Patrick Ngongba taking his time when it comes to visits, decision

One of the top uncommitted big men in the country, Patrick Ngongba II sits at No. 32 in the Rivals150 for the class of 2024 and is coming off of a grassroots season that saw him help his Team Takeover squad to a Peach Jam title.

Ngongba, who averged nine points and 5.4 rebounds per game in eight Peach Jam contests, officially has a final eight of Kansas State, Kansas, Duke, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana, UConn and Providence. He’s taken just three official visits (UK, UConn and K-State) thus far and will likely take some additional trips before announcing his decision.

Rivals recently caught up with the Virginia-based center to discuss where his recruitment stands.

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ON HIS VISIT TO K-STATE:

“I was a little surprised by it. It’s a cool place. There’s really nothing around it. It’s a place where they like their team and you can really just focus on basketball. I was just surprised by how there was pretty much nothing else out there.”

ON HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE K-STATE COACHES:

“I’ve known one of the assistants, Jareem Dowling, since I was a little kid. He’s from the Virgin Islands and my family is from there, too. My mom went down there to coach the Virgin Islands national team and he was down there coaching the men’s national team and that's how we got to know each other, really.”

ON SCHOOLS IN THE MIX:

“K-State for sure. Duke is in the mix. Providence is in the mix. UConn for sure, too. Kansas and Michigan – they’re in the mix.”

ON WHAT HIS TEAMMATE AND DUKE COMMIT DARREN HARRIS TELLS HIM:

“He is just saying that Duke is good but I need to pick the best fit for me. It would be cool to be there with him, though, just having somebody I know down there.”

ON VISITS HE HOPES TO SCHEDULE:

“I know I want to check out Kansas and I want to check out Michigan, but I don’t have those set.”

ON KANSAS AND MICHIGAN:

“I don’t know much about either of them yet, but that’s why I want to go check them out.”

Ngongba has taken official visits to Duke, K-State and UConn, but it’s hard to tell which school holds the advantage at this juncture. The four-star center says he ultimately would like to visit KU and Michigan but is yet to nail down dates for such trips.

If Duke lands five-star center Flory Bidunga this week, it could complicate its ability to also snag Ngongba, which would be good news for the Huskies, Wildcats, Friars, Jayhawks and Wolverines.

The picture of the big man’s process will clear significantly this month, as dominoes begin to fall and additional trips are scheduled. Kentucky has also started becoming more aggressive in kicking the tires on Ngongba’s recruitment in recent weeks, which is a situation worth monitoring.