Tag: Khaman Maluach

Duke basketball freshman Khaman Maluach joins South Sudan Olympic Training Camp roster

Duke freshman Khaman Maluach made South Sudan’s 25-man training roster as he begins preparations for the Olympics in Paris.

The Blue Devils will already have multiple alums in the 2024 Olympic Games this summer in Paris, with Jayson Tatum and Chelsea Gray already on the men’s and women’s teams for the United States, but a current Duke player might join them for the festivities.

[autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag], a 7-foot-2 center from South Sudan and a member of Duke’s esteemed 2024 recruiting class, officially made his home country’s Olympic Training Camp roster on Friday.

The 25-man squad, which features notable NBA names like Bol Bol, Wenyen Gabriel, and Thon Maker, will help South Sudan whittle down its Olympic roster.

Maluach has already earned hype for the 2025 NBA draft with multiple outlets hailing him as a likely lottery selection. He already represented his country at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, doing so when he was just 16 years old. His size and potential leave many to think of him as a shoo-in for the country’s Olympic roster once the Games begin in Paris later this summer.

Future teammate [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] (likely) won’t play for the United States in Paris, but he did make the Select Team squad meant to help the national team prepare for the Games. He was the only collegiate player to make the roster.

Four Duke freshmen make the top 25 on Yahoo Sports Big Board for 2025 NBA draft

Cooper Flagg sat atop the 2025 NBA draft rankings for Yahoo Sports like every other mock draft, but what other Duke players made the top 25?

Yahoo Sports got in on the 2025 NBA draft projections earlier this week with a ranking of the 30 best prospects from next year’s class, and four Blue Devils made the cut ahead of their debut seasons.

[autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], the sensational forward prospect who sat atop every Class of 2024 high school ranking, took the No. 1 spot just like he did for ESPN and 247Sports.

“Flagg has an incredible feel for the game and is an elite passer with his size,” Krysten Peek wrote. “He can space the floor, create off the dribble and finish in a variety of ways.”

However, while Peek fits the consensus on Flagg, she’s lower on 7-footer [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag]. The NBA Academy Africa prospect is routinely considered a top-five pick on most projections, but Peek put him down in 19th.

He wasn’t even the second-highest Blue Devil on Peek’s board. [autotag]Isaiah Evans[/autotag], the two-time North Carolina Mr. Basketball honoree, slotted in at 13th. Peek praised the efficiency leap Evans made as a senior. MaxPreps credited him as a 53% shooter last season with a 43% 3-point shot.

Last but not least, five-star prospect [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag] came in at 24th on Peek’s rankings. Knueppel might be outshined by Flagg and the other top-tier prospects in Duke’s class, but The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie thinks he might be the second-best newcomer in the class.

Returning guards Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor, two players routinely included in 2025 mock drafts, both failed to make Peek’s rankings.

Three Duke basketball players go within the top 10 in new 2025 mock draft

CBS Sports released an early 2025 mock draft on Saturday morning, and Gary Parrish had three Blue Devils within the first 10 picks.

The 2024-25 Duke basketball team remains a runaway hype train, and CBS Sports added another layer to the momentum on Saturday morning.

In a new 2025 mock draft from Gary Parrish, three Blue Devils came off the board within the first 10 picks.

[autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], who is considered the favorite to get taken first in 12 months time, went before anyone else to the Washington Wizards.

“He’s terrific,” Parrish wrote about Flagg, who finished atop every major recruiting ranking. “He’s been an undeniable star at the high school level (and on the grassroots circuit) for years, so much so that I really do believe all 30 NBA franchises would take the 6-foot-9 forward first overall if next year’s draft were held right now.”

Flagg would be the first American picked No. 1 since fellow Duke star Paolo Banchero went to the Orlando Magic in 2022.

Four picks later, 7-footer [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] went to the Toronto Raptors with the fifth overall pick. The South Sudanese star, whom Parrish said could be the best prospect in NBA Academy Africa history.

The presumed lottery pick contains more than just shot-blocking potential, however, with highlights from his Basketball Africa League games including knockdown 3-pointers.

