Nick Ongenda played in only eight games this past season as a fourth-year senior at DePaul, but the 6-foot-11 center sure made his impact was felt upon returning to the lineup.
Ongenda suffered a wrist injury the day before the start of the Blue Demons’ season in November. He was initially slated to miss four weeks but it was later determined that surgery would be needed, which sidelined him until February.
From there, Ongenda dazzled on the court.
The 22-year-old wasted no time upon returning to the court, recording 11 points, eight blocks and six rebounds on Feb. 14 versus St. John’s. He finished the season averaging 12.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.4 blocks, 1.1 steals and one assist on 46.6% shooting from the field.
Ongenda also produced one of the top plays of the season.
In the first round of the conference tournament, Ongenda, who boasts a 7-foot, 3-inch wingspan, had a game-saving block against Seton Hall as time expired to send the Blue Demons to a 66-65 victory at Madison Square Garden.
DEPAUL GETS THE BLOCK AND WINS! pic.twitter.com/U4GN1QuAu8
— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) March 9, 2023
Despite logging eight appearances, Ongenda still finished 10th in the Big East in blocks (35). His block average of 4.4 per game would have ranked first in the country as he was one of 12 Division I players to swat at least eight shots in a game.
Ongenda recorded two or more blocks in 35 career games and leaves the program ranked fourth on the all-time block list with 135, trailing only Dallas Comegys (1983-87), George Mikan (1942-46) and Paul Reed (2017-20).
He is in the midst of preparing for the NBA draft.
Ongenda has been training with other prospects in Miami, Florida. He has worked out with Dallas, Milwaukee and Utah so far and will visit Brooklyn this week. He has several other visits scheduled ahead of the draft on June 22.
Rookie Wire caught up with Ongenda this week to discuss his senior year at DePaul, playing with Reed as a freshman, training for the draft, working out with teams and more.
Note: This interview was edited for clarity