Big East Preview: Georgetown

Patrick Ewing has been at the helm for Georgetown for 5 seasons now and has had only one winning season. During the tubulent covid season the Hoyas were up and down minus the up part. Despite staring the season 3-8 Georgetown was able string togehter some good performances towards the end of the regular season before shocking everyone and winning the Big East Tournament to secure Ewing his first tournament bid as a head coach. Unfortunately for the Hoyas the magic ended there and they were obliterated by Colorado in the first round.

Looking Ahead

The unexpected Big East Tournament run would seem like a positive sign for Georgetown moving forward until you look at the returning roster. Jahvon Blair, Jamorko Pickett, Chudier Bile and Qudus Wahab have all moved and take almost all of the scoring with them. Dante Harris returns as a sophomore and was BET player of the Tournament last season despite struggling most of the season. Donald Carey returns to play his bonus season and shot well from 3 on limited usage. The Hoyas add Kaiden Rice from Citadel and Tre King from EKU. King will replace Wahab as a shot blocking, rebounding monster but also has good offensive abilities and can shoot the 3 at a decent rate. Rice shoots 3s like he’s Trae Young but converts them like Larry Austin Jr. He does take good care of the ball and shoots well from inside the arc on the rare occasion he ends up there.

The rest of the returners played much more limited minutes than Harris, Carey or either of the transfers but one who could work his way into the rotation is Timothy Ighoefe. In his limited minutes he rebounded like a madman and protected the rim well. His offensive game needs a lot of refinement but his presence in the lane could be a useful asset.

The most hyped recruit for Georgetown is Aminu Mohammed who is a shooting guard with tremendous strength and athleticism. His deep shooting is still developing but his ability to drive is where he generates offense. With his size he also rebounds well for a guard and is solid on defense. Ryan Mutombo comes in as a traditional big man with a decent mid range game. His athleticism isn’t off the charts as he doesn’t possess a great amount of speed but he is strong in the low post and has great length to deter shots.

What’s the Verdict?

It’s no lie that Georgetown lost the best pieces to a team that was very mediocre last season. Dante Harris showed good signs at the end and Donald Carey is a good extra option but not a go-to scorer. The addition of King and Rice will help the scoring and the frontcourt of King and Ighoefe/Mutombo would pose serious problems for opposition bigs offensively. Mohammed will have to make a big impact as a freshman and be one of the first options offensively if Georgetown is gonna pose much of a threat in the conference this year. All things considered, the Hoyas will be leaning heavily on Harris, Mohammed and the transfers and could struggle to get in to the middle of the Big East table.