The third and final Blue Devil in the lottery came from the returning crop with sophomore guard [autotag]Caleb Foster[/autotag] going 10th to the Brooklyn Nets. A 6-foot-5 ball-handler who made 40% of his 3-pointers and averaged two assists per game last year, Foster brings an appealing set of skills to the NBA level.

Parrish’s projection only included the first 14 picks of the lottery, but other names like Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel have been thrown around in 2025 mock drafts already. Check out Duke Wire’s predictions for who heads to the pros and who returns for 2025-26 here.

Cooper Flagg joins USA Select Team as only college player, will practice against US Olympic team

Cooper Flagg was the only college basketball player named to the USA Select Team on Friday with the goal of helping the Olympic team prepare.

[autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag]’s trajectory into stardom continues to rise at nearly meteoric levels.

He was as decorated a high school recruit as the prep ranks have seen in quite some time, and now, as we close in on seeing him play for the Duke Blue Devils in under six months, Flagg can add another incredible achievement to his resume.

The USA Select Team will help the country’s Olympic team practice ahead of this summer’s games in Paris, and Duke’s star freshman is the only college player set to join said Select Team from July 6-8.

At 17, Flagg becomes the first college player to play or practice with the U.S. national team since Doug McDermott and Marcus Smart participated at a minicamp for NBA stars in Las Vegas in 2013.

In many ways, this could be a harbinger of things to come for the talented forward. Six members of the current Olympic Team served on Select Teams, and 30 players who served on select teams went on to play for USA Basketball at either a FIBA World Cup or the Olympics. More than anything, he gets to test himself against the best players the USA has to offer, even before ever playing a minute in college basketball.

Team USA enters the Games as the top-ranked team in the world, but after a disappointing showing (by USA standards) at last year’s FIBA World Cup saw the Americans finish in fourth place, Team USA vowed to come back stronger in France. Managing director [autotag]Grant Hill[/autotag], another Duke legend, assembled names like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards, Joel Embiid, and Kawhi Leonard for the Olympic squad

It was an incredible job doing so and one Hill should be proud of. The real work begins as Team USA now has to gel as a unit and prepare to play, a goal the Select Team is meant to help with.

The amount of insight and tips Flagg can learn in those days practicing against  Team USA could be invaluable as he partakes in his only season in the NCAA.

Flagg is no stranger to USA Basketball. He was a team member that won gold at the 2022 FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup. He was picked as USA Basketball’s male athlete of the year for 2022, becoming the youngest player ever to win that honor.

There is also precedent for Select Team members joining the official roster in the event of injuries or other events. Keldon Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs was a Select Team member and ended up on the Olympics roster for 2021.

If that were to happen, Duke’s two highest-rated recruits from the 2024 class playing in the Olympics in Flagg and center [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag], who is set to play for South Sudan.

247Sports’ Way Too Early 2025 NBA mock draft features five Duke basketball players

Duke places five first rounders in way-too-early mock draft from 247Sports.

With the first round of the 2024 NBA draft having come and gone, 247Sports and many other outlets are already turning their attention to next year. Many NBA franchises are also doing the same thing since the 2025 NBA draft is shaping to be one of the most star-studded drafts in recent memory.

Duke’s Jared McCain went 16th overall to Philadelphia on Wednesday night and ended up being Duke’s only first-round selection for the 2024 draft. Kyle Filipowski fell out of the first round entirely.

Even with one round left in this year’s draft, 247Sports believes Duke will have more than one first-rounder next year if their way-too-early 2025 mock draft is any indication.

There’s a plethora of legit franchise-changing options, and it has the potential to be one of the best crops of draft talent in many years. Where the 2024 draft lacked the high-end superstar type of talent, 2025 makes up for that abundance.

At number one to the Brooklyn Nets, [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] still stands tall. He’s as generational a prospect as Duke has had in the one-and-done era, and the hype will need to be realized this fall when Duke takes the court. His blend of size, athleticism, defensive prowess, and competitiveness has carried him through the prep ranks, but now he’ll have to show he can be the guy on college basketball’s biggest brand in an attempt to lead Duke to its sixth national title.

[autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] is slated to go fifth overall to the Utah Jazz. The 7-footer’s blend of size, length, rim protection, and evolving offensive game, which sees him consistently shooting from a distance, makes him an incredibly enticing center prospect.

[autotag]Caleb Foster[/autotag] received major love in this mock draft. After not being on NBA radars last season as a freshman, there seems to be some major momentum to Foster’s stock, and some in the NBA community are taking notice. Foster has terrific size for a guard prospect, standing at 6-foot-5, and he can play on and off the ball while shooting 40% from 3-point range. His home at Duke this year will be more off the ball as a potent scoring option for Duke while Tyrese Proctor continues to handle the point guard role primarily.

He can shoot and handle the ball and showed how much of a slasher he can be with Duke. Because of the shooting they brought in during the offseason, they will likely spread the court much better, opening up driving lanes galore. This mock has him going to New Orleans with the 14th pick and joining former Blue Devils Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson.

[autotag]Isaiah Evans[/autotag] was picked to land with the Memphis Grizzlies at the 16th pick in this exercise. His length is a problem for defenders at 6-foot-7, and while many compare him to the previously mentioned Ingram, they only share an ability to score and similar collegiate body shapes. Duke has slim players who need to add mass, but Evans is as fiery as they come on the court. He’s a confident player with a dazzling offensive package. He will be asked to be a sparkplug off the bench for Jon Scheyer’s team this year.

The final first-rounder for Duke in this mock draft is [autotag]Kon Kneuppel[/autotag], and he may be the most unknown to Duke fans. While he probably won’t start this year, Knueppel feels like an important player off the bench for the Blue Devils. He is not the most athletic player Duke will play this year, but he’s tough, understands basketball at a high level, and does everything well, especially on the court. He can shoot at a high clip and pass, and at 6-foot-6, he has the size and physicality to bang down low and rebound, too. He was mocked to the current defending champion, Boston Celtics, with the 30th and final pick of the fist round and would play alongside [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag].

Noticeably, Proctor was not named in this mock draft. Proctor’s stock has taken a hit since his freshman year. Still, there’s reason to believe that the Australian can resuscitate his draft stock with a Wendell Moore-like jump as a junior and potentially sneak himself back into consideration.

Duke basketball releases footage from first 2024-25 team scrimmage

The 2024-25 Duke basketball team finally got to practice this week, and the team dropped footage from the first scrimmage late on Friday.

There are still a few months before the Duke basketball team starts playing in front of the Cameron Crazies on campus, but Blue Devils fans can watch the 2024-25 team play basketball now.

The team posted two social media clips to X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) before revealing that they posted a six-minute video to their YouTube page.

Fans got their first look at Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 prospect in the country, and the four other healthy freshmen from the Class of 2024 (the team announced Darren Harris would miss time after he underwent surgery to repair a broken hand).

Khaman Maluach, the 7-footer from South Sudan and a presumed lottery pick in the 2025 NBA draft, threw down a lob from returning guard Tyrese Proctor at one point in the video. Tulane transfer guard Sion James, a presumed starter next season, also popped off the screen multiple times, and in-state talent Isaiah Evans nailed a deep jumper.

Flagg also knocked down a triple later in the video on a feed from Proctor.

Duke basketball posts the first pictures of Cooper Flagg and the 2024-25 team practices

Duke basketball shared the first photos of the 2024-25 team practices on Tuesday, letting fans see Cooper Flagg and others in uniform.

Duke basketball fans can taste the 2024-25 season and its arrival.

On Tuesday, Blue Devils fans got their first looks at next season’s team. [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], the No. 1 prospect in the country, and his future teammates started practicing in Durham, finally getting to play and practice in Duke gear.

In a tweet from the team account, Duke fans can see Patrick Ngongba II, the Paul VI center who made the USA Basketball U18 team earlier this summer, during a team dribbling drill. Another photo of the team huddling up shows [autotag]Sion James[/autotag], the athletic guard from Tulane, and returning junior [autotag]Tyrese Proctor[/autotag] among the players putting their hands in.

