10 Questions Facing Georgetown Heading into the Season

November 7th will be here before Hoya fans know it.

There are only 75 days left until Georgetown tips off its season - and the Ed Cooley Era - against the Le Moyne Dolphins at Capital One Arena. With classes underway on the Hilltop, that means the team is back and practicing together again after a brief summer break.

Plenty of questions still remain about this team before the regular season begins. With a new head coach and almost an entirely new roster, there will be a lot of unknowns until the games begin in November.

Here are some questions that are top of mind for this team right now.

What system will this team play with?

With only two true centers on the roster (and the starting center is listed at 6-foot-9), Georgetown will need to get creative with its lineups this season. It is expected that Ed Cooley will have his Hoyas playing fast and small this year, perhaps more so than his typical teams would at Providence. Do not be surprised to see Ish Massoud being used as a center in 5-out lineups occasionally.

This team’s strength will be in the backcourt, so expect them to play to that strength and roll out guard-heavy lineups with the goal of out-running and out-shooting opponents. We’ll see if the lack of size for Georgetown will come back to haunt them on the boards, though.

Who starts at point guard?

Georgetown added two promising young talents in the portal in Jayden Epps and Rowan Brumbaugh this offseason. Brumbaugh dazzled in Kenner League, ending up with a Kenner League championship and MVP award after leading his team to the title.

After picking up a minor hand/wrist injury earlier in the summer, Epps was kept out of Kenner League, but is good to go now.

Both players are best with the ball in their hand, but with Brumbaugh off to a hot start this summer, and Epps coming off of a strong freshman season at Illinois, there is a question about which player will start at point guard, and if the other would start alongside him at the 2, allowing Georgetown to have two capable ball-handlers/orchestrators on the court at the same time.

It’s a good problem to have, having too much talent at one position. It also feels good to be able to trust your veteran head coach to be able to sort out such a conundrum as the season progresses and he gets a feel for his roster.

The question of how two young, promising guards who like having the ball in their hand does evoke some uncomfortable memories of the James Akinjo-Mac McClung partnership under Patrick Ewing. Both players came in to Georgetown with the goal of being the lead guard, and there was a heavy amount of friction between the two while they were both Hoyas. The two butted heads off the court and could never truly gel on the court alongside each other.

There is no indication that such a scenario exists between Brumbaugh and Epps, and indeed they appear to be getting along well, but questions about their on-court fit are fair to ask. It will be interesting to see how Ed Cooley uses this duo, both together and separately, once November 7th rolls around.

How many minutes is Drew Fielder going to get?

My guess? A lot. Whether he is ready or not, Fielder is going to play for this team with how thin they are in the frontcourt. He didn’t play in Kenner League this summer, but Fielder has drawn strong reviews from practice this summer. His ability to stretch the floor will be important for this team.

The question for me - How does he hold up on the defensive end of the floor? We’ll see.

Should Jay Heath start or come off the bench?

Jay Heath, like he was last year, figures to be a versatile member in the Hoya backcourt who can fill multiple positions with his ability to play on the ball or off the ball. With his veteran experience and his strong shooting, he figures to be a valuable member of this year’s team whether he starts or comes off the bench.

With the Hoyas looking to get out and run this year, expect Heath to get plenty of minutes no matter what. A lot could depend on the Brumbaugh-Epps situation and if Cooley decides to split them up or play them together in the starting lineup.

Depending on how Dontrez Styles and Wayne Bristol Jr. look, Heath could also start as the third guard, and the Hoyas could go Brumbaugh-Epps-Heath-Massoud-Cook.

A lot of different combinations to consider for Ed Cooley when it comes to this backcourt. It will be interesting to see how he approaches things to start the season.

Can Ryan Mutombo be counted on to be a rotation player?

The latest episode of Hoya Locker Room, which you can view here, featured a joint interview with Jay Heath and a seemingly-rejuvenated Ryan Mutombo.

