Sometimes landing certain recruits becomes even bigger than just what they bring during their short tenure at your school.
That certainly appears to be true for former 5-star Duke center Khaman Maluach, who parlayed one strong season with the Blue Devils into becoming the No. 10 overall pick to the Phoenix Suns. After an up-and-down rookie campaign, Maluach appears on his way to a major breakout year in his second NBA season, with significant growth being shown this summer in Las Vegas.
Maluach's Duke legacy could extend far beyond his playing days in Durham.
It's already serving to give Jon Scheyer and company a significant leg up in the recruitment of 5-star Lewis Uvwo, who received an offer from Duke at the beginning of this month:
“I heard he made it to the NBA and I was like, ‘Oh, if you go to Duke, you make it to the NBA.’”
— Conor O'Neill (@ConorONeill_DI) July 18, 2026
Lewis Uvwo (@Lewisuvwo1) learned about Duke before any other college team because of Khaman Maluach.
Diving into the defensive menace of the '27 class:https://t.co/xXJb9jUqAQ
Khaman Maluach's influence could be huge in Duke's pursuit of Lewis Uvwo
Conor O'Neill's profile of Uvwo is well worth your time if you have an On3 subscription.
The connection between Uvwo and Maluach comes from the NBA Academy Africa. They are both products of that program, and Maluach's success coming through there, spending a year at Duke, and then making the leap to the NBA has been eye-opening for Uvwo.
That's great news for Scheyer.
Uvwo has a similar profile. He's a bit raw offensively still, but there isn't a better shot blocker in high school basketball right now than the Prolific Prep star. He's an elite rim protector, and he has the athleticism that makes him a lob threat on the offensive end.
Uvwo ranks inside the Top 10 of the composite rankings and is the No. 1 center in the 2027 class. He's the exact type of player Scheyer has always coveted to play the five for Duke. It's easy to get excited about the prospect of a frontcourt in 2027-28 that features Uvwo next to a sophomore Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje.
But there's a long way to the finish line in Uvwo's recruitment, and he's far from a foregone conclusion despite Maluach's potential influence.
Alongside Duke, Uvwo has listed offers on his 247 profile from programs such as Alabama, Arkansas, BYU, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Texas, and UCLA, among numerous others.
The next step for Scheyer will be getting Uvwo on campus this fall for an official visit. If he can do that, Duke will be tough to beat. The experience in Durham for visits is typically unmatched, and it could be enough to swing the scales toward the Blue Devils, especially with Maluach already adding some significant weight.
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