Exploring Georgetown's Search for a 2022 Wing
As August approaches, and AAU season winds down, it's still not clear where Georgetown stands in its search for a wing in the Class of 2022.
It was one year ago, as of July 24, that Jordan Riley committed to Georgetown. Jalin Billingsley committed shortly thereafter as well, on August 1. At that time, things were off to a great, fast start with Georgetown’s 2021 recruiting class. It was nice to get some talent in the fold before summer’s end.
That hasn’t been the case this summer so far for the Hoyas, who have yet to receive a commitment from a 2022 player. That’s OK, because there is plenty of time, and they only have two, maybe three open roster spots to fill for next season. We’re not here to discuss the timing of commitments. That will sort itself out.
But what is worth discussion is Georgetown’s search for a wing player in the Class of 2022. It’s gotten a bit dizzying, and it’s worth breaking down who they’ve been in on, and where things have gone with certain players, for better or for worse.
The first peculiar thing to happen this summer was when Tyrell Ward never took his official visit to Georgetown. Ward was reportedly set to take an official visit to the Hilltop on June 4, but that wound up never happening.
For a player who once said going to Georgetown would be “a dream come true”, it’s a real head-scratcher why Ward would wind up not visiting at all.
Was it the team or the player who cancelled the visit? We don’t know that. But it’s weird for things to go dark with a talented local prospect who has indicated interest in playing for your team and would fill a position of need, like things did between Ward and Georgetown. It’s just plain weird.
It didn’t help matters that Ward wound up committing to Xavier, a decision that was attributed in part to the Musketeers hiring Jordan Brooks, a young coach from the DMV who coached previously at Howard, as Director of Recruiting. Sure seems like a guy like Georgetown would want to consider finding a spot for on their staff, but we digress.
So Ward is off the table. Bummer! But the Hoyas had been shifting resources in recent weeks leading up to Ward’s commitment, and watching other 2022 wings, so the writing had been on the wall.
That brings us to Cam Whitmore, another 2022 DMV prospect who is ranked higher than Ward. The Hoyas have been on him hard this summer, and he included them in his Top 10 schools a few weeks ago.
Whitmore is an incredible athlete with an NBA-level frame, and would be just as good of an addition to Georgetown as Ward would be, despite being a slightly different player.
But he has also been considered a Maryland lean for a while now, and has UNC pushing hard for him too. The Tar Heels had their whole staff in two weekends ago to watch Whitmore play. Even if Maryland winds up not being the pick for Whitmore, it’s hard to see Georgetown beating out UNC for any prospect, if the Tar Heels really want a player.
Additionally, if you look at some of the comments from some other DMV hoopers on Whitmore’s Top 10 Instagram post, it leads one to believe that there is a leader in the clubhouse for Whitmore, and it ain’t the Hoyas.
Jaylen Martin is an explosive 6-foot-6 scorer who the Hoyas offered a while back, and had been prioritizing earlier in the year. Certainly, there was interest from Martin’s side in Georgetown, and the feeling seemed mutual. But the two sides didn’t schedule a visit for Martin to Georgetown this summer, and while the coaching staff has been at a few of Martin’s AAU games this summer with Nightrydas Elite, they have not been prioritizing him like they once appeared to be. Things appear to have cooled off between Martin and Georgetown, which is disappointing, and mildly surprising.
So, Ward is off the table, Georgetown’s chances with Whitmore, at present, do not look great, and it seems like Jaylen Martin is exploring other options.
Step right up, Christian Watson!
Watson is a really good player. The rankings are taking some time to catch up to the St. John’s College High School product, but getting Watson, ranked #115 by 247Sports and #88 by ESPN, would be a great get for Georgetown. He took an unofficial visit to the Hilltop in late June, as well.
But the Hoyas are playing catchup here, to some degree. Providence has been on Watson for a long time, as has Xavier (although that has cooled now that they have Ward). In a July 2 article, Watson said that Providence, Xavier, and Rutgers were the three programs “in hot pursuit”. It seems that the Hoyas didn’t really kick into high gear for Watson until this summer, which is OK, but just means they need to really outwork the competition for Watson from here on out.
Georgetown has definitely stepped up so far in July, watching Watson play with DC Premier on the UAA circuit nearly every week this month. They clearly have begun to prioritize him, perhaps a sign that they know they may need to look elsewhere with Ward off the board and Whitmore being a tough pull.
This weekend, the Hoyas even got a Crystal Ball prediction for Watson from recruiting analyst Dushawn London. It was a 3 confidence level, so it’s hard to get too excited, but it’s still better than nothing, and shows that the Hoyas are absolutely in contention here with the 6-foot-6 DC native.
We also can’t forget about Masai Troutman.
Georgetown excels with players who lead private recruitments, and Troutman certainly fits that category. Troutman, who plays at St. Andrews Episcopal School, took an unofficial visit to Georgetown in mid-June, and has been in contact with the Hoyas for a while now. The athletic wing is a good scorer with a lot of potential, and doesn’t have a crazy long list of offers currently, with Florida, Seton Hall, and Indiana being Georgetown’s main competition here. This feels like a player that Georgetown could land, if they’re ready to take his commitment.
Georgetown has also been checking in on some other wings that makes you pause for a second, though, and wonder what their strategy is. Players like Justyn Fernandez, Prince Aligbe, Chris Livingston, Ryan Dunn (who they have not yet offered), and Julian Phillips.
Certainly, they could just be doing their due diligence. Fair enough.
At the same time, it’s hard to see Georgetown realistically landing anyone in the above group except for Fernandez, a teammate of Christian Watson’s and a player whose recruitment has really picked up in the last two weeks, and *maybe* Aligbe. Fernandez is from Richmond, Virginia, and is another strong scorer who could play at the 2 or 3 position.
Could the Hoyas pull in both Fernandez and Watson? It’s not that far-fetched. The coaching staff has been in to watch DC Premier’s 17U team play a *ton* in July, perhaps more than any other AAU program this month.
Aligbe has been in contact with Georgetown for a long time, but did not list the Hoyas recently in this article as a team that was involved with him. This comes after last weekend, when Ewing was in to see Aligbe play, which was mildly surprising after not seeing him play much before that. Aligbe is leading a quiet recruitment though, and said recently he was hoping to build a “stronger relationship” with the Georgetown staff, so there could be some potential here still.
Livingston, ranked #6 overall in the Class of 2022, listed the Hoyas in his Final 11, but hasn’t taken a visit there yet, and appears to be focusing on the blue bloods.
Phillips had Georgetown in to watch him a couple of weeks ago. The Hoyas first offered him back in late January. The 6-foot-8 wing is a great shooter, but the Hoyas haven’t had a lot of constant contact with him. It’s hard to see them beating out teams like Kansas and LSU if they aren’t going to make him top priority.
Georgetown has certainly cast a wide net in their search for a wing player in this recruiting class. There has been disappointment already (looking at you, Tyrell Ward), but there is still top talent available at the position that the Hoyas can make a push for.
At times, it has felt like they are throwing stuff at the wall, and seeing what sticks (e.g. watching Julian Phillips), but Ewing’s track record as a recruiter is strong enough that he deserves some benefit of the doubt when it comes to who he is watching and when he is watching them.
Could Christian Watson be the guy? If we were assigning betting odds, he would be the favorite right now. But there’s still some time to go in this race and others, and Georgetown needs to be consistent in keeping in contact with these guys if they want to reel one of them in. They can’t let up just because the live sessions are wrapping up. Stay tuned.