Cooper Flagg isn’t the only incoming Duke University freshman showing out against the U.S. men’s basketball team.
In an Olympic showcase game in London on Saturday, 17-year-old Khaman Maluach helped South Sudan nearly pull off a historic upset over Team USA, losing 101-100 after a last-second layup from LeBron James.
The incoming 7-foot-2 Duke freshman played 12 minutes off the bench for his native South Sudan, scoring seven points on 3-for-6 shooting (1-for-1 from three), snagging three rebounds and blocking a shot from nine-time NBA All-Star Anthony Davis.
The showcase came less than two weeks after Flagg dropped 17 points on Davis and company in a scrimmage with the USA Select Team.
Maluach spent most of childhood in Uganda as a refugee of the Sudanese Civil War, joined the South Sudan national team at the age of 16 and recently graduated from NBA Academy Africa in Senegal. He was the rebounding leader (13.5 rpg) in the professional Basketball Africa League this season as a member of the City Oilers in Uganda.
Flagg (the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2024) and Maluach (No. 4) highlight a freshman class at Duke with five top-25 prospects, per CBS’ 247 Sports, including 6-foot-6 small forward Isaiah Evans (No. 13) of North Carolina, 6-foot-5 small forward Kon Knueppel (No. 17) of Wisconsin and 6-foot-11 center Patrick Ngongba II (No. 20) of Virginia.
It’s the second time in three years Duke head coach John Scheyer has assembled the nation’s top recruiting class, having accomplished the feat in 2022. Scheyer assembled the second-best class in 2023.
Of Scheyer’s last two recruiting classes, just junior guard Tyrese Proctor and sophomore guard Caleb Foster remain with Duke. Four players were drafted by NBA teams after one year, and five have transferred to other Division I schools.
