Five star center Patrick Ngongba II missed the majority of his senior season, rehabbing from a foot injury sustained last fall. After being cleared, the Duke-bound big man returned to action for his high school’s final few games in the post season, and has continued to play himself back into shape as part of the U-18 National team which recently competed in 2024 FIBA Men’s U18 AmeriCup in Argentina.
In the recently wrapped up competition, the United States cruised to a seven consecutive gold medal at the U-18 level, beating the host nation 110-70 in the gold medal game.
The win over Argentina was the sixth game of the event for Team USA and the second time the teams met. In the opening round the Americans won 88-66 with Ngongba registering 12 minutes and contributing three points, three rebounds, and a block in the victory.
A second pool play game against Belize was a non-competitive affair with Team USA rolling to a 96 point win (150-54) in which the future Blue Devil scored 12 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists, and a block in 19 minutes of action.
Brazil was the final opponent in group play and provided little resistance to the Americans who blitzed their opponents en route to a 31-point victory. Ngongba once again came off the bench to record two points and eight rebounds in 11 minutes of action, though he was saddled with foul trouble, picking up four in that time.
The quarterfinal round produced a 32 point win against Puerto Rico with Ngongba limited to five minutes thanks to a second straight night of foul trouble. Whistled for four infractions in five minutes of play, Ngongba produced two points, four rebounds, a steal, and a block for the Americans as the the team rolled into the semifinal round against Canada.
America’s northern neighbors were also powerless to stop Team USA, surrendering a 38 point decision in a game that was a 26 point blowout at halftime. Avoiding the foul trouble of the past two games, the future Blue Devil played over 11 minutes in which he added two points, four rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
The championship game for Team USA resulted in a 40 point win over Argentina in a game that saw the Americans turn a one point advantage after the first quarter into a 39 point lead after the third quarter. Team USA out-scored Argentina by 15 in the second quarter and 23 in the third, rendering the fourth quarter little more than an early celebration for the Americans. Ngongba finished the tournament by adding six points, four rebounds, and two blocks to the effort.
For the event Ngongba averaged 4.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.0 assists per game, while shooting 66.7% (10 of 15) from the field.
With his international commitment now wrapped up, Ngongba will next head to Durham to join his team where he will compete for minutes at the center position alongside classmate and fellow five star post recruit Khaman Maluach and Syracuse transfer Maliq Brown, a 2024 All-ACC Defensive team member.
As he continues to find his footing after a many month injury layoff, Ngongba will be expected to provide rim protection and rebounding for a Blue Devil team that will be exceedingly young, but talented, in the frontcourt. According to 247Sports.com’s scouting director, Adam Finkelstein, the five star prospect is more than up to the task of delivering on those expectations.
“Ngongba has a tremendous combination of size, length, and offensive skill. He stands just shy of 7-feet with ultra-broad shoulders and a big frame that gives him a significant presence on both ends of the floor,” said Finkelstein in his most recent scouting evaluation. “He has extremely soft hands and touch, equally impressive footwork, and a high release point around the paint. He provides a true low-post scorer, but is also an inside-out threat with developing shooting range out to the arc. He’s a good passer who is starting to punish double-teams, facilitate from different spots on the floor, and even deliver balls with both hands. He has versatility playing out of ball-screen actions and can also be effective operating in dribble-hand-offs. Overall, Ngongba is an exceptionally efficient offensive player (70% FG in the EYBL regular season), but one who is showing more signs of being able to anchor a half-court offense down the road.”
As a recruit Ngongba picked Duke over offers from Kansas State, Connecticut, Georgetown, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Texas, and Virginia among others.
Prior to his senior season injury he was a standout on the Nike EYBL circuit for Team Takeover, averaging 12.0 points and 7.4 rebounds, including a statement game with a 33-point, 18-rebound and five-assist performance against Phenom University.
