By now you’ve probably heard the news about Ryan Mutombo. The 6-11 four-star son of Hoya legend Dikembe Mutombo is the fourth and newest member of Georgetown’s already impressive 2021 recruiting class. Alongside guards Jordan Riley and Tyler Beard and forward Jalin Billingsley, Georgetown’s incoming class is already one of Patrick Ewing’s best. But what if I told you there could be more? That could come in the form of one last recruit: Aminu Mohammed.
Mohammed is a complete player. The 6-4 shooting guard is an overwhelmingly strong and athletic wing who can have an impact on both sides of the ball. Despite not being overly long for his position, Mohammed is an extremely hard-nosed defender and is one of the most efficient rebounders in his class. With that being said, his best attribute is his ability to drive to the basket and score. These skills, coupled with his improved ball handling and outside shooting, gives Mohammed the ability to play multiple positions and fill various holes as soon as he joins the team. Plus, he has demonstrated that he can be a natural leader after leading his high school to their first state championship in 77 years. Overall, Mohammed has proven to be the type of player who can make an instant impact for any team he plays for at the next level.
There has always been a lot of speculation around Aminu’s recruitment. Being such a highly rated prospect, he has always had interest from other major programs. Outside of Georgetown, Mohammed’s top suitors include Indiana, Kansas State, Maryland, and Texas. To add even more intrigue, when Mutombo was asked by Stock Risers who he would recruit to join him at Georgetown, his answer was clear: “Aminu Mohammed.”
I know. As Georgetown fans we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. We’re used to the feeling that if something bad can happen to this team, it will. After all, when was the last time the program has landed a serious recruit from the DMV, or someone ranked in the top-15 of his class at that? In the last decade, the closest we’ve come was Jamorko Pickett and he doesn’t even compare to Mohammed in terms of talent. So with all of that being said, are his chances of donning the blue and gray next winter extremely high? No. Is there a decent chance? Absolutely. And boy, would that be something amazing to see.
Now let’s say he does make the decision to commit to Georgetown, what would that mean for the program going forward? Put simply, this could be a program building moment. A commitment from Aminu Mohammed could be the turning point of this rebuild. It’s obvious that this team hasn’t had much success recently, but that could change almost instantly. Before the commitment of Mutombo, the Hoyas already had a decent class. After the commitment, it sprung to 20th in the nation, according to 24/7 Sports. If Aminu were to come, the class would jump to fifth nationally. Yes, you read that right. Fifth. Since 24/7 began ranking recruits in 2003, Georgetown has never had a class ranked that high. With talent like that, it would almost be impossible to be bad.
But this could have an impact past the 2022 season. By attracting a player like Aminu, it could start to bring Georgetown back into the spotlight of the college basketball world. If the Hoyas could then go on to contend in the Big East, or better yet make a run in the NCAA Tournament, it would prove that Georgetown once again is legit. In the end, past results are the best way to assure future success in college basketball, and this could be exactly what a team like Georgetown needs to keep attracting talented recruits and bring the program back to its glory days. Good players will want to be Hoyas.
Of course this is all hypothetical. There is a pretty good chance none of this ends up happening. We are, after all, talking about a Georgetown team that finished last season with only six players capable of playing real minutes. But why don’t we have a little optimism for once? The future looks bright even without Mohammed, but if Ewing can pull a little more magic out of his hat, we’re all in for one great ride. At this point it almost feels like Patrick Ewing is Thanos collecting the infinity stones in “Avengers: Infinity War.” With Jamari Sibley in the class of 2020, and Mutombo, Riley, Billingsley, and Beard in the class of 2021, this team is strong. Once they secure their final stone in Mohammed, they’ll be unstoppable for years to come.
Are we Thanos? No, but heck, we are Georgetown.
