GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) 鈥� Duke won’t have starting big man Patrick Ngongba II on Thursday for its first-round game against Siena in because of soreness in his right foot.
The 6-foot-11, 250-pound sophomore was ruled out Wednesday night on the pregame availability report. That comes after he had missed four straight games for the Blue Devils (32-2), first as a game-time decision for the regular-season finale against rival North Carolina and .
Earlier Wednesday, coach Jon Scheyer had said Ngongba was 鈥渧ery unlikely鈥� to play. He had previously expressed optimism that Ngongba would be ready for the start of the after the foot issues crept up during a late-season win at N.C. State.
鈥淗e’s been progressing as we’ve gotten closer to tomorrow,鈥� Scheyer said Wednesday before No. 1 overall tournament seed’s practice for its opener. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 very unlikely that he plays tomorrow. We鈥檙e taking it day by day. He鈥檚 itching to play, but we鈥檙e not quite there for tomorrow just yet.鈥�
Ngongba was still wearing a protective boot on his right foot in the locker room and still using a knee scooter to limit walking. He didn’t speak to reporters.
Ngongba has , averaging 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds while proving an effective rim protector. He joined star freshman and Associated Press first-team all-American Cameron Boozer and versatile defender Maliq Brown in helping the Blue Devils .
After Ngongba missed the ACC Tournament finale, Scheyer mentioned 鈥渂enchmarks鈥� that Ngongba is working to meet with the team’s medical staff on his recovery in hopes of eliminating the soreness in the foot.
Scheyer said Wednesday that Ngongba has not experienced a setback.
鈥淚t’s not just anything where you can say two weeks and you鈥檙e back, 12 days and you鈥檙e back,鈥� Scheyer said. “You have to take it step by step with what he鈥檚 doing. Everything is going in a good direction, but I think the comfort that we want him to feel is not quite there. So that鈥檚 something we can only know day to day.
鈥淚 can tell you that in a perfect world, I think he鈥檇 be playing tomorrow. But it鈥檚 nothing other than he鈥檚 not quite ready to go. We鈥檒l do everything we can to get ready for Saturday and go from there.鈥�
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