Nikolas Khamenia has committed to Duke’s 2025 recruiting class – ABC11 Raleigh-Durham

Top 35 senior Nikolas Khamenia announced his commitment to Duke on Tuesday, with the Blue Devils jumping in late to overtake UCLA for his pledge.

Khamenei is Duke’s third high-profile commitment in the past two weeks, following the decisions of twin brothers Cameron and Caden Boozer earlier this month.

“Duke was a place I visited and felt special from the moment I left campus. Trainer [Jon] Scheier believes in me and my abilities,” Khamenenia told ESPN. “Duke is a special place that has produced a lot of great players and ultimately helped them develop.”

Khamenei developed a strong relationship with Scheier during his recruitment.

“Coach Scheier is a young coach who played at Duke, so he understands both sides of being a player there and a coach,” Khameniah said. “He connects with his players on a personal level and knows how to help them grow and improve.”

A 6-foot-8 forward at Harvard-Westlake (Calif.), Khameniyeh caught the eye of the USA Basketball Junior National Team’s recent minicamp, prompting NBA scouts to tell ESPN’s Jonathan Givony that they don’t rule out Khameniyeh being one- and- ready perspective.

He also represented USA Basketball at the FIBA ​​U18 AmeriCup over the summer, starting all six games and helping lead the team to a gold medal. Hamenia averaged 7.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists during the event.

Khamenei has as much offensive skill and as high a basketball IQ as anyone in the class. His offensive versatility and shooting from a variety of ranges makes him difficult to defend. He uses kick steps, fake shots and fake passes, and his ability to make shots on the move is strong. He is effective without the ball, cutting, screening and attacking the offensive glass.

“Nick is an incredible young man who is growing and developing every year,” Harvard-Westlake coach Dave Rebibeau said. “He has a blue-collar approach to basketball while also having a tremendous amount of skill, vision, IQ and toughness. He is the ultimate winner.”

Duke is now the only program in the country with three top-35 commitments in the 2025 class.

“The Boozers are ultimately winners, and they’re my teammates,” Hamenia said of his Duke teammates. “I talked to them a little bit and also played against them. I have a lot of respect for them both as players and as people.”