Incoming Duke Basketball Big Man Survives Team USA Cuts

Duke basketball signee Patrick Ngongba II and a couple of Blue Devil targets are among 18 finalists to play in Buenos Aires.

Duke basketball signee Patrick Ngongba II / Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer won't be with the USA Basketball Men's U18 National Team when it heads to Buenos Aires for the FIBA AmeriCup, June 3-9. But Scheyer is at the training camp in Colorado Springs, Colo., this weekend as a court coach helping the squad's head coach, Arizona's Tommy Lloyd, decide on the 12-man collection for that upcoming international showcase.

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On Saturday afternoon, the coaches dwindled the 28 invitees down to 18 finalists. And the list of those contenders for a spot on the Team USA roster includes the lone Blue Devil signee at the camp in five-star Patrick Ngongba II.

But Ngongba, a 6-foot-11, 235-pound center out of Paul VI Catholic High School (Va.) who ranks No. 25 overall on the 247Sports 2024 Composite and is one of six pieces to Duke basketball's top-ranked recruiting haul, might not be the only future Blue Devil in that bunch.

18 athletes have been named as finalists for the 🇺🇸 #USABMU18 National Team. pic.twitter.com/BA928qCmRX

— USABJNT (@usabjnt) May 25, 2024

No, among the 18 remaining players is a pair of prime 2025 Duke basketball targets.

They are Highland School (Va.) five-star wing Nate Ament, who sits at No. 18 on the 247Sports 2025 Composite and landed an offer from Scheyer while visiting the Blue Devils back in September, and Holy Innocents Episcopal School (Ga.) five-star forward Caleb Wilson, who ranks No. 4 overall in the class and continues to speak highly of Duke in interviews.

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