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An Olympics rarity
Duke's Khaman Maluach will be a men's college hoops player in the Games. That's fairly uncommon. Plus, get ready for larger rosters, NC State's latest commit, UNC's awesome schedule and more.
Mike Miller
July 25, 2024
In partnership with
Good morning! The Paris Olympics officially begin tomorrow.
What’s that got to do with college basketball? Let’s dive in.
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1. Khaman Maluach in rare Olympic company
Take a look at this graphic. One person is not like the others.
🇸🇸 @Olympics 1️⃣2️⃣
— South Sudan Basketball (@SSBFed)
5:57 PM • Jul 24, 2024
Yes, that’s incoming Duke freshman Khaman Maluach, at 17-years-old, on an Olympic men’s basketball roster, a spot nearly always occupied by a professional player.
How rare? Santa Clara center Francisco Cáffaro played for Argentina during the 2020 Tokyo Games (that were actually held in 2021, and he was at Virginia then). But that’s it until 2012 when Matthew Dellavedova played for Australia when he was still at St. Mary’s, and College of Charleston guard Andrew Lawrence, who played for Great Britain.
Basically, it’s an average of one college player every Olympics since 2008. You need luck with timing (once every four years is tough) and a national team opportunity. Argentina and Great Britain aren’t in this year’s field. South Sudan’s only here because of the work Luol Deng’s done to build up that team.
Maluach is the youngest Olympian basketball players since Ricky Rubio in 2008.
The Olympics aren’t the primary place for college players, at least not since 1988.
More than half of the rosters (81) are NBA veterans. That reflects the rise of pros at the Olympics. For reference, when they were first allowed to play in ‘92, just 22 NBA players were in Barcelona. And it’s not like South Sudan’s some dumping ground. It nearly beat Team USA last week.
Sure, we’ll get the occasional college player who thrives during Olympic qualifying (Example: VJ Edgecombe this summer), but they’re usually not in the Games.
So take a bow, Khaman. It’ll be a cool thing to walk in the Opening Ceremony on Friday.
2. College hoops rosters reportedly growing
The House v. NCAA settlement will do more than just issue backpay to recent athletes, and create future revenue streams for athletes.
It’s also going to result in more athletes.