If you’ve been following Gerry’s basketball posts regarding one more piece Sean Miller has been looking to add to the roster for the 2025-26 season and beyond, this shouldn’t come as a surprise.
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UPDATE: Duru is officially a Longhorn (press release is attached below)
Declan Duru Jr. has signed an Athletic Scholarship Agreement (ASA) to play basketball next season at The University of Texas, head coach Sean Miller announced Wednesday. Duru, who spent the last five years with Real Madrid in the program’s youth development system in Spain, will join the Longhorns as a true freshman for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
Duru (6-9, 225), a forward who is originally from Munich, Germany, played for Real Madrid B and the Real Madrid U19 team last season. He played in seven contests for Real Madrid U19 in 2024-25 and averaged 12.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in 25.0 minutes per game while converting 49.2-percent (29-59) from the floor, including a 41.9-percent mark (13-31) from three-point range. Duru also saw action in 17 games for Real Madrid B and averaged 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per contest.
Duru recently helped his native Germany post a 6-1 record and earn a silver medal at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Lausanne, Switzerland (June 28-July 6). He reached double figures in scoring in six of the seven games and averaged 11.4 points and 5.1 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per contest while converting 52.4-percent (22-42) from the floor. The previous summer, Duru paced Germany to a 7-0 mark and the gold medal at the 2024 FIBA U18 EuroBasket Championship in Tampere, Finland.
During the 2023-24 season, Duru helped the Real Madrid U18 team win the Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament. He also paced the Real Madrid U16 team to a pair of Spanish Championships in 2022-23 and helped the Real Madrid U14 squad claim the Spanish Championship in 2021.