Aminu Mohammed Discusses His Commitment to Georgetown, Goals For Next Season

In a phone interview with Hilltop Hoops, Aminu Mohammed and his guardian, Shawn Harmon explained the factors that led to Mohammed choosing Georgetown, and what he hopes to accomplish on the Hilltop.

After surprising many by committing to Georgetown on December 21, five-star recruit Aminu Mohammed has been able to go back to focusing on leading his Greenwood Laboratory high school team in its quest to repeat as state champions.

Mohammed and his guardian, Shawn Harmon, spoke on the phone with me on Friday evening to explain what the deciding factors were in Mohammed’s decision, what Mohammed’s goals for the team are in 2021, and what his goals are for eventually going to the NBA.

The following conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.

Walk me through your decision day. How did you come to the decision in speaking with your family and guardian?

On that day pretty much, just spoke to my brothers, my guardian, everybody. We just spoke that morning and then we came to a conclusion that it was between Georgia and Georgetown. We talked about the opportunities and everything and ended up making a decision and picking Georgetown.

So the decision came down to Georgetown and Georgia, but what were the deciding factors that made Georgetown the pick over Georgia?

If you look back, when you talk about Georgetown basketball, the history and everything, those things are great. After speaking with Coach [Ewing], he’s talking about getting the school back to where it’s supposed to be. For me, I like things like that, trying to help a program get back to where they’re supposed to be, and impacting winning and turning things around. Being a part of a group that is going to turn things around, that’s important to me, so that was part of the decision.

And the academics are great. With a degree from the school, that part of things [is part] of the decision as well.

You’re Georgetown’s first five-star recruit since 2014. Do you feel pressure being the best recruit that Georgetown has landed in a long time, to help bring the team back to prominence?

I would not say there is any pressure at all, because when you look at this game, it’s a five-man game. There are five guys on the floor, so it’s not really about me, you know what I’m saying? I’m just a player with a name. It’s really about the team. Whatever I can do to ensure the team wins games, I mean, if the other four guys are playing well because I’m playing well, that’s great. It’s a five-man game, it’s not really about me at the end of the day. It’s about the team, and what we can do to change things around.

When you spoke to Patrick Ewing after you made your announcement, what was his reaction and what was that conversation like?

Coach Patrick, he was excited. He just thanked me for trusting him. This decision is all about trust. He trusted me and I trusted him, so he was just excited about me trusting him to coach me at the end of the day, so that was about it.

Now that you are set to return to Washington, DC for college, what are you most looking forward to about being back in the area?

I’m just looking forward to coming in there. A lot of people have been talking about that it’s a great recruiting class, and for me, personally, it’s just the class looking forward to changing things around at the end of the day. Looking forward to proving to people that, yeah, we are a great recruiting class, and me personally, being among that class, I’m just going to come in there and be a leader, and make sure we win games. That’s all I’m coming there for, is to try and win.

With the impressive recruiting class coming in, what do you think should be the team’s expectations in 2021?

Championship. Period.

Georgetown has two other Nigerian natives on its team in Qudus Wahab and Timothy Ighoefe. Were you aware of that during your recruitment and will having those two on the team help ease your transition into a new school and team?

Not really. As a human being, most times you want to be uncomfortable. Because when you get too comfortable, that’s when you feel relaxed, so for me it’s not really about them making me feel comfortable, or being Nigerian. Nigerian or not Nigerian, I’m just going there to work.

Now that you’re a Hoya, I assume you have seen some of their games this season. What are your thoughts on what you’ve seen from the team so far?

So far, so good. I’ve seen some of their games. They have a pretty good team. It’s just their ability to close out games, because they’ve been in games where they can win those games, it’s just about making the right decision and taking the right shots. And you got to have players who can close out games. You can have the lead, but this game is a game of runs, and teams can come back on you, so you got to have those players that can close out games.

Like I said, they have a pretty good team, but as time goes on, I think they will figure it out.

You mentioned earlier about being comfortable with being uncomfortable. Where did you learn that mindset from and how has it helped to get you where you are today?

Coming from DC, coming here [to Missouri], it was tough, trying to move from Washington, DC and my old school and coming to a new place, but that really helped. Now you understand that you might be here today, and tomorrow you might not be. So you really have to get used to not being comfortable with a situation, because you don’t know if you’re going to be in that situation the next day.

But when you relax, when the time comes for you to go that you’re so relaxed, it’s hard for you to leave. Now, you’re basing your decision based on the place you are at [currently]. You feel comfortable in the area, but sometimes that might not be the best thing for you.

That’s just where I am. Making sure it doesn’t matter being in a situation, comfortable or not, I’m there, ready to go.

The NBA is obviously a goal of yours. Do you anticipate being at Georgetown for only one year or are you open to spending multiple years at Georgetown?

It’s a goal, like you said, to get to the NBA. If it’s going to take one year to get there, why not? Opportunities only come just once, you only have one shot. If there’s a chance for you to go to the NBA in one year, yes, it would be a good thing. But you just got to keep working until the blessings of the Lord will be upon you.

