Duke Basketball is likely to have a trio of players taken in the lottery of the 2025 NBA Draft. That includes projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg, sharpshooter Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach, the starting center from last season.
The Blue Devils may have lost a ton of talent once again, but they have yet another No. 1 incoming recruiting class, led by the 5-star Boozer brothers, Cameron and Cayden. They added 5-star freshmen at all positions, except for center. That’s because they have two returning pieces in Maliq Brown and Patrick Ngongba, a former 5-star prospect in his own right.
As a freshman, Ngongba averaged 3.9 ppg and 2.7 rpg in 11 mpg off the bench, shooting 72% from the field on 64 attempts. When Brown was injured towards the end of last season, the 6’11 big man got extended minutes and played very well. Ngongba had 12 points on 6/6 FG against UNC in the ACC Tournament, as well as eight points in 12 minutes off the bench in the Sweet 16 victory over Arizona.
Nooooo!! Patrick NGongba spotted wearing a boot at Duke Basketball summer workouts. Please let Big Pat be healthy this season! pic.twitter.com/tD2awjYaC0
— Jason Evans (@JasonDukeEvans) June 21, 2025
For the 2025-26 season, the expectation is that Ngongba and Brown will split the 40 minutes at center. However, a photo that was posted at a Duke practice shows that one of them isn’t healthy, with Ngongba wearing a boot.
It’s never ideal that a big man has any kind of foot injury, as it can linger. Some situations can take weeks, while others need months to heal fully. The good news is that there are five months between now and the start of the 2025-26 season, so Ngongba still has plenty of time.
As workouts get going, some teams have had a rough start, with both Iowa State and Michigan State already suffering season-ending injuries. Duke’s situation (right now) isn’t as bad, but it’s something to monitor with Ngongba.