UConn men’s basketball reaches back into portal for a former top 15 high school prospect

The 2026-27 UConn men’s basketball roster is starting to take shape as the Huskies landed a significant commitment from Duke transfer Nikolas Khamenia on Saturday afternoon.

A 6-foot-8 forward from Los Angeles, Khamenia was ranked the No. 15 prospect in the 2025 high school class by both ESPN and 247Sports, and was considered to be a potential NBA Draft choice ahead of his freshman year with the Blue Devils. That didn’t exactly go to plan as he got a bit lost in coach Jon Scheyer’s rotation of superstars and averaged only 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per game.

Now he’ll join Dan Hurley and the Huskies, who put an end to his first college season with the 19-point comeback in the Elite Eight. Khamenia was subbed out for Cayden Boozer with 10 seconds left, right before the inbound play that led to Braylon Mullins’ game-winning shot.

Touted as a cerebral passer and a consistent 3-point shooting threat coming out of high school, Khamenia never really found his groove from beyond the arc in his role with the Blue Devils and finished the year shooting 34% from 3. He was 1-for-1 from deep in the game against the Huskies.

He figures to be a strong option to replace Alex Karaban, who’s held down the four spot at UConn for the last four years.

“Khamenia has a terrific overlap of size, skill, and a very high basketball IQ. He has great instincts and natural feel for the game. He’s an exceptional passer who can throw darts off the dribble with both hands and thread the needle when needed, but also understands how to be a ball-mover as well. He processes the game incredibly quickly as well, allowing him to know exactly what to do with the ball as soon as he touches it. He picks up concepts quickly, easily acclimates to offensive structure, has good footwork, and utilizes shot-fakes well,” 247Sports’ Director of Scouting Adam Finklestein wrote in his scouting report in June, 2024.

“While his passing is probably his best natural skill, he’s a consistent shooting threat out to the three-point line and also a good ball-handler,” Finklestein wrote. “He has definite gravity around the arc and can be run off screens away from the ball in the half-court. He can also play-make from various spots on the floor and is particularly adept at taking the ball off the glass to start the break. He may project as a facilitating forward at the next level, but he’s also spent a lot of time initiating offense in a point forward type role in various settings.”