When we last spoke, you and Shawn said that the resume of the head coach would be a key factor in your decision, specifically what they have done with players in their program in terms of developing their game for the next level. Patrick Ewing does not have an equal resume to a guy like Tom Crean yet, in terms of wins and losses, and also in terms of who he has sent to the NBA. So with that said, what made you want to play for him over Crean?

Shawn Harmon: In analyzing the decision, that was a huge part of the decision. Academics, for me, was a major, major, major part of the decision. Academics is a major part of the decision for me because my parents raised me that way.

So the academic piece was major for me, because at the end of the day, one day Aminu is not going to be playing basketball, and he has to build his empire based upon his knowledge, and that’s key for me.

Now in terms of the resume of the coaches, I would say this. We did talk about previous players that those coaches had coached. Now, I’ve never shared this with him [Tom Crean], but I had a conversation with him, and the conversation was in regards to experience and the ability to help a player get to that next level.

Tom Crean had hired on his staff Michael Curry, who played in the NBA. He was a coach in the NBA and was a coach at Florida Atlantic, and this was one of our final Zoom meetings. He said, “Shawn, we hired Michael Curry because of his experience. And what better person to help our players prepare for the NBA than somebody who has been there.”

Now, that answer he gave me, I had to look at it two ways. I said, “Well, you have a point, Coach.” What better person to prepare somebody for the NBA than somebody who has been there. So I said, well, Patrick Ewing has been there, one of the top-50 players of all time in the NBA. He’s been a coach, he was a player representative I believe, he’s been in a lot of different positions at the professional level. So when I looked at that statement that he [Crean] said, I said, well that applies both ways. And for me, I’m not saying it was a factor, but I had to look at it, not just in terms of players that they might have coached and gotten to the next level, but the ability to open up doors and avenues for a player to get to that level.

Again, Georgetown, the academic piece, the international piece, and all of that. That’s a no-brainer. On the basketball side, because you have to look at things on both sides, there has to be a level of balance. Academics and sports. And I thought Georgetown was a better situation that met both ends, academics, basketball, and you’re talking about a guy who is top-50 all-time in the NBA, has coached at the NBA level, who can pick up a phone and call pretty much anybody at that level. So that had to factor in too.

We didn’t feel like we were going to be missing out, in terms of his [Ewing’s] resume.

Aminu, where was the importance of an education instilled in you?

Our parents, they didn’t really have the opportunity to go to school, because back in the old days they didn’t have the chance to go to school, they couldn’t afford it. For them, it’s like, “I didn’t have the chance to go to school, but I’m going to make sure my kids are educated and have a degree.” So that has been the case, for most African parents, they always push for that education, and it just rubs off on the kids. They understand that, “OK, I got to do everything I can to get this degree,” so one day when the kids have their own family, it’ll be the same way.

When was the last time you have seen your parents?

It’s been a while since I’ve seen them, but we talk on the phone. If I end up making it to the NBA, probably that’s when it will be a good time for them to come. I’ve not seen them since I came to the United States.

Shawn, how proud of Aminu are you for him getting to this point?

I’m very proud of Aminu. Him deciding on Georgetown and the commitment to Georgetown is huge. But one thing that I think, regardless of what situation Aminu has been in, I’ve always tried to put him in situations where he’s being challenged. And I know he talked earlier about not getting comfortable. I know that’s something we talk about all the time, saying hey, not being comfortable is going to push you to be great. That’s one of the biggest things, I told him when he got off the plane [from Nigeria], I expected greatness. He probably didn’t understand the level or the measure to which I was speaking. I wasn’t just speaking about it from a basketball standpoint. I want him to be the best person that he can be.

We talk about vision. We talk about his career after basketball, and while he’s playing basketball. We talk about impacting lives. We talk about giving back to people who have given to you.

Georgetown fit the vision. It really fit the vision in terms of helping to put him in position, educate him, and also to be able to intermingle and network with people that can help him in terms of his vision, and getting some of those things accomplished.

He knows that it’s just beginning. It’s a step, but he knows it’s just beginning and he knows he has so much work left to do. I think one thing that I always try to tell him is don’t let people say because you’re young you can’t accomplish things. You can do it while you’re young. I try to make sure he understands all the things he’s capable of, and to have him always bet on himself and know that he can get things done. If he comes up short, he comes up short, but give it 100% all the time and hope for the best in those situations, but I think Georgetown really fit the vision in terms of things I’ve talked to him about. I want him to be a leader, I want him to make an impact.

Aminu, what is your message to the Georgetown fan base heading into next season?

At this point, the only message is just, “Championship”, to be honest. It’s going to be great, to come in there the first year and to win a championship. With a bunch of freshmen, it will be hard to do that, but just imagine coming in there the first year and winning a championship. It would just be a great feeling for the city and for the school as well.

Harmon: Tell the fans, get ready, get ready, get ready. We’re excited, I know the city is excited. I got people from DC calling me.

Aminu has always been in situations where it’s about a turnaround. When he was at [Archbishop] Carroll, they hadn’t won a game the year before he got there, they turned it around; he came to Greenwood, and in 74 years of hosting their own tournament, they hadn’t won it, and they just won it two years consecutively. They hadn’t won a state championship, and they won a state championship.

I think with the kids that are coming in, and some of the players that are there currently, they can get this thing turned around.