On this NBA Draft site, Jordan Monaco has an article about three players who have the chance to radically improve their NBA Draft odds: Kentucky’s Mouhamed Dioubate, Michigan’s Aday Mara and Duke’s Pat Ngongba.
Ngongba has been somewhat limited by injuries of course. He came to Duke with a foot injury from high school and we honestly thought he would redshirt last year while he recovered.
And in high school, Ngongba had to work hard to get in serious shape. He was one of those kids who are a bit chubby
and unlike other guys, Khaman Malauch for instance, Ngongba’s challenge wasn’t to get bigger but to slim down and muscle up.
He did that and when Duke needed him last season, he was really productive. From Monaco’s article:
“[Ngongba averaged] 14.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.4 steals, and two blocks per 40 minutes last season. He also recorded a 12.1 offensive rebound percentage, 12.6 assist percentage, 2.1 steal percentage, and a 5.6 block percentage–ultimately recording a 10.5 Box Plus-Minus. This Box Plus-Minus was first amongst all freshmen who played less than 40% of their team’s minutes but greater than 20% of their team’s minutes…”
We’ll get into this more when we get to our Duke preview, but it’s going to be very different. With Maluach in the post, you had this amazingly long but very raw talent who didn’t pick up a basketball – might not have even seen one – until he was 13. With Ngongba, that guy grew up with a ball in the crib. His father, also named Patrick., played at GW and professionally overseas. His parents met at GW and she has coached for most if not all of her adult life.
Ngongba’s maternal uncles were also college players, with one attending Marquette and the other George Mason.
Like the Hurleys, the Dunleavys, the Flaggs and the Knueppels, the Ngongbas gave their son a basketball education from Day One.
We saw some brilliant moments from Ngongba last season, enough to convince us that he could indeed make a major leap. Our major concerns are how many minutes he can pull and if he can avoid injuries.
If so, he does have the potential to move up sharply in the draft order.
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