Gone Shopping: Analyzing Georgetown's Current Roster Needs
Looking at where Georgetown's roster currently stands, and where Ed Cooley could look to add to in the coming weeks.
In what has become an offseason tradition on the Hilltop, Georgetown will have a ton of new faces on next year’s team, with Ed Cooley replacing Patrick Ewing and looking to shape the team roster to fit his preferred style of play.
While Georgetown fans continue to wait for the next shoe to drop in the transfer portal for Cooley and the Hoyas, here’s a look at Georgetown’s current roster, and what positions they need to fill in the transfer portal or through high school recruiting.
Roster Breakdown
Current Players (Years of eligibility left):
Jay Heath, Guard (1)
Wayne Bristol Jr., Wing (2)
Ryan Mutombo, Center (2)
Akok Akok, Forward (2?)
Drew Fielder, Forward/Center (4)
This list could change, as we don’t necessarily have final decisions on a return for any of Heath, Bristol Jr., Mutombo, or Akok, but that is who is left on the roster from this past season that hasn’t decided to transfer yet.
From what I am hearing, Heath wants to return next season for Georgetown, and Akok is trending in a similar direction, although there is still some clarity needed with him. I do not know what Mutombo or Bristol Jr. plan to do.
Roster Composition
Guard (1):
Jay Heath
Wing (1):
Wayne Bristol Jr.
Big (3):
Akok Akok
Ryan Mutombo
Drew Fielder
Roster Needs
Georgetown currently has eight open scholarship spots to fill for next year’s roster. Ed Cooley essentially has a blank slate to create a team that is well-suited to how he wants his team to play.
Note: The below chart is by no means certain, and involves some speculation and guesswork on my part, but is meant to show what holes on the roster Ed Cooley likely has to fill heading into next season.
Starters:
PG: ?
SG: Jay Heath
SF: ?
PF: Akok Akok
C: ?
Key Reserves
Backup PG: ?
Backup Swingman: ? and ? and Wayne Bristol Jr.
Backup Big: ? / Drew Fielder
Third Big: Ryan Mutombo
I feel comfortable moving into the 2023-24 season with Jay Heath and Akok Akok penciled in to the starting lineup for Georgetown. Both players had successful first seasons, individually, as Hoyas, and would be good pieces to add to next year’s team. If either player were in the portal coming from another school, Hoya fans would likely be advocating for Georgetown to pursue them anyways.
Heath, who averaged 12.3 point per game this past season on 41/37/77 shooting splits, can provide a three-point shooting threat and some scoring punch, which are assets for any lineup. His ability to handle the ball should not be discounted, either.
Akok can help form the defensive backbone of Cooley’s team, and on a better team, will be able to focus his efforts on defense, and be more opportunistic offensively. His three-point shooting percentage suffered this season, finishing at a career-worst 28.2%. Despite that, he took the most threes per game in his career (2.7 per game). If he can be more selective in his shot-taking, and focus on playing around the rim, his game should flourish more under a new head coach.
When it comes to Wayne Bristol Jr. and Ryan Mutombo, it’s unknown how Cooley views either player.
Mutombo was frequently DNP’d by Patrick Ewing in his second season at Georgetown, and his ability to have consistent success at the high major level in college basketball remains a question mark. The advanced statistics love him, but the eye test still shows a player who lacks the functional strength and lateral quickness to be anything more than a deep bench player for a high major program.
Bristol Jr. is another question mark for this team. He was brought in to be a sharpshooter off the bench for this team this season, but finished the season shooting 31.1% from three, and only took 1.5 three-pointers per game. He averaged 3.3 points per game, while receiving an average of 14 minutes per game. That’s not going to cut it.
Bristol Jr., at 6-foot-6, would be a good depth piece on the bench for Cooley to keep around, despite his struggles in his debut season at Georgetown. It would be ill-advised for Cooley to count on Bristol Jr. to fill a key role off the bench to start the year, however, which is why it makes sense for Georgetown to look to add a versatile, two-way scorer(s) off the bench.
Possible Additions
Dontrez Styles visiting Georgetown on Thursday
UNC wing Dontrez Styles will be taking a visit to Georgetown on Thursday and announcing his decision on Sunday, according to Jamie Shaw of On3 Sports. Georgetown has plenty of minutes available at the wing position, and could offer a starting role to Styles, who played in 15 games for the Tar Heels this season and averaged only 1.4 points and 0.9 rebounds per game.
Styles was ranked #66 in the country in the Class of 2021, so the talent is there, but it never translated to production on the court at UNC.
What’s not known here is how Georgetown views Styles. If they view him as a starter, that’s taking a sizeable risk, expecting someone who played so sparingly at North Carolina to become a steady contributor at a key position for an Ed Cooley-coached team.
If he is more of a sixth man/super-sub, and Georgetown is pursuing a better talent at the wing position in the portal, then adding Styles to your rotation would be a great move.
Let’s see how this develops this week, as Georgetown will have to beat out NC State, the only other school Styles has visited, if they want to bring him to the Hilltop.
Possible starting lineup option?
IF— and I’m not saying all these players are going to commit here, but humor me— Georgetown were to land the following three players, which it has all been heavily linked to at various points in the last week, this is what a potential starting lineup could look like for Georgetown next season.
PG: Jayden Epps
SG: Jay Heath
SF: Dontrez Styles
PF: Akok Akok
C: Hunter Dickinson
Key Reserves: ? / ? / ? / Wayne Bristol Jr. / Drew Fielder / Ryan Mutombo
A lot depends on if Dickinson comes to Georgetown— and that is no sure thing— but that’s a roster that can compete in the upper half of the Big East right away.
Potential bench additions for Georgetown?
This is where Ed Cooley can get creative. Could he keep the last one or two scholarship spots open for a talented transfer or two who would have to sit out a year first due to NCAA rules? Does he bring in another big man to compete for minutes off the bench with Ryan Mutombo?
Backup point guard is a position I am curious to see how Cooley addresses. Could a player like Rowan Brumbaugh, a former 4-star recruit who grew up right outside of the front gates of Georgetown, and didn’t see the floor as a freshman at Texas this year, be convinced to come back closer to home?
What other options exist in the portal at the position? And what happens if Jayden Epps doesn’t choose Georgetown? It will be fascinating to see.
Ed Cooley has a lot of flexibility here when it comes to putting together his roster at Georgetown.