During the Ewing era, it seemed like every season came with question marks. Whether that be from constant roster turnover or off-the-court drama, uncertainty was a staple of Ewing’s coaching tenure. Now with Coach Cooley at the helm, Hoya fans should be able to expect less of that going forward. However, as with anything new, Year 1 of the Cooley Era comes with some questions.
How will the frontcourt hold up?
Georgetown’s biggest question mark heading into this season lies with the frontcourt. After almost kicking off their inaugural offseason with what ended up being a falsely-reported commitment from TCU center Eddie Lampkin, Cooley and his staff ended the offseason having brought in just two true frontcourt pieces: Fairfield transfer Supreme Cook and 2023 recruit Drew Fielder.
Kansas State transfer Ismael Massoud will add some more much-needed height on the wing, but he is expected to miss the first month or two of the season with a broken hand. With Massoud out, Cooley will likely roll out a starting frontcourt of Supreme Cook and Drew Fielder, leaving only Ryan Mutombo on the bench. Massoud will be back for Big East play and hopefully even for the end of the non-conference slate, but the lack of frontcourt depth leaves Hoya fans with some questions in the meantime.
Hoya fans should mostly know what to expect from Cook and Mutombo, but what we get from the freshman Fielder could determine this frontcourt’s success. By looking at Fielder’s scouting report, his main value would appear to be in his ability to stretch the floor at 6’10. But from watching him at last weekend’s Blue vs Gray scrimmage, what stood out to me most was his aggressiveness. The Idaho native plays with an attitude and toughness you may not expect from a floor-stretching big, and if he can put it all together he could be this team’s X-factor.
What will be the role of the walk-ons?
Georgetown brought in five (maybe four?) walk-ons this offseason: Western Carolina transfer Cam Bacote, Oregon State transfer Donovan Grant, LSU transfer Austin Montgomery, Macalester (DIII) transfer Jonathan Kazor, and 2023 recruit Hashem Asad. While Kazor and Asad are expected to join Victor Muresan in reserve roles with Grant and Montgomery maybe getting some deep rotational minutes, Bacote’s role is harder to predict.
Cam Bacote’s commitment flew under the radar, as it was lumped in with all the other walk-ons in a Hilltop Hoops article. But Bacote isn’t your typical walk-on, and there have recently been differing reports on whether he is a walk-on or on scholarship. Either way, Bacote’s commitment wasn’t treated with the same attention a player of his background would deserve. In just his second career game as a freshman at Maryland Eastern Shore, Bacote led his team with 18 points against Maryland. His next game would be against Georgetown, where he would play 35 minutes and tally 7 points and 7 assists. In his last full season at Western Carolina, Bacote started 28 games and averaged 8.1 PPG. These aren’t your typical walk-on numbers, which leads me to question what kind of role Bacote will have this season.
What will we get from Dontrez Styles?
I previously mentioned Drew Fielder as one possible X-factor; the other would be North Carolina transfer Dontrez Styles. Styles was a highly-touted recruit coming out of high school, being ranked 62nd in the Class of 2021. However, he played sparingly during his two seasons at Chapel Hill, averaging only 5.9 MPG.
Now at the Hilltop, Styles is expected to step into a much larger role as the team’s starting small forward. From their media day selections, it appears the staff has high hopes for Styles, as they have brought him along with Jayden Epps and Jay Heath to both Big East Media Day and their recent local media day at Capital One Arena. Styles’ potential remains unrealized, but if he can perform like he was projected out of high school, this team’s ceiling could reach another level.
So as we look forward to next Tuesday, these are just a few of the questions I have going into Year 1 of the Cooley Era. We’ll see what kind of answers we get when the Hoyas tip off against Le Moyne.
