Photo credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Future Duke Basketball Center May Face Several Blue Devils in Olympics
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On Tuesday afternoon, Team USA found out its draw for the 2024 Olympic Summer Games in Paris, July 27-Aug. 10. And it sets the stage for a potential matchup between Duke basketball products, as South Sudan, likely to feature recent five-star Blue Devil commit Khaman Maluach, is in Group C alongside the Americans.
In January, two-time Duke national champion (1991, 1992) and current USA Basketball Men's National Team managing director Grant Hill selected his 41-player pool, including NBA Blue Devils Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving, Brandon Ingram, and Paolo Banchero, and will eventually dwindle it down to a 12-man Team USA roster.
Not only will Team USA square off against South Sudan in the group stage, but they'll also meet in London for an exhibition bout on July 20 as part of the Americans' international tour in preparation for the Paris Olympics. Serbia and the winner of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Pico will be the other two Group C squads.
Khaman Maluach, who attends NBA Academy Africa in Senegal and ranks No. 6 overall on the 247Sports 2024 Composite, is the most heralded South Sudanese hoopster since eventual Duke basketball one-and-done and two-time NBA All-Star forward Luol Deng ranked No. 2 in the 2003 recruiting cycle behind LeBron James.
Deng is now president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation.
At the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, he helped coach the team and the then-16-year-old Maluach, a 7-foot-1, 250-pound versatile giant and the third-youngest player to ever appear in a World Cup game, en route to South Sudan qualifying for the Olympics in men's basketball for the first time in history.
With his pledge earlier this month, Maluach became the sixth 2024 Duke basketball recruiting prize, joining what was already the nation's top-ranked class. The Blue Devils' collection features the No. 1 prospect in Cooper Flagg, as well as Patrick Ngongba II, Isaiah Evans, Kon Knueppel, and Darren Harris, all top-60 talents.
Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country on SI.com for more Duke basketball recruiting news.