NBA Academy Latin America shooting guard Eduardo Klafke signs with Ole Miss
Joining four-star center John Bol in Chris Beard’s first recruiting class is NBA Academy Latin America shooting guard Eduardo Klafke. The Brazilian prospect is now part of a two-man 2024 class who will join the Rebels in 2024 after signing his letter of intent Wednesday.
The 6-foot-3, 180 pound prospect chose the Rebels over notable offers from Creighton and Xavier. The 2024 recruit has already built a reputation around the United States as a name to know.
The almost 18-year old is already turning heads on the academy circuit and internationally as well with Brazil’s U19 squad. Scouts are already raving about his game and ability to score in bunches.
“A consistently positive player throughout the week, Eduardo Klafke is a plus-shooter from deep with a silky smooth jumper and range out beyond the college 3, with confidence to boot,” Pro Insight’s Alex Brown said. “He is a smooth ball handler and flows into the jumper nicely off the bounce, consistently punishing defenders for going under PnR or sagging off. That type of shooting equity is always valuable at the next level.”
His father, Rogério Klafke, played professionally in Brazil and won five club championships in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. He also competed at the 1994 FIBA World Cup, the 1996 Summer Olympics, the 1998 FIBA World Cup, and the 2002 FIBA World Cup.
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Eduardo Klafke is a fundamentally sound wing with a knack for hitting the tough shot.
The newest commit was one of two international players at the NBA Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in Utah. There, he showed his prowess from deep and ability to be an effective on-ball defender.
This summer at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Hungary, Klafke averaged 8.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game for Brazil. Last summer at the U18 Americas Championship, he posted 13.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in six games.
Beard and assistant coach Bob Donewald Jr. are the primary recruiters for Eduardo Klafke.
Donewald, who has been with Beard at Texas Tech and Texas, has extensive coaching experience overseas. Prior to his time in Lubbock, Donewald spent the 2018-19 season as the head coach of the PBC Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia. He was the head coach for the Jilin Northeast Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association during the 2016-17 season.
Donewald was also the head coach of Dnipro Dnepropetrovsk for one season (2008-09), when he coached Patrick Beverley and led the team to the semifinals. He then took over the head coaching position with the Shanghai Sharks in China for two years (2009-11) under the ownership of Yao Ming. Donewald guided the Sharks to the Chinese Basketball Association’s Final Four of the 2010 playoffs after inheriting a team which finished in last place the year prior to his hiring. He then served as head coach for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in the CBA during the 2011 season.
