Duke basketball incoming freshman makes roster cut for Team USA

The Duke basketball program will now have two players competing internationally before joining the squad in Durham this summer as incoming freshman Pat Ngongba II made the Team USA U18 National Team.

Ngongba participated in training camp over the weekend and was just one of five 2024 prospects to be invited to compete for the roster spot. The rest of the invitees were comprised of 2025 and 2026 recruits.

There were 28 players expected to participate at the USA Basketball training camp and that number was cut down to 18 players on Saturday before the 12-player squad was announced on Tuesday.

Nate Ament, a 2025 prospect that holds a Duke offer, also made the team.

Pat Ngongba had a rocky senior season for Paul VI (Va.) after a foot injury sidelined him for a majority of the season. He returned for Chipotle Nationals where he got a larger workload with each game, ultimately falling to Montverde Academy (Fla.) and his future teammate, Cooper Flagg, in the National Championship.

Due to the injury, Ngongba is now ranked as the No. 25 player in the Class of 2024, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, but still maintains a 5-star status.

The future Blue Devil was joined by his head coach, Jon Scheyer, at the training camp as he was one of four coaches that assisted with on-court work. Scheyer is not a member of the coaching staff that will travel overseas for the 2024 FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup.

The event will take place in Buenos Aires, beginning on June 3.

Duke freshman center Khaman Maulach will also be competing internationally over the summer as a member of Team South Sudan in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. He is not expected to join the Blue Devils until after the games.

Ngongba will be on campus shortly after the AmeriCup concludes for summer workouts.