NBA Academy Latin America is showing its chops as a home for elite prospects throughout the Central and South Americas. Eduardo Klafke, a 17-year-old Brazilian point guard who plays at the academy, has committed to Ole Miss, ESPN reported.
Klafke is Ole Miss’ third commitment in the class of 2024. The Rebels are leaning into new recruiting avenues, as none of the three play for traditional United States high schools: Jason Jackson and John Bol are both with Overtime Elite, while Klafke is from Brazil.
Who is this new Ole Miss recruit?
A bit is known about Klafke, who is described by analysts including Jonathan Givony as a sharpshooter. The averaged 8.6 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals per game over seven games in the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup, according to 247Sports. The recruiting site described him as a “notable standout” at the NBA Basketball Without Boarders Global Camp in Utah during the NBA all-star break.
In the 2022 U18 Americas Championship, he averaged 13.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steals while shooting 42% from the floor and 45% from 3, per 247Sports.
According to the Clarion Ledger, sources disagree on Klafke’s height. 247Sports and the FIBA basketball page both list him at 6-foot-1 but On3 has him at 6-foot-3 and the NBA Academy says he’s a whopping 6-foot-5.
Klafke had offers from Creighton and Xavier in addition to Ole Miss. He has yet to receive any stars on the 247Sports rankings.
The Brazilian will help attempt to build Ole Miss men’s basketball back up when he starts at the school in a year. The Rebels have been below .500 in both of the last two years and have not had an NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament since 2019.