Mutombo, who is entering his junior season (and will be graduating a year early, as revealed on HLR), is the tallest player on the roster this season at 7-foot-2. With only two traditional centers on the roster (and you could argue the 6’9” Cook is not traditional), there is absolutely a role for Mutombo to play this season. The question is, coming off of two seasons in which he failed to receive any consistent playing time, can he now be counted on to now play a key role as the backup center for this team?

If he can, that would be a major boost for a Georgetown team that has a frontcourt full of question marks right now. After seeing his comments on HLR, Mutombo certainly seems motivated to prove why he was rated as a four-star recruit out of high school.

What is Dontrez Styles’ ceiling on this team?

The reports on Styles from practice that I’ve heard continue to be positive. After seeing him play multiple times at Kenner League this summer, I still find myself unsure of what exactly he can be for this team, but in an ideal role, he will provide scoring on the wing for a team that will need some go-to sources of offense this season.

The big thing for me with Styles - How does his shot look? In Kenner, it seemed to run hot and cold. His shooting numbers at UNC last season (37%/33%/67%) were subpar, but it’s hard to read too much into those numbers with how little playing time he received.

The hope is that with an expanded role, Styles will be able to flourish and re-discover the dominance that he possessed in high school when he was ranked #63 overall in his class by 247Sports.

Is Drew McKenna going to be eligible?

Still an open question, but the guess here is that he won’t be ready until the second semester. McKenna impressed in Kenner League against older competition, and has one of the highest ceilings on the Georgetown roster, thanks to his blend of athleticism, shot-making, and ball-handling ability.

If he can be eligible in time for the season, I would expect him to be on the active roster and to compete for minutes. But that decision of how many minutes to play him may not be up to Ed Cooley if McKenna needs to complete his high school classes first to be college-eligible. Fingers crossed.

Who can defend the bigger centers in the Big East?

Thinking of Georgetown defending opposing Big East centers like Donovan Clingan, Ryan Kalkbrenner, or Joel Soriano is an unnerving thought with the composition of this roster right now. Cook, at 6-foot-9, is an impressive shotblocker from what he showed in Kenner League, but he doesn’t have the size or length to hold up in the low post for long against bigger centers who can shoot over him.

Mutombo, on the other hand, has the height part of the equation down, but has struggled against stronger opponents so far in his career. If he can improve his anchor in the low post on defense, and hold his ground better, it would help Georgetown address this problem it is almost surely going to have.

As is, the Hoyas’ best option may just be to let these bigger centers eat and go 5-out and try to run them off the floor instead. A lot depends on how Cook and Mutombo can hold up defensively against these elite centers.

Will Georgetown add to their frontcourt before the season starts?

When Akok Akok finally announced his transfer, I heard from a couple of people in the program that Georgetown would be open to bringing in another center, but would not force the issue if there wasn’t a good fit.

Since then, Mac Etienne, Malcolm Dandridge have come off the board, and international prospect Lee Aaliya does not appear to be considering the Hoyas. The list of options right now that would help Georgetown at the center position at this point just seems very, very limited. The Hoyas may have to get by with what they’ve got, and hope that Supreme Cook and Ryan Mutombo can stay healthy for the entire season.

Will Donovan Grant get real minutes?

After a summer of watching him compete in Kenner League, I’m a big-time Donovan Grant fan. The hustle is incredible (trying hard in Kenner League? That’s an A+ in my books), the defense is top-notch, and the three-point shot (while a bit unconventional in its form) is solid.

If there’s an injury for Georgetown in the backcourt this season, I think Grant could see the floor, and I would feel comfortable seeing him get spot minutes here and there if the Hoyas need an energy boost. Players like him who hustle constantly and give 110% are important in building a winning culture, and tend to find their way onto the floor at some point. I don’t think Grant is going to be a typical walk-on who is stapled to the bench every game. There’s a player in there who can contribute to some degree.