No Flory Bidunga, no problem.
Duke may have missed on the Kansas big man, who committed to Louisville before visiting the Blue Devils, but Jon Scheyer wasn't sweating it. He had a card up his sleeve the whole time.
Patrick Ngongba, Duke's defensive anchor and star center, is returning to Durham for his junior season, spurning the NBA Draft. Duke made the long-rumored announcement official on Monday:
BIG PAT. BIG BACK. 👿 @NgongbaPatrick pic.twitter.com/9233Y9LtXk
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) April 20, 2026
Patrick Ngongba returning for his junior year his huge for Duke
Ngongba stepped into Khaman Maluach's starting role at center for Duke flawlessly this past season. As a sophomore, Ngongba made a substantial leap and averaged over 10 points and nearly six rebounds per game.
While his counting stats may not jump off the page, the advanced numbers show his impact. Ngongba's 9.4 BPM (box plus-minus) was the third highest for Duke this season, behind only National Player of the Year Cameron Boozer and ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Maliq Brown.
He was impactful on both ends of the floor, hitting 68% of his two-point attempts and being a dangerous threat near the rim with catching lobs and snagging offensive rebounds. His big-to-big passing with Cameron Boozer was devastating to opponents.
He served as Duke's defensive anchor in the middle, and what he meant to the Blue Devils on that end of the floor was heavily felt when he was forced to sit out the ACC Tournament.
With Cameron Boozer expected to enter the NBA Draft, Big Pat's return solidifies Duke's frontcourt with a veteran presence. He'll likely start next to freshman Cameron Williams and will be a big help for the 5-star.
Duke recently landed its first Transfer Portal commitment with Belmont forward/center Drew Scharnowski, who will log backup minutes at both the four and five. Duke has also been connected to Saint Mary's transfer Allen Graves, who could ultimately pick the Blue Devils if he doesn't stay in the draft.
Ngongba is Scheyer's second major roster-retention win this offseason, joining freshman guard Cayden Boozer. Duke is still waiting on NBA Draft decisions from Cameron Boozer, Isaiah Evans, and Dame Sarr. Boozer and Evans are widely expected to leave, with Sarr projected to return.
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