Hilltop Happenings: What I'm Hearing
Player visits, assistant coach rumors...there's a lot happening on the Hilltop right now.
The gumbo is starting to simmer on the Hilltop, with a flurry of visits from top transfers to Georgetown in the last week, and a couple more potentially to come. While fans will likely need to wait until next week for any more incoming transfers to be announced, next year’s roster should come into clearer focus sooner rather than later.
Here is what I have gathered over the last couple weeks.
Jordan Brooks is the leader in the clubhouse for the final assistant position.
Jordan Brooks’ name has been tied to Georgetown for over a month now. The DC native and former Director of Recruiting at Xavier has continued to remain on the open market, and Sean Miller will not be retaining him on his staff at Xavier. While multiple other names have been raised as potential candidates during this time, Brooks’ name has consistently been brought up in nearly every conversation I have had with sources near the program, as well as in the DMV basketball scene.
While Ron Bailey of HoyaReport.com reported today that Brooks is already a “full assistant” at Georgetown, I do not believe it is a done deal yet. Brooks is widely considered by many to be the frontrunner for the final assistant spot on Patrick Ewing’s staff, but the contract is not yet signed, sealed, and delivered. When it is, Georgetown will make the official announcement, just like it did with Kevin Nickelberry.
A source with knowledge of the situation said that Georgetown is intent on Brooks bringing in 2022 four-star wing Tyrell Ward (DeMatha High School / New World AAU) with him to Georgetown, and have expressed that desire to Brooks. This is what happened when Brooks got hired at Xavier, with Ward then initially committing to Xavier before de-committing in March after Travis Steele was let go.
It may not be as easy this time around, however, to pair Ward with Brooks. Ward had an in-home visit with Matt McMahon and LSU this week, and is set to take a visit to Virginia Tech, where his former high school coach at DeMatha, Mike Jones, is associate head coach.
Hoyas in good position with Marcus Hammond
Marcus Hammond was initially considered a Rutgers lean even before he scheduled his visits, but things shifted once Rutgers took Loyola (Md.) guard Cam Spencer over Hammond, who then cancelled his visit to Rutgers.
Hammond, who averaged 18.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game at Niagara last season, is set to visit Notre Dame this weekend, and Kansas State at the end of April, according to Adam Zagoria.
By all accounts, Hammond and his family greatly enjoyed their trip to the Hilltop, and sources inside the program like where they stand with Hammond. But…
Georgetown’s top target at point guard is Jahmir Young
This is where things get a little tricky. A source with direct knowledge of Georgetown’s plans in the transfer portal said that Jahmir Young is the program’s top target at point guard this offseason.
Young visited Georgetown on Sunday night, dining with members of the coaching staff at Clyde’s on M Street, per local spies in the neighborhood. He was also back on the Hilltop on Monday for Part Two of his visit.
Young released a top-6 list of schools via Tipton Edits on Tuesday that included Georgetown, but the post was subsequently deleted, with Young tweeting the following:
Young is seen as a Maryland lean, which means Georgetown has to do some risk calculation to see if they want to wait for Young to go through the draft process, then hope he returns to school, and then hope he chooses Georgetown over the favored Terps. That’s a lot of hoping and praying.
Can they risk to wait for him and let players like Marcus Hammond or Antoine Davis go? Probably not. But they want Young, and it will be interesting to see if they try to up their pursuit of him to get him to withdraw from the draft and come to Georgetown. An interesting possibility (albeit unlikely): Could Young and Marcus Hammond play together if Brandon Murray could slot in at the 3? Maybe.
At this point, I would call Young to Georgetown unlikely, but not entirely out of the question still. The addition of Jordan Brooks to the staff could give them a boost with Young, who has a relationship with Brooks, too.
Georgetown set to make an impact addition at the 4
Between UConn transfer Akok Akok, who visited on Wednesday, and Oklahoma State transfer Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, who is visiting today, the Hoyas look primed to secure a commitment from at least one of these two players in the next week or two. The guess here is that Akok Akok will be the pick, but Akok still has a couple of visits left to take, to Pittsburgh and West Virginia.
There is still the (slim) possibility of Norchad Omier coming to Georgetown. The talented Arkansas State transfer would give Georgetown a talented scorer in the frontcourt, but the Hoyas pushed back Omier’s visit to Georgetown, previously scheduled for April 21-22, according to Jeff Goodman.
That decision is certainly perplexing, but it could indicate Georgetown’s level of confidence in landing Akok or Moncrieffe right now. It could also mean Georgetown has caught a whiff of the rumors that Omier is a Miami lean, and is choosing to prioritize other options instead right now. We’ll see.
What on earth is going on at center?
It has been very quiet on the center front for Georgetown in the transfer portal. The lack of visits so far is somewhat disconcerting, considering this is the weakest position group on the Georgetown roster right now, and must be addressed before next season.
Georgetown continues to pursue LSU transfer center Efton Reid, and is pushing to get him in for a visit in the next week or two. Northwestern transfer center Ryan Young is another center who the Hoyas have expressed interest in.
If Georgetown can’t secure a commitment from Reid or Young, it’s hard to tell where they go from there. NC State center Manny Bates took a visit to Butler, and the Bulldogs look to be the favorite there as of now, according to ace recruiting insider Andrew Slater.
This position group definitely bears monitoring in the next month. Georgetown needs to make some sort of move here.
Dante Harris expected back— as of now.
There has been considerable noise coming from campus about Dante Harris potentially entering the transfer portal this offseason. As of now, according to a team source, the program expects Harris to return to Georgetown for his junior season. The same source also cautioned that this situation could change, depending on which veteran guard Georgetown brings in. If Harris were to lose his starting spot, that could potentially alter his plans for next season, but as of now, the program is operating with the belief that Harris will be a Hoya for the 2022-23 season.
Notably, Harris was present at Wednesday’s Senior Recognition Event for the men’s basketball program inside Gaston Hall.
