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Former Syracuse forward Maliq Brown has committed to Duke, he announced Saturday on his Instagram account. Brown spent two seasons with SU before entering the transfer portal on April 1.

With the Orange this year, Brown averaged 9.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He averaged 29.6 minutes, shot 69.8% from the field and managed a 38.9% clip on 18 attempts from 3. Brown began the 2023-24 campaign as a backup for 7-foot-4 center Naheem McLeod before the Florida State transfer was ruled out for the season on Jan 10. From there, Brown started in each of SU’s remaining 18 games.

Despite playing sparingly during his freshman year, Brown blossomed into a star with Syracuse this past season. He notched five double-doubles, earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Team honors and registered a career-high 26 points at Cameron Indoor Stadium during SU’s lone matchup with the Blue Devils on Jan. 2.

He’s also just the third Division I player in the last 15 years to record a coveted 5×5 game when — on Feb. 7 against Louisville — he tallied 11 points, nine rebounds, five assists, six blocks and five steals.

Though Duke holds the nation’s top incoming recruiting class — headlined by consensus five-star and McDonald’s All-American Cooper Flagg — Brown joins a young and currently undermanned Blue Devils squad for the 2024-25 season. The junior enters as the team’s most experienced player alongside guard Tyrese Proctor: one of just two returners for head coach Jon Scheyer from last year.

Brown’s commitment to Duke now marks the fourth Syracuse transfer to find a new school. Quadir Copeland and Mounir Hima remain the final two SU players still in the portal.

Published on April 20, 2024 at 4:00 pm

Contact Tyler: trschiff@syr.edu | @theTylerSchiff