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On His Way To Durham Soon, Nik Khamenia Impressed In Switzerland

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LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND - JULY 01: Nikolas Khamenia of USA goes up for a shot against player of Cameroon during the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 Group D game between Cameroon v USA at Lausanne Arena on July 01, 2025 in Lausanne, Switzerland. | Photo by Vianney Thibaut/FIBA via Getty Images

It looks like a bright future for the Duke freshman

From all accounts, it sounds like Nik Khamenia has done well in Team USA’s U19 championship drive.

It’s all tentative until we see him in action, but the impression one gets from a distance is that Khamenia is going to be a glue guy on steroids. He supports that idea himself, saying this about how to help his team: “Whatever the team needs to win, honestly. Whether it’s guarding the best players, coming off the bench, starting, being a knock-down shooter, or a guy who facilitates. I think I can put myself in a lot of different situations and be successful with the skills that I bring.”

The clips that we saw of Khamenia in Lausanne were gorgeous. He battled inside, he was scrappy, he defended, he shot well and he passed well enough to really stand out there.

It’s really difficult to say who will start this far out but we’d expect Cameron Boozer to get one spot. Cayden Boozer may go at the point. Caleb Foster and Isaiah Evans may start, and so might Dame Sarr.

If it’s not Patrick Ngongba, we could easily see Khamenia getting the other spot, though we should always keep in mind that playing against young international competition isn’t the same thing as playing against high-level college players.

We could also see him as a dynamic presence off the bench, perhaps coming in with Maliq Brown (if he doesn’t start) for a dynamic 1-2 punch.

However coach Jon Scheyer ends up using him, Khamenia is likely to prove dangerous.

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