A highly promising recruit for Duke basketball is creating waves in the Basketball Africa League with his incredible achievements.
While five of the six freshmen players joining Duke basketball demonstrated their skills on Sunday night at the Jordan Brand Classic, five-star Khaman Maluach was hard at work getting ready for a Monday game against grown men.
Maluach, who plays for the City Oilers of the Basketball Africa League, put up an outstanding stat line in his team’s 79-68 loss to Al Ahly Ly, while facing a group of more seasoned and senior players. The 7-foot-1 center continued to play well against players with experience, finishing with 16 points, 19 rebounds, and seven blocks in over 34 minutes of playing.
He began as a role player in 2022 when he was 15 years old and developed into a full-fledged star by the time he was 17 years old. The NBA Global Academy and assistant technical director Joe Touomou, who also contributed to the growth of Joel Embiid, the current league MVP and seven-time NBA All-Star, have been somewhat responsible for that progress.
Referring to Embiid’s juvenile skill level, Touomou told ESPN, “[Embiid] was 17, and he was raw.” “Khaman [at 17] is 10 times better,”
Maluach is averaging an amazing 20.3 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks per game in just three BAL games this season. He is honing his craft before the Blue Devils travel to Durham for the 2024–25 campaign.
Duke basketball’s top recruiting class for the upcoming season includes a number of highly regarded players, including Khaman Maluach, who is ranked No. 6 overall on the 247Sports Composite.
In Jon Scheyer’s third season as head coach, he will be wearing a Blue Devil suit alongside four-star Darren Harris, Cooper Flagg, Isaiah Evans, Kon Knueppel, and Patrick Ngongba II, all of whom are composite five-star players.
