Duke’s Patrick Ngongba Makes Decision on Future As Blue Devils’ Roster Continues to Take Shape

Coach Jon Scheyer’s squad looks like it’ll be formidable again in 2027.

Patrick Ngongba received significantly more minutes in year two at Duke. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Yet another member of Duke’s 2026 squad has decided he has unfinished business.

Blue Devils center Patrick Ngongba will return for the 2027 season, he announced Monday morning via the school.

Ngongba, 20, averaged 10.1 points per game in 2026—a significant leap from his 3.9 point-per-game output as a freshman. He made efficient use of his 21.9 minutes per game, finishing second in the ACC in win shares per 40 minutes behind Duke forward Cameron Boozer.

He’ll return to a Blue Devils roster primed to contend for national honors again even with the presumptive loss of Boozer to the NBA draft.

After showing flashes in 2025, Ngongba earned a bigger role in ’26

Patrick Ngongba gives Duke another key returning piece in 2026–27. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

In ’25, Ngongba played 30 games for Duke alongside forward Cooper Flagg and guard Kon Kneuppel, starting none. As that season wore on, the son of two former George Washington basketball players saw his minutes tick upward. Against North Carolina in the ACC tournament, he nailed all six field goal attempts for a career-best 12 points. Two games later, against Mount St. Mary’s in the NCAAs, he nearly double-doubled with nine points and eight rebounds.

Flagg’s departure for the NBA draft, where he was taken by the Mavericks, as well as center Khaman Maluach’s for the Suns, helped open up frontcourt minutes in ’26—and Ngongba gamely stepped in. Seven games into this past season, he had three 15-point games to his name against Army, Niagara and Howard. He added a double-double on Dec. 18 against Lipscomb, his first and only to date. Late in the season, soreness in his right foot limited Ngongba considerably; he failed to score more than six points in any of his three NCAA tournament games.

Ngongba will be part of a crowded frontcourt

Boozer is likely gone, and forward Maliq Brown is out of eligibility for the time being, but the Blue Devils’ frontcourt won’t lack for talent in ’27 by any stretch of the imagination.

Duke will welcome forward Drew Scharnowski via the transfer portal, a ’26 All-Missouri Valley selection at Belmont who will continue the Blue Devils’ legacy of doing recruiting damage in the Chicago suburbs. Scharnowski will join forward Cameron Williams, forward Bryson Howard, and center Maxime Meyer—freshmen, all three. 247 Sports ranks Williams and Howard as the No. 3 and No. 15 prospects in the country, respectively.

That’s to say nothing of Duke’s banner backcourt returnee—guard Cayden Boozer. Though not the all-conquering force his brother turned to be, Cayden enjoyed a nice season in his own right, playing particularly well against Siena (19 points) and UConn (15 points, his critical turnover notwithstanding) in the NCAA tournament.

There’s no such thing as an unimportant year for the Blue Devils, but this will be a pivotal one for coach Jon Scheyer. After a year of acclimation in 2023, Scheyer’s NCAA tournament record reads thusly: a.) a loss to No. 11 NC State in the Elite Eight in 2024, b.) a catastrophic collapse against Houston in the ‘25 Final Four, and c.) a meltdown against UConn in the Elite Eight in ’26.

Scheyer has thrived in the regular season and has the look of a long-term answer for Duke, but Blue Devils fans care primarily about what happens in March. If Duke has national title designs next season, the seamless integration of Ngongba with the freshmen will go a long way toward helping him achieve that.

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