We have a new Golden Eagle to discuss! Bright and early on Friday morning, Class of 2027 prospect Philipe Ndong announced his commitment to attend Marquette and play for head coach Shaka Smart.
247 Sports lists Ndong as a 6’8”, 180 pound power forward. He attends The Newman School in Boston, Massachusetts, and since that’s a New England prep school situation, we can pretty much guarantee that assistant coach Cody Hatt was prominent in the recruiting process. 247 has Ndong as the #144 prospect in the country in the Class of 2027, and they list him as the 26th best power forward prospect. For reasons that will make sense in a second, the 247 Composite rankings have Ndong at #93 overall and #19 in his position group. On3 and Rivals are what’s propping up Ndong’s Composite, as they have him at #92 internally in the recruiting class and #8 at his position. Just like at 247, On3 regards Ndong as a four-star prospect.
However, the On3/Rivals Industry Ranking has Ndong at just #178 in the country and #26 overall. The big reason why? ESPN doesn’t have rating or a ranking or an anything at all for him. I’m guessing that 247 regards the lack of ESPN information as nothing to consider, while On3/Rivals are considering it a negative in their calculations.
According to 247’s list, Marquette’s biggest competitor for Ndong was Creighton, as the Bluejays are the only other listed high major program. Not “only other program with an offer,” only other high major program at all. The next best program listed? South Florida, unless you really want to consider Iona this long after Rick Pitino left for the St. John’s job. It would appears that Creighton only just offered Ndong a scholarship in late June of this year, but then again, MU is only listed as offering in mid-June.
Let’s go over to Adam Finkelstein, the 247 Sports Director of Scouting for a look at what Philipe Ndong brings to the table:
Ndong is a developmental project who is not going to be a finished product for quite some time
[sigh] Well, at least he’s heading to college after the 5 years/5 seasons rules have kicked in. My apologies Adam, please continue.
Ndong is a developmental project who is not going to be a finished product for quite some time, but has clear untapped potential. He’s very lean, and incapable of playing through much contact at this point, but he has a combination of size, skill, and feel that is rare.
He has potential as both a shooter and a passer, which begins with naturally soft hands and a good mind for the game. He made 38% of his threes, on over 4 attempts per game, during the recent UAA season, and was also 79% from the free-throw line. His assist numbers don’t pop yet, but both the film and the eye test show evidence of clear feel and understanding of where the ball is supposed to go. He’s also shown some flashes as a cutter.
His frame is all arms and legs right now. While he obviously is going to have to add a significant amount of muscle in the coming years, he also has high hips and plays with an upright posture, so balance is going to be a key variable in his game for the foreseeable future. He does not, however, seem timid. He actually finished 79% of his shots at the rim during the UAA season, which was in the top 1%. It’s also worth noting that his father, who played professionally in the NBA and abroad, had a terrific build, so there may still be some untapped potential to his physique. His movement skills are bound to evolve alongside his frame as well. He’s not a bad mover at this point, especially in straight lines, but not always super fluid laterally given his posture and lack of lower body strength.
The bottom line is that Ndong is going to require patience. He shouldn’t be expected to make much of an immediate impact at the next level, but the optimism is about what he could become over the course of the next five years as his body begins to catch-up with his other tools.
I do enjoy lowering the bar on guys that otherwise would get a “well, he should contribute” note from me when we get to season previewing for their freshman year, just based on their recruiting rankings. No, wait. This is the other thing. I don’t enjoy that.
Can we talk about that “his father, who played professionally in the NBA and abroad” part for a second? We’re talking about Boniface Ndong here, who is listed on his Basketball Reference page at 7’0” and 198 pounds, and he played 23 games in the 2005-06 season for the Los Angeles Clippers. Before you make jokes: The Clips went 47-35 that season and got to the second round of the NBA Playoffs. Anyway, he averaged 2.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in 6.6 minutes a game. The good news is that his international numbers are 8.8 points and 4.9 rebounds on average in 316 games across nine seasons. Now, his Wikipedia page lists him at 7’0” and 245 lbs, and if that’s the upper limit on Philipe’s physical development, okay, sure. I just get eye twitchy when I see things like “obviously going to have to add muscle” in a scouting report, because some guys just don’t have the body type to add muscle and still be a useful basketball player at the same time.
Can I interest you in 60 seconds of highlights from Ndong’s club team from back in early June of this year?
Boy, that’s a lot of outside jumpers for a guy we’re spending a lot of time calling a power forward who needs to add weight and strength. Just sayin’.
And now, the scholarship chart.
Philipe Ndong joins Marlon Martinez in Marquette’s 2027 recruiting class… and that wraps up recruiting for the 2027-28 season, because now MU does not project to have any more scholarships available.
That’s, uh… well, that’s a lot. I guess if you harbor a believe that no, really, 2026-27 is the year that either Caedin Hamilton or Josh Clark figure it out, then sure, this is fine, because then that 2027-28 roster has a starting center on it. If they do not figure it out, then that roster does not have a starting center on it, and so I ask you this: What exactly is Shaka Smart’s plan here? What’s the plan if the 5 years/5 seasons eligibility rules actually mean that Sananda Fru has another year of eligibility coming — age-wise, he would qualify, but the NCAA ruled he has two seasons available when he enrolled at Louisville, so I have zero clue as to what’s going on there — and what if it makes sense to keep Fru around for another season? What’s the plan for that, seeing as the way I’m counting it off, there’s currently no space for adding anyone, whether that’s Fru sticking around or acquiring another starting big man in the transfer portal in April?
Does Smart know what the plan is in terms of creating open roster spots and we just have to wait for it to play out in March and April of 2027… and if that’s the case, why are certain people on this roster if there is no long term future for them here in Milwaukee? I mean this as politely as possible, but it gets real hard to take a mantra of retention and development seriously when everything looks like the men’s basketball office is already printing out shipping labels to get some people out of here.
And if that is the case… why is Marquette accepting commitments from recruits who are “not going to be a finished product for quite some time” in Adam Finkelstein’s words?
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