Syracuse Basketball: 4-star big-man target scores big AAU double-doubles

On Sunday during AAU contests in Tennessee, Syracuse basketball recruit Patrick Ngongba II was an absolute double-double machine, catching the attention of many national analysts and scouts for his performances.

The 6-foot-10 Ngongba from the Washington, D.C., area, a four-star, top-10 center as well as a top-70 national prospect in the 2024 class, received a scholarship offer from the Orange in late April.

He is scheduled to officially visit 2023 national champion UConn in mid-June, according to media reports, and Ngongba has said that he would like to visit the Hill at some point in the future, too.

In grassroots basketball, Ngongba competes for the Washington, D.C.-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league, and he plays alongside Syracuse basketball 2024 four-star commit Donnie Freeman, a 6-foot-9 power forward, and 2024 four-star target Caleb Williams, a 6-foot-7 guard/small forward.

Syracuse basketball target Patrick Ngongba II, a 2024 four-star center, tore up AAU competition on Sunday.

This weekend, Team Takeover has been suiting up in the EYBL’s fourth and final regular-season session at the Memphis Sports & Events Center in Memphis. This is the last session before the EYBL will hold its annual Peach Jam tournament in early July, and Team Takeover is a contender to earn a bid for that event.

Prior to Team Takeover’s last encounter in Memphis on Monday morning, the squad has sported a 4-0 mark this weekend. This spring as a whole, Team Takeover moved to 13-3 before its game on Monday morning.

On Sunday, Ngongba showed why many recruiting experts deem him one of the top big men across the entire country. In a 63-51 win by Team Takeover over the New Jersey Scholars, Ngongba recorded 25 minutes, 18 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 blocks, according to the EYBL Web site.

He connected on 6-of-10 from the field, 1-of-2 from beyond the arc and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.

When Team Takeover defeated the Wisconsin-based Phenom University, 83-74, Ngongba put forth one of the most sensational performances of the entire EYBL session this weekend.

Ngongba, in 30 minutes, produced a ridiculous 33 points, 18 boards and five assists. He was 13-of-23 from the field, 2-of-2 from downtown, and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe.

For the entirety of the EYBL circuit so far this spring, prior to Monday morning’s game, Ngongba is averaging 19 minutes, 12.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.4, assists per affair, while hitting on 69.2 percent from the field, 63.6 percent from 3-point land (a small number of attempts here), and 73.5 percent from the charity stripe.

Besides Syracuse basketball, some of his newer scholarship offers have arrived from UConn, Indiana and Virginia Tech. Ngongba’s offer sheet also includes Kansas State, Georgetown, Iowa, Virginia, Butler, George Washington, Wichita State, Ole Miss, Maryland, Pittsburgh, George Mason and Notre Dame, among others.

Ngongba is a rising senior at the powerhouse St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va., a team that high-school hoops analysts believe is a significant national title contender in the upcoming 2023-24 season.

"Regarding Ngongba’s performances on Sunday, scouting analyst Tony McNiff of MADE Hoops said he is a “physically imposing frontcourt prospect who is a bruising force on both ends of the floor. Seeks out contact well & often finishes through it. One of the best rebounders in the 17U Division, he’s relentless on the glass as well.”"

Freeman recently said in a podcast interview that he’s trying to help recruit both Ngongba and Williams to join him in the Orange’s 2024 recruiting class.