CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Patrick Ngongba II stepped onto the court. Then he stepped up.
The Blue Devils had encountered a brief dry spell early in the second half against Virginia. Big man Khaman Maluach picked up two fouls in quick succession, while Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg each had a dunk blocked. Two minutes ticked by without a visiting score. The Cavaliers seized the chance to bring their deficit back within 20 points — not too alarming for Duke, but frustrating nonetheless.
It only took Ngongba 40 seconds to spark the Blue Devil offense after subbing in for Maluach. Flagg drove up to the right of the basket, drawing the attention of both Jacob Cofie and Anthony Robinson. Then he threw the ball to his left, where the 6-foot-11 center jumped up to slam it in.
After just another minute and a Knueppel 3-pointer, Ngongba and Flagg ran an almost identical play, earning two points off a goaltending call on Cofie. It was the offensive shift Duke needed to keep Virginia at arm’s length for the remainder of the 80-62 victory.
Ngongba spent only 11 minutes on the floor of the John Paul Jones Arena, but the freshman made the time count with a career-high eight points. Though his total barely dented an already-stuffed stat sheet — Flagg, Knueppel and Isaiah Evans all tallied 17 points, while Flagg grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds — Ngongba’s increasing confidence on the floor was evident. His recent development promises more exciting (if less-quantifiable) Blue Devil potential.
“I don't think you guys understand how good [Ngongba] really is,” Evans said after the game. “To see him come into his own and get to shine like the rest of us is amazing. I just stay going crazy for him on the sideline, because I know how good he is and how hard he’s working.”
With Maliq Brown’s status still uncertain after a left shoulder dislocation in the first half against the Cavaliers, Ngongba’s emergence comes at an apt time. The young center has slowly improved after rehabbing from a foot injury and summer surgery, transforming into a quiet Blue Devil bench weapon before the eyes of the Duke faithful.
“He's super, super talented, like [head coach Jon Scheyer] and Isaiah mentioned,” Knueppel said. “But he's really been putting in that extra time after practice, working on his conditioning with our strength coach in the stay-ready games, in the weight room. He’s really increased what he's been doing outside of practice. So it's been awesome to see that pay off and get some shine here.”
The St. Paul VI product made his debut against Wofford Nov. 16, putting up two points and six rebounds in his 11 minutes on the floor. His next-best performance came a month later in the game against Incarnate Word, with six points and five rebounds in 18 minutes.
With the new year came more frequent appearances for the freshman, since Brown’s knee injury left holes on the floor. Ngongba filled them, picking up 18, 14 and 21 respective minutes against Miami, Boston College and Wake Forest. He posted four points and at least four rebounds each game.
In a tighter-than-expected contest against the Demon Deacons, Ngongba added two steals and a valuable block to his four points. But the Manassas, Va., native found himself in foul trouble, racking up his fifth a minute before time expired.
When he took the floor in the next game against N.C. State, Ngongba started making statements. In just eight minutes — under half the time of his previous three performances — he put up four points and three rebounds. His shots included a clutch layup that took Duke from a four- to six-point lead with 1:25 left in the game.
Then, against Virginia, Ngongba’s career-high eight points demonstrated an offensive versatility beyond that of a simple center lob threat. After his initial two plays off assists from Flagg, Ngongba subbed in with five minutes remaining to score a pair of layups.
According to KenPom, the freshman’s offensive ratings have climbed even as his minutes have consolidated in recent games. This indicates that he is scoring more points on the possessions he uses, while also seeing more action with the ball while on the court.
Against the Cavaliers, for example, he had an offensive rating of 160 while recording an 18% usage rate in 11 minutes. During the January stretch, he averaged a lower offensive rating of 155.3 on just 9.7% of possessions, doing so over a much higher average of 17.7 minutes. With the exception of his debut Wofford game, where he posted an unusually high rating of 236 due to his five offensive rebounds, all of Ngongba’s numbers have improved exponentially since the start of the year.
For reference, KenPom considers an offensive rating of 100 roughly average, with most players using between 15% and 25% of possessions.
“Pat has always had natural, God-given ability and talents, but I’ve seen such growth from him throughout the whole season,” Scheyer said. “I’m proud of his work ethic … and just the passer that he is. He just has great feel, great hands around the rim.”
Ngongba will almost certainly see more court time as Brown deals with his shoulder injury, for which a recovery timeline remains unknown. The last time he went out, the young center’s subsequent skill refinement paid immediate dividends.
“[Brown is] a big loss for us,” Scheyer said. “For Pat to step up and be ready, [I’m] just proud of him and what he's done.”
Now, Ngongba has stumbled upon yet another stepping stone into a critical depth role for the Blue Devils.
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Abby DiSalvo is a Trinity sophomore and assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.