Duke Blue Devils freshman big man sidelined with foot injury as practices begin
Duke built a basketball roster loaded with strong interior defenders, but has opened practice without one of them.
Freshman center Patrick Ngongba is sidelined with a left foot injury that has him missing practice and wearing a protective boot.
The 6-11 Ngongba joined 6-9 freshman Cooper Flagg, 7-2 freshman Khaman Maluach and 6-8 junior transfer Maliq Brown to form a deep frontcourt that Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer believes will anchor a strong defensive team.
But Ngongba, who dealt with injuries to both feet in high school, is currently out and Scheyer offered no indication as to when he’ll return.
“We’re still getting him back to 100% health,” Scheyer said Friday. “It’s not about anything that he’s done. It’s just about getting him to his full 100% productivity on the court, where he can move completely pain free, and also where he can get back to being the level of player that we know he can be, because he’s gonna be a terrific player for us. So I don’t have a timeline on that, other than we have to get him right as quickly and as soon as possible.”
Ngongba had surgery on his right foot last December that wiped out his senior season at Virginia’s Paul VI High School. That stemmed from discomfort he felt in that foot the previous summer in Nike EYBL play at the Peach Jam. He attempted to start his senior season of high school but the issue worsened.
He’d previously had issues with his left foot.
“I definitely want to be on the court out there with my brothers,” Ngongba said Friday. “But at the same time, I mean, my health is more important, so just trying to get better right now.”
After missing his senior season at Paul VI, Ngongba recovered well enough to try out and make USA Basketball’s men’s U18 national team in June. As the USA won a gold medal, Ngongba averaged 4.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and one assist per game while shooting 66.7% (10 of 15) from the field.
He returned to Durham and went through some summer workouts with the Blue Devils before being shut down.
“I definitely feel like my game has improved since I’ve been here at Duke,” Ngongba said.
Duke brought Ngongba in along with Flagg, Brown and Maluach to give the team strong rim protection as the backbone of what the coaches think can be an elite defensive team.
Brown led the ACC in steals during his sophomore season at Syracuse last season before transferring to Duke. He’s gone from being the tallest player on the court for the Orange to having three taller teammates to help defensively.
But for now, the Blue Devils have only two tall freshmen until Ngongba gets back to the 100% health Scheyer discussed.
This story was originally published September 27, 2024 at 2:30 PM.