howardlander
Member
Sorry to be back on topic: We all know that Maluach is not returning but is it starting to be odd that we haven’t heard from him yet? Is it common for early entrants to wait almost to the end to announce?
Who Stays, Who Goes
- Thread starter DavidBenAkiva
- Start date
I mean...yes? How else would you define success other than winning? Remember that wild.comeback at Louisville in 2019? If they had just held the ball for 30 seconds and handed it back, we would have lost. You could flip the same question: if we continued to shoot with 17 seconds on the shot clock with the lead, missed a bunch of shots, and then gave up the lead and lost, would that be a successful strategy?
SkyBrickey
Member
I expect his visa situation may be impacting his announcement. And it's not just him. I believe a sister followed him to Durham. I'm sure he's getting the very best advice on next steps.
DallasDevil
Member
Yes, I assume an announcement is coming that he is entering the draft. I wonder if his preference is to have a resolution to any visa issues so he can announce he’s leaving without any intention of coming back. However, if he can’t get clarity before he announces, he may need to announce that he’s entering the draft while keeping the door open for a potential return, in which case he buys himself additional time to resolve the visa issue before the draft withdrawal deadline. I imagine Jon’s preference is also to have clarity so any potential third string centers don’t think that there’s a chance they will be a fourth string center and get spooked off.
sagegrouse
Member
Lessee... We have an early entrant from South Sudan, from where the US canceled all visas. He is here on a student visa. The future is a bit cloudy, don't you think? As I understand it, he can have privately informed the NBA of his draft interest, and neither have to make a public announcement until closer to draft day in two months.
Stay tuned...
FosterCoachK82
Member
I’m tired of waiting for Scheyer to finalize the roster. Here are my minutes predictions.
Cam Boozer 32
Big Oat 25
Maliq 25
Khamenia 20
Slim 20
Cayden Boozer 28
Foster 15
Portal Player A 25
Portal Player B 5
Harris 5
Cam Boozer 32
Big Oat 25
Maliq 25
Khamenia 20
Slim 20
Cayden Boozer 28
Foster 15
Portal Player A 25
Portal Player B 5
Harris 5
As long as he remains a student his legal status doesn’t change so he’s fine to stay. He just can’t leave the country and return. The visa is an entry document. Revoked means it cannot be used. It’s the legal status that’s important now which is still unchanged.
I would think Khaman is not ready to play on an NBA team and could use some development. An NBA team could draft him and then stash him in a pro-league overseas for a year of development. Trump and his policies are unlikely to be long lasting.
MarkD83
Member
That can’t be right because portal player 1 is really a 2 and not a 4 and portal player 2 is really a 3 and not a 1
NYBri
Member
Depends. Portal Player A’s highlight video shows him more of a 3, while PP B shines as a 1. That and the fact that they’re Siamese Twins make their minutes a challenge to discuss.
An NBA team can't send a player overseas. They can draft a player playing overseas and let them stay there to play. When you hear the term "stash" that's used for foreign players already signed and playing for a European team. They do it for a number of reasons including letting them develop, to lower the player's buyout (which the player has to pay not the NBA team) or to just burn a draft pick for financial reasons (which doesn't happen much any more). There is no European G-League. The NBA already has the G-League. If a drafted player doesn't sign, the NBA team only holds the rights for a year. If he signs they can only send the player to the G-League. I wonder if Duke can keep his student status active and have him take online classes or "independent study" classes if it comes to it so he can play in the NBA.
Last edited:
If Maluach is on a student visa, there is no reason to give the impression you might not be a student any longer.
rsvman
Member
Yes. 100%. The point of the game is to win; therefore, if you win, the strategy worked.
In the scenario you proposed, would you be happier if they continued to play at full speed, gave the opponent a bunch more possessions, and lost the game? Would that be considered a success? Or maybe merely collateral damage?
I think Maliq will back up both the 4/5. While I don't think he is definitely an NBA talent, his defense is an elite skill, he is an excellent passer, and IF he can stretch the floor with a reasonable 3 ball he could make a living in the league as a 4. His ability to play the 4 may also allow us adequate minutes if Man Man comes back. Obviously feels like the visa/immigration situation is playing the biggest role in this decision which is terrible for such a great young man. That being said, it feels like he is being drafted so highly on potential and size rather than production. He had difficulty rebounding, poor "vertical" quickness/jump speed (though moved well laterally on the perimeter), lack of strength (but a very high motor), limited offensive game (but his free throw shooting suggests the 3 point shot could be there), I wonder if another year at Duke and not going through the rigors of an NBA schedule will help him more in the long run. Maybe he can get some extra coaching from papa Boozer...
Obviously there is a real risk of injury, but it's not totally clear the decision is cut and dry at this point. Whatever happens I just wish the best for him, he is a reminder of how people everywhere overcome extraordinary odds to do extraordinary things; and his joy and attitude are something we could all use more of.
Obviously there is a real risk of injury, but it's not totally clear the decision is cut and dry at this point. Whatever happens I just wish the best for him, he is a reminder of how people everywhere overcome extraordinary odds to do extraordinary things; and his joy and attitude are something we could all use more of.
