Kentucky Wildcats head coach Jon Scheyer provided clarity on Patrick Ngongba’s availability for the Santa Clara game on Friday. It is Kentucky’s first-round clash in the NCAA Tournament.
Ngongba is dealing with a right foot injury (soreness) that developed late in the regular season. The niggle “crept up” during a game vs NC State and only worsened later. He missed several games and was seen in a walking boot.
Is Patrick Ngongba Playing Against Santa Clara?
Patrick Ngongba is unlikely to play against Santa Clara, confirmed by head coach Jon Scheyer, who also shared an update on the Wildcats star’s recovery.
“He’s been progressing. It’s very unlikely he plays tomorrow. We’re going to keep taking it day-by-day and he’s itching to play. We’re not quite there for tomorrow yet,” Scheyer said.
Earlier, Jon Scheyer kept Patrick Ngongba away from their winning run in the ACC Tournament. He erred on the side of caution, keeping the long NCAA Tournament in mind, where Duke has been given the top seed.
In a video posted on The Field of 68, Scheyer talked about Ngongba’s recovery in detail on how the staff is not rushing the Wildcats player back into the fold.
“He’s doing well. The thing with this is that you can’t say on Sunday that he’s ready to go on Friday because we’re being cautious with his rest. This weekend, we start to ramp him up with some of his treatment,” said Scheyer.
“We’ll make the decision a few days from now. You’re in one-and-done territory, but you’re not gonna risk wanting any setbacks either. We have to see how he progresses. But it’s very positive. I feel very good about how he’s feeling and what he’s doing with our medical team.”
After Khaman Malauch, sophomore Patrick Ngongba has answered Jon Scheyer’s call to address the void at center. Improving very well this season, the center is averaging 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks. If in case, Duke’s center doesn’t recover in time as the NCAA Tournament progresses, the workload on Malik Brown, Dame Sarr, and Nikolas Khamenia will increase.
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