Early Duke Basketball Commit in Ear of Giant Blue Devil Target
Paul VI Catholic (Va.) renowned sharpshooter Darren Harris, a 6-foot-6, 195-pound four-star small forward who should soon see a bump to his No. 67 ranking on the 247Sports 2024 Composite in light of his recent MVP performance at Peach Jam, has been committed to Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer since October.
He was the first prize for the Blue Devils in the 2024 recruiting arena. North Meck (N.C.) five-star small forward Isaiah Evans joined him in April.
But Scheyer and his staff aren't finished constructing their class. No, they still have offers to a handful of undecided rising high school seniors, including several who will likely announce decisions in the next few months.
One such target is five-star center Patrick Ngongba II, Harris' teammate at Paul VI Catholic and for Team Takeover on the Nike EYBL circuit. And during a chat with Stock Risers' Jake Weingarten this week, Harris reiterated that he's still doing all he can to sway the big man to Durham.
"I mean, obviously, we have 'Slim' [Isaiah Evans] committed already," he said. "I love his game. I feel like we can complement each other well in the future. We can both score at a high level. But I'm working on getting Pat to commit. I've been close with him since, like, 5th grade. And we're teammates in AAU and high school. That'd be big."
Ngongba, a 6-foot-11, 235-pound lightfooted bruiser with some range to his game, is among the highest-ranked four-star 2024 prospects at No. 27 overall.
He took a Duke basketball official visit in early June, two weeks after receiving an offer from the Blue Devils.
In early July, he named eight finalists: Duke, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Providence, and UConn. Around that time, he mentioned in several interviews that he'd like to wrap things up sometime in the fall before the early signing period in November.
While Darren Harris' comments to Weingarten feel like another reason to believe Scheyer & Co. remains a legit contender for Patrick Ngongba II, the Blue Devils' chances might depend on whether they reel in the other center on their 2024 wishlist in Kokomo (Ind.) five-star Flory Bidunga.
Bidunga, No. 4 overall in the class, is down to four finalists (Auburn, Duke, Kansas, Michigan) and appears in the home stretch of his recruitment, with a decision likely to come in the next few weeks.
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