Mike Petrik
Member
I perhaps was not clear. My assertion was intended to be comparative with keeping the same defense in place. As you suggest in most cases it probably doesn't change the ultimate outcome -- meaning that the shift in defensive strategy might alter the score a bit but the winning team would have won either way. But in cases where it made a difference, my eyes tell me that the strategy is more likely to lose you the game than preserve a win. I think analytics are useful, but they cannot know counterfactuals any better than knowledgeable people watching the game. I worry coaches rely on analytics and conventional wisdom over instinct and experience to their detriment. We would have beaten the Cheats in 2023 had Midnight Mike retained the same pressure defense until the end. I believe this no matter what the analytics say. As a tax lawyer I know for a fact that numbers lie.
Interesting. I didn't know that. I certainly hope there is a safe and productive way forward for Khaman and his sister.
King of Defense
Member
It can't be stated enough -- the Maluach situation is unprecedented. We have no idea what's going on. I trust Duke and a league run by a Dukie to help him understand his options.
Pardon a nonpartisan (or multipartisan or panpartisan) political comment -- feel free to call your Congressperson and tell them to quit hiding long enough to do something to help this outstanding person untangle red tape and stay here in whatever capacity makes the most sense for him. Whether you support the current president or not, I think we're in 100% agreement that it's an absolute travesty and an embarrassment that he should have any questions right now other than whether he'll fit into the system of whichever team is drafting 12th or 15th or whenever.
Maybe we can unify this polarized nation with a "Keep Khaman" movement.
Pardon a nonpartisan (or multipartisan or panpartisan) political comment -- feel free to call your Congressperson and tell them to quit hiding long enough to do something to help this outstanding person untangle red tape and stay here in whatever capacity makes the most sense for him. Whether you support the current president or not, I think we're in 100% agreement that it's an absolute travesty and an embarrassment that he should have any questions right now other than whether he'll fit into the system of whichever team is drafting 12th or 15th or whenever.
Maybe we can unify this polarized nation with a "Keep Khaman" movement.
Slacker Mills
Member
Now, if the Blue Devils pick up Wilkins, how do the minutes reflect that? While I would love to have Wilkins aboard, how does the team get him to sign without a highly visible pathway to court time.
He did not have difficulty rebounding.
First of all, Maluach was the fifth-best offensive rebounder in the country.
His defensive rebounding numbers, while not as outstanding as his offensive rebounding, were about par for the course for a shot-blocking big. Here are some comparable defensive rebounding percentages from other Duke centers who I bet you didn't think had difficulty rebounding:
Khaman Maluach: 19.2% (and that number was deflated somewhat by his goose-egg in the Final Four, which I hope we can agree was influenced by factors not related to whether or not he had difficulty rebounding)
Dereck Lively (fr, 2023): 17.8%
Jahlil Okafor (fr, 2015): 18.2%
Marshall Plumlee (sr, 2016): 18.8%
Marques Bolden (so, 2018): 18.1%; (jr, 2019): 13.3%
Mark Williams (fr, 2021): 20.0%; (so, 2022): 21.2%
Shelden Williams (fr, 2003): 19.9%
Carlos Boozer (fr, 2000): 16.5%; (so, 2001): 18.6%; (jr, 2002): 19.5%
Elton Brand (fr, 1998): 17.5%; (so, 1999): 20.5%
Christian Laettner (fr, 1989): 19.4%; (sr, 1992): 19.5%
Cherokee Parks (jr, 1994): 18.5%
Obviously there are lots of factors that can influence defensive rebounding for a center, including (a) whether the center tried to block a lot of shots (and KM had a healthy 6.8% block rate); (b) whether the team's PF slurped up a lot of defensive rebounds (and Cooper Flagg had a 21.2% defensive rebounding pct); and (c) how much the center defended on the perimeter (and Duke switched 1 to 5 for most of the season). In Khaman's case, all three of the above would tend to tamp down his defensive rebounding numbers, but he still rebounded defensively at a similar rate to all of the centers listed above. (And as I alluded to earlier, his offensive rebounding rate was the 2nd-best in Duke history.)
So I don't know why people keep repeating that Maluach had difficulty rebounding, but it simply isn't true.
Phredd3
Member
That's not entirely true. The visa is an entry document, yes. But visas also have a stated purpose and a duration. Overstaying a visa happens frequently, but it is a violation of law (though non-criminal) and overstaying a visa can lead to significant penalties, including a prohibition on re-entry for up to ten years. It also affects what Khaman and his affiliated school are legally permitted to do moving forward.
The way things currently stand, I'm not sure that Duke would be able to enroll Khaman for an additional semester, since he technically no longer possesses a valid visa. The statement on the U.S. Embassy web page remains the same as it was on April 19th. Khaman may not have any real options other than to leave the country with no immediate prospect of being able to return, or to become the most conspicuous visa overstayer in U.S. history this side of Elon Musk. I don't think we're quite up to that decision-point yet, but we are getting uncomfortably close to that given that LDOC has already come and gone and finals week is upon us. It's not clear to me that he will be able to comfortably stay in the U.S. even to play for Duke next year without a clear policy statement from the State Department.
The best option both for him and for Duke appears to be keeping quiet for as long as possible while working behind the scenes, and that seems to be exactly what's been happening. But the clock is ticking.