Khemare Finds His Voice… and His Future
November 27, 2025
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When 17-year-old Khemare Duncan introduces himself today, he speaks with the clarity of someone who has grown into his purpose. “I do good in school. I have over a 100 average, and I want to be an entrepreneur.” But the path to this confidence began years earlier, when he was an introverted eighth grader from Brooklyn searching for extra basketball practice.
He first came to PeacePlayers because a friend from the neighborhood, Raven, invited him to join after school. What he found reshaped his world. “I was automatically just let into the community… On my first day, I felt like I was a PeacePlayer.” That immediate sense of belonging, he says, was something he hadn’t experienced anywhere else.
And Khemare kept coming back year after year, discovering as he grew that PeacePlayers offered more than he anticipated. “It’s not just basketball, and that to me is important because life is not just about one thing.” Through leadership opportunities, Career Summits, and travel experiences like the Friendship Games, he was exposed to people “from completely different industries” and peers “living in completely different regions of the world.” These moments expanded his understanding of what was possible for his future.
But it wasn’t just his perspective that changed — it was his voice. When he joined, Khemare describes himself as “very introverted,” someone who “didn’t like speaking unless I really had to.” PeacePlayers gave him room to step up, first on the court and then in conversations and leadership spaces. “It taught me how to be a leader on the court, which transferred to how I conduct myself off the court too… PeacePlayers gave me a space to speak, a space to share my ideas openly.” Growing up in Brooklyn, he adds, “You don’t make it out of Brooklyn quiet,” and PeacePlayers helped him develop the confidence he needed to navigate the world beyond basketball.
Along the way, mentors like Coach Matt played a powerful role. “You’re the first person I ever seen speak the way you do — speak confidently, clearly… the vibe that you bring… it’s completely the same inside and outside PeacePlayers.” That authenticity became a model for the kind of leader Khemare hopes to become.
This newfound confidence also shaped his educational choices. “I didn’t really want to go to college, if I’m being honest… I really just want to start my own business,” he admits. But conversations with family and an HBCU tour challenged his thinking. “Meeting people and talking to people… that changed my idea as well.” Now, as he finishes applications to schools like Morehouse and Baruch — poised to become the first person in his family to go to college — he sees higher education as a launching pad: “A place where I can create a little bit of time for myself to actually start things up.”
Reflecting on his growth from an 81-average freshman to a 105-average senior, Khemare’s message to his younger self is simple: “Believe that you are the best and work hard… If you work harder than everybody else, you will get better results than everybody else.”
