Rumors and Rumblings: The Latest on Georgetown's Activity in the Transfer Portal
Ed Cooley and his staff are hot on the trail of several talented transfers in the portal. Here's where things stand.
Ed Cooley and his coaching staff got off to a nice start this week with the additions of Drew Fielder (2023) and Kayvaun Mulready (2024) on Tuesday. But Georgetown is very active in the transfer portal right now too, and has multiple lines in the water going after some big fish as Cooley looks to fill at least eight spots on next season’s roster.
The rumors have gotten a bit outrageous, with a couple of fake burner accounts tweeting that Bronny James will be committing to Georgetown.
But there are other rumors about other talented players considering Georgetown that do have some legs to them.
Let’s discuss.
Transfer Targets
Here is every player that Georgetown has been linked to publicly by reputable reporters (Rothstein, Weingarten, Tipton, etc.) so far in the portal.
Zack Austin, 6’7” Forward, High Point University
Darren Buchanan, 6’7” Forward, Virginia Tech
Jalen DeLoach, 6’9” Forward, VCU
Jayden Epps, 6’2” Guard, Illinois
Keyshawn Hall, 6’7” Guard, UNLV
Zach Hicks, 6’7” Forward, Temple
DJ Horne, 6’1” Guard, Arizona State
Graham Ike, 6’9” PF/C, Wyoming
EJ Jarvis, 6’8” PF/C, Yale
Eddie Lampkin, 6’11” Center, TCU
Chance McMillian, 6’3” Guard, Grand Canyon
Keyon Menifield, 6’1” Guard, Washington
Kadin Shedrick, 6’11” Center, Virginia
AJ Storr, 6’6” Guard, St. John’s
Dontrez Styles, 6’6” Guard, UNC
Rumblings
A Potential Return Home for Justin Moore and Hunter Dickinson?
John Fanta, the Mayor of the Big East, made waves on Thursday when he went on a FOX Sports podcast and mentioned some rumors he is hearing around college basketball. Chief among them were regarding the futures of Villanova guard Justin Moore and Michigan center Hunter Dickinson, who both attended DeMatha High School.
After picking up my jaw off of the floor after listening to this part of the interview, I reached out to some folks in the DMV who are tuned into the AAU scene, particularly with Team Takeover, where Moore and Dickinson both played.
What I learned: Moore and Dickinson are both seriously looking at transferring from their respective schools, and are intrigued by the possibility of going closer to home and playing for a school like Georgetown or Maryland.
In Dickinson’s case, he has a prior relationship with Ed Cooley, from when Cooley recruited him at Providence, and Dickinson is clearly a big fan.
From what I gather, Dickinson and Maryland are not expected to be a compatible match for each other, if Dickinson does decide to transfer. Maryland is not expected to pursue Dickinson hard. That would leave Georgetown, coached by Dickinson’s favorite head coach in college basketball aside from his current head coach, as the best option for Dickinson, if he wants to play closer to home.
Right now though, it seems that Dickinson is in more of an exploratory mode, and may just be gauging what else is out there for him, especially in terms of NIL money. Georgetown has made it known they are going to be increasing their NIL spending though, so Dickinson’s price tag may not scare them off.
John Fanta said he still would guess that Dickinson ultimately returns to Michigan, but it’s clear that Dickinson is looking around right now, and Georgetown is expected to check in with him about a potential move to the Hilltop.
Moore seems likelier to transfer than Dickinson at this juncture, but Georgetown’s chances with him are murkier. Would Moore, a beloved Villanova player, really go play for one of Villanova’s greatest Big East rivals, even if it means getting to play closer to home? Perhaps if Georgetown were to somehow get Dickinson, they could pitch Moore on reuniting with his former high school and AAU teammate.
Overall, I expect Moore to transfer, while Dickinson feels like a coin flip right now. But there are certainly legs to the rumors that popped up today from John Fanta, and these two will be ones to watch if and when they go portaling.
Jayden Epps Visiting Georgetown Soon
Epps, a former Friar commit before switching to Illinois, officially entered the portal on Tuesday. Hilltop Hoops was the first to publicly link Epps to Georgetown, and buzz has continued to build since then that Epps is likely headed to Georgetown.
Now, according to a source close to Epps, the 6-foot-1 guard is set to take a visit to Georgetown once the dead period ends. The same source says that Epps will also be taking a visit to NC State too. A decision is expected in the next two to three weeks.
According to a different source on Wednesday, NC State currently believes that Georgetown is the leader in the race for Epps, but is still going to try to convince Epps. While the race isn’t over yet, Georgetown is in a strong position for Epps currently, and the fit for Epps on the Hilltop makes a lot of sense.
Bronny James Isn’t Coming to Georgetown
First, I want to explain why Bronny James is not coming to Georgetown, despite what several fake burner accounts would have you believe in the last 48 hours.
a.) Georgetown is a Jordan school. LeBron is a Nike athlete (yes, Jordan falls under Nike, but they are distinct brands). The other schools that Bronny is rumored to be considering, Oregon, USC, and Ohio State, are all Nike schools. In this era of recruiting, the brand of the team a player commits to can matter when recruiting high-profile players who may already be affiliated with a shoe brand from their AAU team or from an NIL brand.
b.) Ed Cooley is not in LA right now.
c.) Why would LeBron have his kid go to school on the East Coast when he is playing on the West Coast? Minus Ohio State, where LeBron would have gone if he did go to college, Bronny has been focused on USC and Oregon. Going to Georgetown would be quite the geographic change from where his search has been focused on.
d.) Bronny is going to have to commit to a program sooner rather than later. Georgetown would have a LOT of time to make up for if it wanted to actually jump in this race. It just isn’t realistic to see them making up that gap in time and relationship-building that they have missed out on thus far.
Could Georgetown reach out to Bronny’s camp? Could Ed Cooley test those waters in an aggressive attempt to get Georgetown back in the national conversation? I actually wouldn’t rule that out, based on what I have heard about Cooley’s recruiting ambitions now that he has the resources that Georgetown has to offer. But it is virtually impossible to envision Bronny James ultimately committing to Georgetown. So let’s all agree to stop talking about that now…
Thank you for the great updates! Do you have any insight in who might be coming back from last season's roster? I felt like some of the players were talented but uncoached with led to a lot of undisciplined play. Do you know what the universty's obligation is to them?