Duke basketball adds massive frontcourt player to future loaded roster

The Duke basketball program had made another massive addition to a future roster. 

No one in the country is hotter on the recruiting trail right now than Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer.

The second year head coach has landed three 5-star prospects in the last five weeks as the Blue Devils now boast the four 5-star players in its 2024 recruiting class.

Patrick Ngongba II is the most recent addition after he announced his commitment to Duke on Saturday afternoon over Kansas State and Kentucky.

Ngongba, a standout at Paul VI (Va.) becomes the second player to pledge to the Blue Devils this week after Cooper Flagg, the top ranked player in the class, announced his decision on Monday morning.

The two prospects visited Duke together in late October, along with 5-star prospect VJ Edgecombe, for the program’s Countdown to Craziness.

ALSO READ: Jon Scheyer working to secure commitments from ‘Big 3’

“I would say when I was on my visit, the way I connected with the players it kind of just felt like home,” Ngongba told On3 about his decision to pick the Blue Devils.

The 6-foot-11 center fills a massive need on the Duke roster entering the 2024-25 season as the expectation is that Kyle Filipowski, the team’s current center, will leave for the NBA Draft and the void left behind will be huge because of the inexperience behind the preseason All-American.

Ngongba is ranked as the No. 25 player in the 247Sports Composite rankings and the No. 5 center in the nation as Duke expands upon its widening margin for the top ranked recruiting class in the country, which also boasts Flagg, Isaiah Evans, Kon Knueppel, and Darren Harris.

Duke basketball continues high school pipeline

Patrick Ngongba becomes the fourth player in recent memory to commit to Duke out of Paul VI.

He joins Trevor Keels, Jeremy Roach, and Darren Harris to join the program after playing their high school ball in Virginia.

ALSO READ: Cooper Flagg credits Cameron Crazies for role in decision

Keels was a one-and-done for the Blue Devils while Roach is entering his senior season.

It’s too early to tell if either Ngongba or Harris are projecting as one-and-done players but it seems likely that both would be in Durham for multiple years.

Duke is still not done on the recruiting trail as Jon Scheyer remains in pursuit of VJ Edgecombe and Dylan Harper.