posts to X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter), Washburn said Tatum denied that he was sick and that Team USA coach Steve Kerr confirmed it was a coach’s decision.

“I went with the combinations that made sense,” Kerr told Washburn. “That was for tonight. He handled it well. He’ll make his mark.”

Tatum started in an exhibition game against Serbia earlier this month. Two of his Boston Celtics teammates, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, both played for the American team during the 110-84 victory.

Team USA plays its second game on the Olympic schedule against South Sudan on Wednesday.

Should Tatum make his way onto the court against South Sudan, it’ll be a battle of Blue Devils. Incoming freshman [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] plays for the South Sudan team, and he scored two points for his country during its first-ever Olympic win on Sunday.

Carlik Jones, Marial Shayok lead South Sudan to historic Olympic victory

South Sudan overcame a first-half deficit to complete a historic 90-79 win over Puerto Rico on Sunday to open the 2024 Olympic Games.

Led by veteran Carlik Jones, South Sudan overcame a first-half deficit to complete a historic 90-79 win over Puerto Rico in Group C on Sunday to open the 2024 Olympic Games in Lille, France.

Jones produced 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists, Marial Shayok had 15 points and Nuni Omot added 12 points and six rebounds to lead South Sudan to its first-ever victory in the Olympics. Peter Jok had 11 points, while Wenyen Gabriel and JT Thor both had six points.

Puerto Rico, who was led by José Alvarado, was up by nine points in the first quarter and carried a six-point advantage to halftime. South Sudan responded by outscoring its opponent 42-25 in the second half to take control of the game. Alvarado finished with a game-high 26 points.

South Sudan, whose president is former 15-year NBA veteran Luol Deng, claimed its first Olympic berth last year by finishing as the top African team in the FIBA Basketball World Cup, its first international tournament after becoming a sovereign state from Sudan in July 2011.

The team also made history when Khaman Maluach became the third-youngest player in the event at 16 years old. Maluach, now 17, made South Sudan’s 12-man roster for the Olympics and has been with the team throughout its training camp. He had two points on Sunday.

After defeating Puerto Rico, South Sudan will return to action on Wednesday against the United States (3 p.m. EDT). The contest is a rematch of an exhibition game on July 20, in which the U.S. defeated South Sudan 101-100 in London.

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Khaman Maluach, South Sudan win first Olympic basketball game over Puerto Rico

Khaman Maluach and South Sudan erased a six-point halftime deficit for a resounding victory over Puerto Rico, the country’s first Olympic win.

South Sudan has finally won an Olympic basketball game.

[autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] and his countrymen erased a six-point halftime deficit against Puerto Rico on Sunday for a 90-79 victory, the first South Sudan victory in Olympic basketball history.

Puerto Rico built an eight-point lead in the first quarter alone and led 54-48 at the midway point, but South Sudan held them to 25 points over the final two quarters.

Maluach, an incoming Duke basketball freshman and one of four five-star signees in the 2024 recruiting class, played just six minutes. He scored two points and grabbed two rebounds in his limited time. Carlik Jones led the team with 19 points, and South Sudan outrebounded Puerto Rico 55-37.

The victory represents the start of group play in the men’s basketball competition. South Sudan and Puerto Rico sit in Group C alongside the United States and Serbia, who play each other later on Sunday. Each country plays the other three once with the top two teams in each group guaranteed to advance into the quarterfinals. One more victory should virtually assure South Sudan’s spot in the final eight.

Maluach’s new teammates in Durham surely rooted him on this morning, and a handful of them included South Sudan in their podium predictions.

Duke basketball players voice support for Khaman Maluach in Olympic predictions

The Duke basketball team gave their Olympic podium predictions on Sunday with a lot of love for Khaman Maluach and jokes for Tyrese Proctor.

The Duke basketball team gave their predictions for the Olympic podium on Saturday, and the Blue Devils resoundingly think Team USA will walk away with yet another gold medal.

The Blue Devils social media team asked every player currently in Durham for their top three, and all but one of them said the United States would win gold.

The lone holdout? [autotag]Tyrese Proctor[/autotag], who of course picked his home country of Australia.

A couple of his American teammates tried to get a rise out of Proctor with the segment as well. [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] and Mason Gillis both went out of their way to say Australia wouldn’t medal. Flagg clarified he was only messing with his point guard, but Gillis simply smiled.

The only Blue Devil not with the team right now, incoming freshman [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag], will play for South Sudan in Paris. Many of his teammates decided to support him with their predictions. Gillis, Maliq Brown, and Cameron Sheffield all gave their silver medals to South Sudan.

Check out the full predictions below.

Analytics site projects 2024-25 statistics for Cooper Flagg and Duke basketball

Bart Torvik, who runs one of the most popular college basketball analytics sites, thinks Cooper Flagg might average nearly 20 points per game.

The entire college basketball world awaits [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag]’s Duke debut later this fall, and it occasionally feels like the top-ranked freshman can’t possibly live up to the offseason hype.

According to Bart Torvik, who runs one of the most popular college basketball analytics sites in the country, our sights might not be set high enough.

Field of 68 posted Torvik’s 2024-25 statistical projections for the Blue Devils this week, and he thinks Flagg will lead the team with 19 points per game. For reference, only 14 players on Power Six basketball teams last season matched that total.

Torvik also thought Flagg would average eight rebounds per game, making him one of the most potent double-double threats in college basketball. His 6-foot-9 frame and eye-popping athleticism make that sound entirely feasible.

