Central South Sudan Khaman Maluach grateful for Olympic experience at 17

VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQN, France – Duke University’s incoming freshmen are preparing for move-in on Aug. 17. As for 17-year-old Khaman Maluach, he’s keeping busy because the youngest player to play in men’s basketball at the 2024 Paris Olympics while also playing for South Sudan’s historic team.

Maluach was born on September 14, 2006, in Rumbek, Sudan, now South Sudan. The 7-foot-2 center is the youngest basketball player — the following oldest is Bilal Coulibaly of France, born on July 26, 2004, of the Washington Wizards. Chinese skater Zheng Haohao is the youngest player at the Games, at 11 years, 11 months.

“This whole experience makes me feel like I’m living the dream when I was 17. Big dreams. And I’m just a small-town kid chasing big dreams in the big city,” Maluach told Andscape magazine after South Sudan beat Puerto Rico 90-79 on Sunday.

South Sudan is the youngest nation at the OlympicsIt gained independence from Sudan after a referendum in 2011. The split got here after years of war between Sudan and what’s now South Sudan over a shared border and natural resources. With the guidance and financial backing of former NBA star Luol Deng, South Sudan’s men’s basketball team qualified for the Olympics for the primary time this yr, despite not having a single indoor basketball court.

Like lots of his teammates, Maluach is a refugee from South Sudan. His family fled the conflict-ridden country when he was a toddler and moved to Uganda. The South Sudanese men’s basketball team’s first appearance at the Olympics was marred before it even began when the fallacious national anthem was played before the opening match against Puerto Rico. But the East African nation recovered and made history by winning in front of virtually 27,000 fans at Pierre Mauroy Stadium. Maluach’s mother and other relations from Kampala, Uganda, were in attendance.

“For me, it’s a big deal for my family. The opportunity to come, see me, watch my performance,” Maluach said. “I only dreamed of them leaving the country and seeing me on such a giant stage.

“Now we will celebrate our victory, we will be grateful for our first Olympic match and our first victory. So I will celebrate until midnight. We will put this match aside and prepare for the next one.”

Maluakh and South Sudan’s next match will probably be on Wednesday 2021 against the United States, the defending gold medalists of the delayed Tokyo Olympics.

The U.S. team has won 4 straight gold medals at the Olympics, dating back to 2008. South Sudan proved to be no easy opponent, losing narrowly 101-100 in an exhibition match to the U.S. in London on July 21. South Sudan led by as many as 16 points before missing a buzzer-beater shot that will have given it the victory.

Although Maluach is predicted to play within the NBA, the prospect to play twice for the Americans is an ideal learning experience for him.

“It’s really different because I’ve seen all these people, I’ve watched them on TV and the NBA playoffs,” Maluach said. “I’ve stayed up late at night in Africa watching. I’ve watched LeBron (James). The NBA Bubble (in Orlando in 2020). I’ve watched Joel Embiid. Being on the same floor as these guys was a different feeling. I was like, ‘Dreams really do come true.’ Me playing against Joel Embiid and LeBron James, I’ve always looked up to those guys.”

Maluach scored two points on 1-of-2 shooting and grabbed two rebounds in six minutes against Puerto Rico before being benched within the second half. South Sudan coach Royal Ivey, an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets, is patient with the teenager, who he believes is the long run face of South Sudan basketball.

“He’s our second big. Our backup big,” Ivey said of Maluach after the Puerto Rico game. “I wanted to give him an injection early to see what he could do for us, see if he could help us rebound. Think about it, he’s 17 years old. He’s learning from grown men. Sometimes he has good days. Sometimes he doesn’t have so good days. He’s still in the rotation. I believe in him.”

“He’s a talent. In five years, this will be his team. I have to put him in and give him the chance for some fiery moments. When he makes mistakes, I have to take him out as a coach. He’s OK and he’ll be OK for the next game.”

“My role obviously changes depending on the game and the size and the talent. Whatever it takes for my team to win, I’ll do it. It doesn’t matter,” Maluach said.

NBA Academy Africa successfully recruited Maluach at age 14 in 2021 after certainly one of its scouts saw him training outdoors in Uganda. The academy is an elite basketball training facility in Saly, Senegal, that opened in November 2018 for the very best female and male prospects from Africa. Maluach, the 2023 Basketball Without Borders Africa MVP, also played three seasons within the NBA-sanctioned Basketball Africa League.

Maluach was on South Sudan’s roster when the country qualified for the Olympics at the 2023 World Cup, ending as the highest African team. He also represented South Sudan in April at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon, an exhibition match pitting the very best American highschool players against the very best teenagers from all over the world.

“The entire African continent is excited and proud to follow South Sudan’s journey at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games,” BAL President Amadou Fall told Andscape. “It’s great to see Khaman again after being the youngest player at the FIBA ​​World Championship last summer. He is an ideal example of what’s now possible in Africa with the trail we’ve got established from grassroots to elite level.

“He was a young, raw talent at the age of 14, through NBA Academy Africa and the BAL Elevate program, now on the world’s biggest sports stage with his South Sudanese national team. We also applaud the extraordinary work our NBA legend and BAL Ambassador, Luol Deng, has done in building this world-class basketball program.”

With an arm span of 7-4.5 and a reach of 9-8, Duke adds Maluach to a highly rated 2024 class that features No. 1 overall 2024 recruit Cooper Flagg. Maluach plans to return to Durham, North Carolina, after the Olympics to check and play basketball, but until then, he’ll proceed to enjoy this basketball experience as a teen with quite a lot of potential to enhance.

“The whole experience was like a movie for me,” Maluach said. “It was the same with the World Cup, because so many things happened in just a few years. Two years of experience and for me, things go by faster every time I think about them. I think, ‘Oh, I’m here and this is a great experience.’”

“I went out there (to the arena) and saw the crowd and I got chills. I was a little nervous. I was like, ‘Wow, this is what it’s all about.’ It’s been a great experience so far.”

“It’s an incredible experience for a 17-year-old. He’s the heart and soul of this team. The court jester. He’s one of the funniest guys on the team. He’s so carefree, so innocent. Half the time he doesn’t even know what’s going on. And once he gets that fire in his heart, he’s going to be a really good player,” Ivey said.