Tag: Travis Branham

Travis Branham of 247Sports has crystal balled Khaman Malauch to Duke

Duke has its third prediction for the Blue Devils to land projected lottery pick Khaman Maluach.

Things are heating up in the Duke Blue Devils’ pursuit of what would likely be the final piece of their already historic 2024 recruiting class.

Khaman Maluach, a 7-foot-2 center from South Sudan, is nearing a decision and announcement about where he will play basketball next year.

Maluach is not ranked on 247’s website due to a policy they have on international recruits, but the moment he announces he plans to attend college in the USA, he will be added to the rankings and is a lock to be a five-star prospect. His talent speaks for itself, as he is already being mocked as a top-five pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Maluach has narrowed his decision to five options: Duke, G League Ignite, Kansas, Kentucky, and UCLA. Duke was his first visit before eventually visiting the other blue bloods listed. Still, despite his visits and conversations with the G League Ignite representatives, Duke has remained a constant. So much so that one of 247 Sports’ best basketball recruiting insiders has logged a crystal ball in favor of Duke landing the incredibly gifted prospect.

If said prediction comes to fruition, Duke could potentially have its best recruiting class of all time, shattering some of their other incredible hauls over the last ten years. Cooper Flagg is already in the boat and is the nation’s No. 1 player.

It doesn’t seem like hyperbole to think that if Maluach decides to play basketball for a year in college, he’ll be a top-five recruit. Add that to five-star Isaiah Evans and Kon Knueppel and four-star high school teammates Patrick Ngongba II and Darren Harris, and it’s hard to imagine a better haul in recent high school recruiting memory. The Blue Devils would have five players within the top 20 of 247’s rankings.

An announcement is expected before the end of March. Whether or not Duke lands Maluach is still to be decided, but the momentum favors Duke as we enter the waning hours of this recruitment.

Auburn staff in hot pursuit of talented MAC transfer

Auburn is showing interest in talented MAC transfer from the state of Alabama.

Auburn has reached to Ohio transfer Mark Sears, According to 247Sports’ Travis Branham.  Along with Auburn, other schools like Alabama, Notre Dame, Texas, LSU, Florida, Gonzaga, and USC have also reached out.

The native of Muscle Shoals was ranked as a three-star prospect out of high school. Neither Alabama nor Auburn extended an offer to Sears coming out of high school, but in-state programs UAB and South Alabama did. Now,  Auburn and Alabama are seemingly interested in Ohio’s scoring leader from this past season. He averaged 19.6 points per game, 6.0 rebounds per game, and 4.1 assists per game. He ranked 28th in the entire country in scoring. That is a very effective number for one of the more premier talents available in the transfer portal.

This past season, Sears started all 35 games that the Bobcats played. The First Team All-MAC player shot an astounding 40.8 percent from the three-point line. From the floor, he shot 44.4. percent. In 18 of the 35 games that Sears played in, he scored 20 or more points. Statistically, that puts him at a 51.4 percent to score 20 or more in each contest.

Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The Tigers are also showing interest in transfers Erik Stevenson, Brandon Murray, and Jarod Lucas. However, Sears will likely be a larger target for the Auburn coaching staff. His ability to knock down threes and put the ball in the basket will likely separate him from the others that [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] and his coaching staff are interested in.