Duke basketball hosting center prior competition in Olympic Games

It was somewhat unclear whether or not Duke basketball center Khaman Maluach was going to report to campus for the team's summer workouts ahead of his trip to the Paris Olympics to compete for Team South Sudan.

After Maluach signed his National Letter of Intent (NIL) with the Blue Devils in April, Jon Scheyer said, "We are anxious to get to work with Khaman after he competes in the Olympics this summer with Luol Deng and the South Sudanese National Team."

Maluach arrived on campus for the K Academy earlier this month with a large majority of his teammates and was able to get his first workouts in with the squad despite coaches not being allowed in the gym.

Not many people publicly spoke if he would return for the summer session of workouts with Duke, but he was shown throughout the Blue Devil social media channels after the team's first official practice on Wednesday.

Listed at 7-foot-2, 250 pounds, Maluach reclassified into the 2024 recruiting class and immediately became the No. 6 overall prospect by the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Starting his journey in basketball later in life than most top prospects, the South Sudan native joined the NBA Academy Africa in 2021 and was named as the Most Valuable Player of the NBA's Basketball Without Borders Africa camp in 2024.

He was the Playoff and Defensive MVP at the Basketball Without Borders Global camp in February 2024.

ESPN currenly projects Khaman Maluach as its No. 3 overall selection in the 2025 NBA Mock draft, being selected behind his teammate Cooper Flagg and Rutgers' Ace Bailey, respectively.

"Feeling great," Maluach said for a social media video after the first workout.

"Excited for the season."

Maulach is expected to be the starting center for the Blue Devils on November 4 when they battle Maine.