For a few days this past summer Ngombo was a hot topic in basketball circles. Less than a week before the NBA draft his name popped up in the draft chatter for the first time. In a world where the top international prospects are identified by the age of 15, Ngombo’s rise was a surprise to all. But more surprising than his emergence and selection at #57 by the Mavericks (later to be traded to the Trailblazers and then to the Wolves) was the age debate that arose immediately following the draft. Across the internet there were discrepancies about his date of birth, with some sites listing him as a 1983 birthday and others as a 1989 birthday. A number of articles broached this subject, producing strong reactions from Ngombo’s people and the Timberwolves. It is interesting to look at his profile on the NBA’s site, where he is the only draftee without a date of birth listed. With the lockout taking over the NBA news coverage, Ngombo’s story quickly faded from public discussion. So where has he been over the past six months?
Not surprisingly Ngombo is not playing with Minnesota at this time. He is in fact right where he was before he became a web search sensation, Qatar. As I reported earlier, Ngombo starred in a three team tournament in late August against Lebanon and Syria. The event was a tune-up before the FIBA Asia Championships held in China in September. Things unraveled for Qatar and Ngombo before the Championship as five of the eleven members of the team were deemed ineligible because of their paperwork. Ngombo was among these five, so was unable to play in the tournament. Qatar dropped from a favorite to a bottom tier team and Ngombo lost his chance to play on the world stage.
It is unclear whether or not the Ngombo’s “paperwork” issues have been cleared up at this point, but he was able to play in the Pan Arab Games held in Doha in December as it was not a FIBA-sanctioned event. His performance over the seven games was up and down, but he ended on a high note with a 27 point and 12 rebound performance leading Qatar to victory over Jordan. Despite averaging only 13 points and 9 rebounds for the tournament Targuy Alban (yes, another variation of his name appeared) took home the MVP award.
It is doubtful that Ngombo will ever make it over to the US to play, but I think the CBA is not out of the question. As each of the previous season’s bottom four teams is allowed an Asian import one would think that Ngombo would be highly sought after by Chinese clubs. While perhaps he is not an NBA quality wing, he would be an effective all-around player in China. I will make sure to update everyone again in another six months or so.