The 2024–25 Duke Blue Devils wrapped up their season with an impressive 35–4 record, capturing the ACC regular-season title (19–1), the ACC Tournament championship, and making a run to the Final Four — solidifying Jon Scheyer’s reputation as one of college basketball’s rising coaching stars.
One of the team’s biggest stories was freshman center Khaman Maluach, who officially announced his entry into the 2025 NBA Draft on Saturday night.
Early Sunday, Duke’s official X account shared a video of Scheyer reflecting on Maluach’s impact during his short but memorable time in Durham.
“I absolutely loved coaching Khaman. I’m going to miss him,” Scheyer said. “He’s not afraid of contact. Honestly, he should still be in high school. For him to play with that physicality and readiness at this level is rare. His best basketball is definitely ahead of him.”
Maluach, a 7-foot-2, 250-pound native of South Sudan, came to Duke after training at the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal.
Before committing to the Blue Devils in March 2024, he gained professional experience with Cobra Sport (South Sudan) in the 2022 BAL season, AS Douanes (Senegal) in 2023, and the City Oilers (Uganda) in 2024.
During his freshman season, the 18-year-old averaged 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting an impressive 71.2 percent from the field across 39 games.
He was named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Top 20 Watch List and earned ACC All-Freshman Team honors.
As the NBA Draft Lottery approaches on May 12, it’s clear that both Maluach’s pro career and Duke’s future under Jon Scheyer are filled with promise.
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