Patrick Ngongba injury update: Duke star freshman sidelined with foot issue

One of Duke’s incoming freshman is out for right now says Jon Scheyer.

On Friday, Scheyer shared an update on Patrick Ngongba. He said that he is currently “out for the time being” ahead of the Blue Devils’ season.

Ngongba is one of six members of the freshmen class for Duke in 2024. He comes into college alongside Cooper Flagg, Khaman Maluach, Isaiah Evans, Kon Knueppel, and Darren Harris. That class was rated No. 1 overall per On3’s 2024 Industry Basketball Team Recruiting Rankings. All six were Top-40 prospects overall with Ngongba as the fifth-highest ranked one.

Ngongba, a native of Manassas, Virginia, played high school basketball at Paul VI Catholic. One of his teammates there will now be one at the collegiate level in Harris. He was a four-star prospect there as the No. 38 overall recruit in the last cycle. That’s according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also rated as the No. 5 C, including being behind another one of his new teammates in Maluach, and the No. 2 player in his state.

The sidelines is where Ngongba has found himself for a lot of the last year after missing all of his senior season with the Panthers due to injury.

This comes ahead of the preseason events for the Blue Devils over the next month. Countdown to Craziness is a week out from now at Cameron Indoor. Duke will then play a pair of exhibitions at home with one against Lincoln on October 19th. The other will be a charity game on October 27th called the Brotherhood Run against Arizona State led by a fellow alumni of theirs in Bobby Hurley. That all is before the season officially tips off in Durham on November 4th against Maine.

That gives Ngongba around a month to rehab in time for the season. Still, for now, he’s off the court for Duke right now with tipoff getting close.

More on Duke’s charity exhibition versus Hurley, Sun Devils

A familiar face will return to Cameron Indoor Stadium in the preseason in October.

Arizona State, led by Bobby Hurley, will visit Duke for a charity exhibition game on October 27th. The event will benefit the Duke Children’s Hospital.

Both head coaches in the matchup are former players who helped lead their respective teams to national titles.

“We are excited about the Brotherhood Run, playing Arizona State for a charity exhibition game. This is the first time we’ve done something like this,” said Scheyer. “Duke Children’s Hospital has been a great partner to our program for a long time, starting with Coach K. To keep that relationship going means a lot to me and to our program. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with them to raise funds and awareness for all the incredible work they are doing.”

“I’m grateful to John Scheyer and Duke Basketball for working with Arizona State Basketball to make this exhibition game a reality,” said Hurley. “It will be special for me to return to Cameron Indoor. Our team is excited for the opportunity to compete against a storied basketball program prior to embarking on our regular season schedule. The collaboration between Duke and Arizona State to put together this charity exhibition game supporting Duke Children’s Hospital is very meaningful to both programs.”