### BREAKING: Khaman Maluach, the 7’2″ Unicorn from South Sudan, Officially Signs with Duke Blue Devils
**DURHAM, N.C. — December 1, 2025, 9:17 a.m. ET** — It’s official. The most coveted big man on the 2025 recruiting board is headed to Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke University announced this morning that Khaman Maluach, the 7-foot-2, 250-pound center ranked No. 2 overall in the ESPN 100 and the consensus top international prospect in the class, has signed his National Letter of Intent with the Blue Devils. The announcement was accompanied by a hype video that crashed DukeBasketball.com for 11 minutes and sent #KhamanToDuke trending worldwide within the hour.
Maluach, a 19-year-old South Sudanese phenom who spent the past two seasons dominating at NBA Academy Africa and NBA Global Academy in Australia, chose Duke over Kansas, UCLA, Kentucky, Baylor, and a lucrative G League Ignite package that reportedly topped $1.2 million. He becomes the highest-ranked recruit to sign with Duke since Paolo Banchero in 2021 and the tallest since Vernon Carey Jr. in 2019.
“Khaman is a generational talent with a 7’7″ wingspan, guard skills, and a motor that never stops,” said head coach Jon Scheyer. “He’s not just a rim protector; he’s a rim-runs, shoots threes, handles in transition, and guards one through five in stretches. More importantly, he’s an even better person. Duke Nation, get ready.”
The signing ceremony took place at 3 a.m. EST (11 a.m. East Africa Time) in Juba, South Sudan, where Maluach was surrounded by family, NBA Africa executives, and South Sudan national-team staff. Wearing a custom Duke jersey with “MALUACH 1” on the back, he grinned ear-to-ear as he put pen to paper while the South Sudanese flag and the Duke “D” flew side-by-side on screen-left.
#### Why Duke Won the Sweepstakes
Multiple sources told ESPN that three factors ultimately sealed the deal:
1. **Scheyer’s Vision**: The 38-year-old head coach flew to Senegal, Australia (twice), and South Sudan personally. He presented Maluach with a detailed 12-month development plan that included footage of Dereck Lively II and Mark Williams dominating the NBA after one year in Durham.
2. **NBA Pipeline + NIL**: Duke’s collective offered a seven-figure NIL portfolio anchored by crypto, apparel, and South Sudanese diaspora brands. More critically, every Duke one-and-done big man since 2018 (Zion, Vernon, Lively, Kyle Filipowski has been a first-round pick.
3. **Brotherhood + Brotherhood**: Maluach developed a tight bond with current freshmen Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel during the USA Basketball U19 camp and the Nike Hoop Summit. Flagg personally FaceTimed Maluach at 2 a.m. the night before the decision, telling him, “We need you to finish what we’re starting.”
#### The Player: A True Unicorn 🦄
Scouts who watched Maluach dismantle the Basketball Africa League All-Stars in Rwanda last month still can’t believe the footage is real:
– 7’2″, 250 lbs, 7’7″ wingspan, 9’6″ standing reach
– 37% from three on 4.2 attempts per game at Global Academy
– Averages 21 points, 14 rebounds, 4.8 blocks in BAL exhibition play
– Runs the floor like a deer, Euro-steps in transition, protects the rim like Gobert
– Fluent in four languages (English, Arabic, Dinka, Swahili)
One Western Conference GM told Yahoo Sports last week: “He’s the best international big-man prospect since Victor Wembanyama, and he might actually be more NBA-ready on Day 1.”
#### Immediate Impact in Durham
Maluach is eligible immediately and will enroll in January 2026 after representing South Sudan at the 2026 FIBA AfroBasket qualifiers. He is expected to slide straight into the starting center role currently occupied by transfer Malik Dia, forming a terrifying frontcourt trio with Flagg and incoming five-star forward Nate Ament.
Projected 2026 Duke starting five (all top-15 recruits):
– PG: Tyrese Proctor
– SG: Kon Knueppel
– SF: Cooper Flagg
– PF: Nate Ament
– C: Khaman Maluach
That lineup would make Duke the overwhelming preseason No. 1 for 2026–27 and the heaviest favorite since the 2015 Kentucky platoon.
#### Reaction Across the Sport
– Cooper Flagg on X: “Welcome to the Brotherhood big bro 😈🇸🇸 1-0”
– Luol Deng, South Sudan federation president: “Khaman is carrying our flag to the highest level. Duke will always have a home in Juba.”
– Jay Bilas on ESPN: “Jon Scheyer just signed the most complete big man to come out of high school—domestic or international—since Anthony Davis.”
– Kansas fans: already coping in the replies with “We didn’t want a soft Euro anyway”
#### South Sudan Celebrates
In Juba, car horns blared into the night. President Salva Kiir issued a statement: “Khaman Maluach is proof that South Sudanese youth can compete with the world. Duke University will forever be family to us.”
Maluach himself kept it short and emotional on Instagram Live: “This is for my mom, my country, and every kid in Africa who thinks the dream is too big. God is good. See y’all in Cameron soon. 😈🦄”
The Blue Devils’ 2025 class is now complete and historic: Flagg (No. 1), Maluach (No. 2), Ament (No. 8), and Knueppel (No. 12) — the first time in modern recruiting era that a single program signed four of the top-12 players.
Buckle up, college basketball. The Khaman Maluach era in Durham starts now.
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