Other photos shared show Flagg and classmate [autotag]Isaiah Evans[/autotag], a two-time North Carolina Mr. Basketball honoree, working through drills. [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag], the South Sudanese 7-footer from NBA Academy Africa, also stopped through in Durham before he heads to the Olympics.

Between Duke’s hyped freshman class, which features six top-40 prospects, and four incoming transfers, the Blue Devils enter the 2024-25 season as one of the national championship favorites.

Flagg and his future teammates already spent some time on campus earlier this month for the K Academy.

Khaman Maluach named to South Sudan’s 25-man prelim roster for 2024 Olympic Games

Duke commit Khaman Maluach was among the 25 players named to South Sudan’s training camp roster for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Duke Blue Devils commit Khaman Maluach was among the 25 players named to South Sudan’s training camp roster for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.

The preliminary roster, which was reduced from 50 players, includes several others from the group that claimed a berth in the Olympic Games by finishing as the top African team in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, such as Wenyen Gabriel, Peter Jok, Carlik Jones and Marial Shayok.

South Sudan, whose president and assistant coach is former 15-year NBA veteran Luol Deng, also added newcomers like Bol Bol, Makur Maker, Thon Maker and JT Thor, among others. The team will eventually reduce its roster to 12 players for the Games.

South Sudan will open the Olympics in Group C, along with Serbia, the United States and a team still to earn a berth. The group will begin its preparations with exhibition games against Great Britain (July 18) and the U.S. (July 20).

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

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.

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Duke men’s basketball will be one of the tallest teams in the country next season

With no players on the roster shorter than 6-foot-5, the Blue Devils have size on their side in 2024-25.

[autotag]Tyrese Proctor[/autotag] is 6-foot-5.

The returning junior’s height sounds pretty unremarkable by basketball standards. He’s tall for a ball-handler, and a wing who can average nearly four assists per game offers flexibility.

That reaction changes when it’s revealed Duke won’t have a shorter player on the roster next season.

The Blue Devils have 11 players on the roster for the 2023-24 season, and they have an average height of 79.4 inches — a hair above 6-foot-7. The tallest team in the nation last year, Florida State, averaged 79.3 inches.

Proctor and Caleb Foster, the two returning guards, both measure in at 6-foot-5, as does five-star freshman Kon Knueppel. Darren Harris and Isaiah Evans, two other members of the 2024 recruiting class, stand 6-foot-6, as do Purdue transfer Mason Gillis and Tulane transfer Sion James.

Every other player on the team will be at least 6-foot-8.

Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 recruit in the nation and the presumed top pick in the 2025 NBA draft, is 6-foot-9, and he might play as a small forward for the Blue Devils.

Based on Duke Wire’s projected starting lineups, the Blue Devils’ first five will either have an average height of 79.8 inches or 80.2 inches. The smallest realistic starting lineup would be 6-foot-5 Foster, 6-foot-5 Proctor, 6-foot-6 James, 6-foot-9 Flagg, and 7-foot-1 Maluach, which is still an average of 79.6 inches.

No matter how head coach Jon Scheyer wants to arrange the starting lineup, the Blue Devils will be taller than whoever they play in 2024-25.

Duke commit Khaman Maluach named to South Sudan’s Olympic training camp roster

Duke commit Khaman Maluach was among 50 players named to South Sudan’s training camp roster for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Duke Blue Devils commit Khaman Maluach was among the 50 players named to South Sudan’s training camp roster for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.

The preliminary roster includes several other players from the group that claimed a berth in the Olympic Games by finishing as the top African team in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, such as Wenyen Gabriel, Peter Jok, Carlik Jones and Marial Shayok.

The group finished 17th in the event and posted a 3-2 record.

In addition to Maluach, South Sudan selected newcomers Bol Bol, Makur Maker, Thon Maker and JT Thor among others. The team will eventually reduce its roster to 12 players for the Games.

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

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, whose president and assistant coach is Luol Deng, will open the Olympics in Group C, along with Serbia, the United States and a team still to earn a berth. The group will play its first game on July 28 and wrap up the group phase with the U.S. (July 31) and Serbia (Aug. 3).

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