Despite head coach Jon Scheyer welcoming five other elite freshmen into his program this offseason, Torvik thinks Duke’s second-leading scorer will be a familiar face. Tyrese Proctor, the junior point guard who led the team in assists last season, slotted in with 14 points and four assists per game.

Khaman Maluach, the 7-footer who will play for South Sudan in the Olympics, finished with 12 points and eight rebounds in the projection. Caleb Foster, the Blue Devils only other returning guard, rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points per game.

Check out Duke Wire’s statistical projections for each Blue Devils freshman here.

Duke commit Khaman Maluach named to South Sudan’s 12-man roster for Olympics

Duke commit Khaman Maluach was among the players named to South Sudan’s 12-man roster for the 2024 Olympic Games.

Duke commit Khaman Maluach was among the players named to South Sudan’s 12-man roster for the 2024 Olympic Games, which begin on Friday in Paris, France.

Maluach last year became the third-youngest player to suit up in the FIBA Basketball World Cup with the team. He totaled eight points, 15 rebounds and three blocks in four games to help South Sudan claim its first Olympic berth.

The 17-year-old has been with the team in training camp since earning a place on its preliminary roster in June. He will be joined on the final roster by several notable players, including Wenyen Gabriel, Peter Jok, Carlik Jones, Marial Shayok and JT Thor.

South Sudan, whose president and assistant coach is former 15-year NBA veteran Luol Deng, finished 2-2 in its exhibition schedule, including a one-point loss to the United States on July 20. Maluach recorded seven points and three rebounds in that contest.

The 7-footer is considered a potential top-five pick in the 2025 NBA draft as an international prospect born in 2006. He is highly touted for his size and versatility as a player who can shoot and defend, with his reported 7-foot, 4 1/2-inch wingspan and 9-foot, 8-inch standing reach.

South Sudan will open the Olympics in Group C against Puerto Rico on Sunday. The team will then face the U.S. on July 31 before wrapping up the group phase against Serbia on Aug. 3.

The group has the ninth-best odds of claiming the gold medal.

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Incoming Duke basketball freshman Khaman Maluach makes South Sudan Olympic team

Khaman Maluach, one of Duke’s four five-star signees from the Class of 2024, will play for South Sudan in Paris this summer at the Olympic Games.

After months of speculation and a great exhibition performance against Team USA, [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] officially made the South Sudan Olympic Men’s Basketball team on Wednesday.

The South Sudan Basketball Federation revealed the 12-man Olympic roster bound for Paris, and the 7-footer made the cut.

The NBA Academy Africa product committed to Duke back in March, becoming the sixth and final member of the Blue Devils’ 2024 recruiting class. He’s received some NBA draft lottery hype for 2025 thanks to his height and defensive prowess, and he’s expected to immediately become one of the best shot-blockers in college basketball this fall.

Maluach made a strong impression against the American team on Saturday. He broke free for a running dunk in the first quarter, showed off his shooting ability with a 3-pointer from the corner, and even got the better of former NBA MVP Joel Embiid during a one-on-one possession. South Sudan led for most of the game, but four-time NBA champion LeBron James made a layup in the last 10 seconds for the one-point U.S. victory.

Maluach becomes the second Blue Devil officially on a men’s basketball roster for the Olympics as former Duke star [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] joins Team USA for the second time. Former Blue Devil Chelsea Gray also made the U.S. Women’s Basketball Team.

Khaman Maluach gets the better of former NBA MVP Joel Embiid during Team USA exhibition

Khaman Maluach made a handful of impressive plays against Team USA during a Saturday exhibition, but his best came against a former MVP.

Khaman Maluach gained a brief grasp over the basketball world on Saturday afternoon when he and South Sudan nearly upset Team USA.

He put together some impressive highlights, a running dunk in the first quarter and a corner 3-pointer later on, but the biggest feather in his cap came during a quieter basket.

Midway through the second quarter, as South Sudan built a comfortable lead over the United States, Maluach got the ball with former NBA MVP Joel Embiid on him defensively. The future Blue Devil feinted to his right, a jab step to give him some space from Embiid, before burying a long mid-range shot over the Philadelphia 76ers star.

There’s a solid argument to make that Embiid, who took home the prestigious MVP honor just two seasons ago, is the best player on the American team. For a player like Maluach, a presumed 2025 lottery pick viewed as a project, to make a basket over such a professional star feels like a statement about his current ability.

Maluach also mentioned Embiid, along with Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo, as players he’s watched since he started playing basketball.

Khaman Maluach talks about playing against his NBA idols during Team USA exhibition

Khaman Maluach, a future Duke Blue Devil, played against some all-time NBA forwards on Saturday, and the fact was not lost on him.

It’s one thing for incoming Duke basketball star [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] to play basketball. It’s another thing entirely to play basketball against players like Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis.

The 7-footer faced off against some of his NBA role models on Saturday when South Sudan played (and nearly beat) Team USA during an exhibition match in London.

Maluach gained even more attention than the projected lottery pick already had, especially after he threw down a dunk in the first quarter and made a corner 3-pointer. After the game, he talked about how hard it was to process that he was playing the sport he loved against players he’d watched for years.

“It was so crazy in the beginning,” Maluach said. “Especially seeing bigs I’ve been watching since I started playing basketball like Joel Embiid, A.D. (Anthony Davis), Bam (Adebayo), matching up with them was just something like I couldn’t imagine…like, ‘Oh, I’m playing against these guys.'”

Maluach did more than just play against them, too, as mentioned earlier. He finished the game with seven points, three rebounds, and a block.