Georgetown's Search for a 2022 Wing Hits a Dead End

With Christian Watson committing to Miami, and Chris Livingston joining Kentucky, where do the Hoyas go now for their 2022 recruiting class?

Georgetown’s pursuit of top-five 2022 wing Chris Livingston fell short this week, as the Akron native announced his decision to attend the University of Kentucky next year, after a couple of weeks of speculation that the Wildcats were the choice.

With Christian Watson committing to Miami a few weeks prior, and the Livingston to Georgetown pipe dream gone, Georgetown’s options for adding a wing to its 2022 recruiting class are quickly dwindling.

Ryan Dunn, a 6’7” wing from Long Island who the Hoyas offered at the beginning of August, just committed to Virginia this afternoon, so he is off the board too.

Jaylen Martin, a scoring wing from Tallahassee, Florida who had been in heavy contact with Georgetown earlier this year, decided to go pro and sign with the Overtime Elite League.

Justyn Fernandez, a four-star wing from Richmond, Virginia, just committed to George Mason. The Hoyas tried to get in here late, and watched several DC Premier games featuring Fernandez and Watson this summer, but weren’t able to make any inroads with Fernandez.

And of course, Tyrell Ward, Cam Whitmore, and Judah Mintz are no longer possibilities. Don’t need to go into detail there.

So…where does Georgetown go from here? Do they just shift their focus to recruiting 2023 kids and wait for the transfer market to rev up in the summer? Or do they circle back with some 2022 kids they hosted for visits earlier this summer?

The list of available wings that Georgetown could still potentially make a play for is very small at this point.

Prince Aligbe , a top-75 player in the Class of 2022 from Minnesota, recently said he’s working on a visit with Georgetown, but also has visits already set up with California, Boston College, and Ohio State. Aligbe would absolutely be a great recruiting win for Georgetown, but it’s hard to say that Georgetown could be considered a favorite right now.

Masai Troutman took an unofficial visit to Georgetown this summer and has led a very quiet recruitment. The St. Andrew’s Episcopal School/Team Takeover wing is an under-the-radar talent, but does hold offers from schools like Indiana, Seton Hall, Xavier, Florida, George Washington, Northeastern, and Miami (Ohio).

Could the Hoyas circle back here and take a commitment from the unranked 6’5” wing? It’s not out of the question, as Georgetown seems to do best with these types of players who lead quiet recruitments. Troutman isn’t the top option for the Hoyas, but he could develop into a starting 2 or 3 with scoring upside if he continues to develop.

After that, the cupboard is pretty bare when it comes to 2022 wings. Which brings us to another position that we know Patrick Ewing loves to keep well-stocked: center.

Georgetown was in to watch Favour Aire this week during a Bishop McNamara workout. Aire took an unofficial visit to the Hilltop in early June, and is a realistic recruiting target for Georgetown at this point.

Ohio State had been considered a leader for Aire earlier this summer, thanks to Aire’s connection with Ohio State assistant Tony Skinn, but the Buckeyes landed 2022 center Felix Okpara in late July, effectively eliminating Ohio State from contention.

With OSU off the board, that leaves Georgetown and Rutgers as the two programs that Aire has visited so far.

Christian Watson had said after he committed to Miami that he was going to try and recruit Aire to the Hurricanes, and Miami had staff in to watch Aire this week as well, but Aire has yet to schedule anything with Miami.

In a July interview with 247Sports, Aire had this to say about Georgetown:

"The visit was a great one because I got to talk to Patrick Ewing. They have a great big-man developer over there. If you want to learn how to play in the league as a big, the best place to go is where there is someone who was one of the greatest of all-time at the position. He tells me how he can show me how I can get better and make it to the next level."

Aire’s recruitment feels like one that Georgetown can win, but do the Hoyas need a center in the Class of 2022?

If Aire were to commit, that would give Georgetown a projected four centers on next year’s team: Timothy Ighoefe (senior), Malcolm Wilson (senior), Ryan Mutombo (sophomore), and Favour Aire (freshman).

Is Georgetown best suited bringing in a fourth center for next year’s team, or using that roster spot for a scoring wing, either a freshman or a transfer?

Based on the roster makeup for 2022-23, the Hoyas would likely be best suited bringing in a wing, but you absolutely cannot rule out Georgetown looking for a commitment from Aire and loading up at the center position again.

The smart play here, however, might be sitting out the rest of this live period with 2022 recruits, and instead waiting for the transfer market to develop in the late spring.

Georgetown likely has at least two roster spots to fill for next year, and using those spots on impact transfers could be the boost that takes Georgetown into the upper echelon of Big East teams in 2022-23.

Instead of using the remaining scholarships they have left on a developmental wing like Troutman, or a center like Aire who wouldn’t have a huge role in 2022-23, could Georgetown instead target a veteran scoring guard to replace Don Carey and a shot-making forward who could provide length and scoring in the Hoyas’ frontcourt, via the transfer market? It may be the right play, and would be a good dose of experience to add to what would still be a young Georgetown team in 2022-23.

At the end of the day, how good the 2022-23 team is may depend on the Hoyas retaining members of this year’s team, like Jordan Riley and Aminu Mohammed, rather than adding newcomers in 2022. Roster continuity has remained a challenge for Patrick Ewing during his head coaching tenure (as it has for plenty of other schools), and keeping the core of his roster heading into 2022 could be what takes Georgetown to the next level.