NBA Academy Africa big man Khaman Maluach makes KU recruiting visit this weekend

Khaman Maluach, a 7-foot-2, 235-pound center from NBA Academy Africa, will make an official recruiting visit to Kansas this weekend, The Star has confirmed.

Maluach — he is a member of the high school recruiting Class of 2024 — is being recruited by KU, Duke, Kentucky, UCLA, Georgetown, Baylor, NBA G League Ignite and the NBL Next Stars program in Australia.

He also could continue with the NBA Academy Africa program in Senegal for a postgraduate season leading into the 2025 NBA Draft.

“I know this visit has been planned for quite a period of time and I also know that both parties are very interested in each other,” wrote Shay Wildeboor of Rivals.com. “From what I’ve gathered, Khaman, had he been playing in the States, would be a five-star prospect and would be ranked among the nation’s best.”

Recruiting analyst Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com scouted Maluach at the recent G League Winter Showcase.

“Khaman Maluach showed off his shot-making and rim-protecting prowess in NBA Academy Africa’s win at the G League Winter Showcase,” Givony wrote on X. “The 7-foot-2 South Sudanese big man is a projected lottery pick in 2025.”

Maluach, 17, who has been playing basketball for four years, scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in one game at the Showcase. In another contest he had 20 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.

“(His) future is bright,” read a post on the SLAM X account.

Maluach — The Star has learned his KU visit will begin on Friday and run through Sunday — recently told ESPN.com he’d like to enter the NBA Draft in 2025. He has been training at the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal since 2021. He was named MVP of the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders Africa camp in August, then earned a spot on the South Sudan senior national team, becoming the third-youngest player in FIBA World Cup history.

“I think I am ready to play at that (pro) level,” Maluach told ESPN. “I’ve played against some of the top (prospects) in 2024 and 2025, and against pros in the FIBA World Cup. Playing against guys who are stronger and more experienced helped me realize where I stand and what I need to work on.

“I want to go somewhere where they put my development first,” Maluach added of next season. “Get me ready for the next step, but also winning too. I would like to go somewhere where I can win a championship.”

Givony of ESPN.com reports that Maluach “boasts a 7-foot-6 wingspan with outstanding mobility, giving him the defensive versatility to guard smaller players on the perimeter and be a significant deterrent as a rim protector. He has range on his jump shot and tremendous finishing prowess. Maluach averaged 21 points, 15.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks shooting 40% from 3 in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) qualifiers last month with the NBA Academy Africa.”

Maluach follows the NBA closely.

“I watch a lot of Giannis Antetokounmpo, a lot of Joel Embiid, Chet Holmgren, Victor Wembanyama. Someday I will be guarding those guys, so I need to know how they play,” he told ESPN.