Aminu Mohammed Commits to Georgetown
The 5-star recruit's commitment to the Hoyas gives Georgetown the sixth-ranked recruiting class in the nation for 2021.
Patrick Ewing took a major step forward in his rebuild of Georgetown men’s basketball on Monday night, as five-star wing Aminu Mohammed (Greenwood Laboratory School / Springfield, Missouri) announced his commitment to the Hoyas, to the surprise of many across the country.
Mohammed, who is the 16th-ranked player in the country according to 247Sports, is a versatile 6-foot-5 guard/forward, originally from Nigeria.
After spending his freshman year at Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C., Mohammed moved to Springfield, Missouri, to be closer to his older brother, Kabir, who played college basketball at nearby Missouri State.
Mohammed made his announcement on Monday night in front of a crowd at the Betty and Bobby Allison Event Center on Greenwood Laboratory School’s campus. Wearing a pink Nike EYBL hoodie, Mohammed was joined on stage by his teammates, his guardian, Shawn Harmon, his high school coach, and the school’s principal.
After opening remarks from the principal and his coach, Harmon gave some reflection about Mohammed’s path up to that point.
“So the basketball piece, really, I mean, that’s just the icing on the cake,” said an emotional Harmon. “The type of person he is is probably his greatest attribute. So I think he’s going to be successful where ever he goes.”
After Harmon spoke, Mohammed stood up and got ready to announce his decision, picking from five framed jerseys of the college teams he was considering, that were perched in front of him on the stage.
“I’ve been playing freshman year, sophomore year, and did not really have a lot of schools [recruiting me], but you know, I just kept on playing,” reflected Mohammed. “I never thought I would be here one day deciding the school I’m going to go to.”
After thanking his teammates and the Greenwood community, Mohammed moved towards the framed jerseys as he readied to make the pick.
“At the end of the day it’s only going to be one school, and at the end of the day I’m going to make the decision,” said Mohammed, as he turned to face towards the line of jerseys. “It’s going to be Georgetown,” said Mohammed, as he moved to pick up the framed Georgetown jersey that was third in the order of jerseys.
“When you look at it, you say, ‘What about academics?’” Mohammed continued. “It’s important. If you have a Georgetown degree, you can pretty much go anywhere in the world.”
Mohammed, who averaged 16.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game last summer for the Boo Williams AAU program, is Patrick Ewing’s first five-star commit since he took over at Georgetown.
The last five-star recruit to choose Georgetown was Isaac Copeland in 2014.
In 2019, Mohammed led Greenwood to the state championship, and is hoping to return there this year. So far this season, he is averaging 30 points and 10 rebounds per game.
The decision for the highly sought-after senior came down to the wire, as Mohammed confirmed our reporting from Monday, that the final decision was between Georgetown and Georgia. Mohammed also said he didn’t make his choice until Monday morning, after talking about it with his brothers.
“If you want me to be honest, today,” Mohammed answered when asked when he made up his mind. “Everybody kept asking, ‘Where are you going?’ and I kept saying, ‘I don’t know.’ They thought I was just playing around and not trying to tell them.”
Much was made in the last month about Mohammed enrolling early at whatever school he chose. With the Hoyas’ roster already at the 13-player scholarship limit for this year, there would have had to be some difficult roster juggling that would have had to occur if Mohammed wanted to enroll in January.
However, Mohammed said at his ceremony that he intends to stay at Greenwood, and complete his illustrious high school basketball career— hopefully with another championship trophy in hand.
For Georgetown, the significance of Mohammed’s commitment cannot be overstated. The Hoyas beat out a tough list of competitors for Mohammed’s commitment, and by bringing in an elite talent like Mohammed to the Hilltop, Ewing is sending a signal to other top recruits that the Hoyas are still a strong destination for the top talent in the country.
With Mohammed in the fold, the Hoyas can officially shift their focus to the Class of 2022. We will have more on that in the coming days, but the Hoyas can now leverage Mohammed’s commitment to help attract other top talent, especially top local talent.
Be on the lookout this week for a full breakdown of what Aminu Mohammed brings to the court, as well.
Welcome to the Hilltop, Aminu Mohammed, and Hoya Saxa!