Duke lands 5-star Ngongba, solidifies No

• Jeff Borzello Close Jeff Borzello ESPN Personnel Writer Basketball recruiting insider. Signed up with ESPN in 2014. Graduate of University of Delaware.Paul Biancardi Close Paul Biancardi Basketball Recruiting National Recruiting Director for ESPN.com 18 years of coaching experience at Division I

  level Former Horizon League coach of the year at Wright State Nov 4, 2023, 03:06 PM ET

• Five-star center Patrick Ngongba II announced his commitment to Duke on Saturday, giving heaven Devils their 2nd five-star pickup of the week and further strengthening their hang on the No. 1 recruiting class in the country.Ngongba selected Duke over Kansas State and Kentucky. He also took visits to Michigan and UConn this fall. Kansas State hired him the longest because of Ngongba’s strong ties to Jerome Tang and assistant coach Jareem Dowling, who was at North Texas when the Mean Green gave Ngongba his first scholarship offer.But Jon Scheyer zeroed in on Ngongba as his top huge guy target and invited him on campus two times, including at last month’s Countdown to Insaneness, when No. 1 hire Cooper Flagg– who devoted to Duke on Monday– was also in Durham.Editor’s Picks 1 Related”I chose Duke since it felt like home,”Ngongba told ESPN.”I like their prepare for me, and I trust the coaches. It is a place where we can win and assist me get to the next level.”A 6-foot-11 center from Paul VI High School(Virginia), Ngongba is among the few true post players in the 2024 class. He is ranked No. 19 general in the ESPN 100 and the No.

3 center in the

class.Ngongba comes from a basketball family. Both of his parents dipped into George Washington, with his mom, Tajama, setting the program record for profession points scored before being chosen in the 1997 WNBA draft. She’s been a college basketball coach at 5 different schools since 2000, consisting of a five-year stint as head coach at Radford from 2008-13.” As parents, we were searching for coaches who would push

Pat beyond his comfort zone,”Tajama Ngongba stated.” Pat is a composed player who has a steadiness about him and tries to do the little things well.” He delighted in a breakout spring and summer playing for Team Takeover on the Nike EYBL circuit, balancing 12.0 points and 7.4 rebounds, shooting nearly 72 %inside the arc. A 33-point, 18-rebound, 5-assist efficiency against Phenom University

in late May opened eyes around the country.Ngongba has enhanced both his game and body throughout the course of his high school profession. With a 7-4 wingspan, great size, strength and sure hands, he runs finest on the low block. He likes to score over his left shoulder with a jump hook. He has actually developed a face-up game, where he can make standstill threes, short-distance drives and is extremely effective in dribble handoffs. He excels at finding open teammates and has the desire and skill to provide passes.

He also shows strong passing instincts out of the low post.Duke already had the No. 1 recruiting class in the country following Flagg’s commitment, but Ngongba provides the Blue Devils a lot more separation from No. 2 North Carolina. In addition to Flagg and Ngongba, Scheyer likewise has commitments from luxury wing Isaiah Evans, top-25 guard Kon Knueppel and top-50 guard Darren Harris. Duke also is thought about one of 2 front-runners– in addition to St. John’s– for top-five wing V.J. Edgecombe, who checked out Duke with the 5 aforementioned players for Countdown

to Madness last month. “Darren Harris was recruiting me, and he is a good colleague, “Ngongba said. “I talked to Cooper Flagg on my visit, and we talked about being an excellent frontcourt together. Next, I am attempting to get V.J. Edgecombe and Dylan Harper.” If Duke ends up with the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, it will be the sixth time because 2014 the Blue Devils have landed the leading group– and the second time because Mike Krzyzewski revealed he was stepping down in 2021. They have actually finished with a top-two class every year because 2014– outside of 2022, when they were ranked No. 4.