Georgetown fans have been looking for something to cheer for during the team’s Covid pause, and the past 24+ hours have provided reason for confidence. Not only did Georgetown announce a rescheduled game to be held on campus against St. John’s on February 3rd, but they also received the commitment of Wayne Bristol Jr. to fill their final scholarship spot for this season following Tre King’s departure. While it is unclear whether Bristol is going to play this season—Ewing hedged on answering that question during a press availability—he will be a strong replacement for Don Carey and Kaiden Rice, who will both graduate after this season.
Bristol is a transfer from Howard University who last played during the 2019-2020 season in which he was named MEAC Rookie of the Year. In 33 games, Bristol averaged 12.5 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 40.0% from three-point range. He missed the 2020-2021 season due to injury. While Bristol has not played in a game in almost two years, his excellent first-year campaign at Howard should provide reason for optimism that he will contribute at Georgetown.
In Howard’s only game against a Power 5 opponent—Notre Dame—in 2019-2020, Bristol turned in a stellar performance. Against the Fighting Irish, he scored 14 points in 18 minutes, making 2 of 3 three-point attempts and 5 of 9 shots overall. His performance against a solid ACC program like Notre Dame should give fans confidence that he will hold his own against Big East competition.
Bristol stands at 6’6” 185 pounds and hails from Upper Marlboro, MD. He is listed as a guard, but his height could allow him to play the 3 if needed. He entered the transfer portal from Howard on October 26th, so it is expected that he will enroll into Georgetown for the spring semester. His eligibility is not entirely clear at the moment, but since the NCAA waived the sit-for-a-year rule on transfers, he should be able to suit up as a Hoya immediately. However, when asked about the addition of Bristol, Coach Patrick Ewing said that he’s “not sure if he’ll be able to play this semester.”
The addition of Bristol will have significant implications for this year’s roster if he is declared eligible right away. First of all, it should take a lot of the pressure off Don Carey and Kaiden Rice to provide most of the scoring from beyond the arc. Adding a third sharpshooter to their offensive arsenal will allow Georgetown to balance out their scoring attack. Opposing defenses will have to pay attention to those three guys as threats from deep, and this, in turn, may also free up the lane more easily for Dante Harris and Aminu Mohammed to drive and finish.
Bristol shot the ball very well from the charity stripe as a freshman at Howard, making 79.2% of his attempts. This should help a Hoyas squad that has been subpar from the free throw line thus far, only making 70.6% of their attempts. Bristol did average 2.6 turnovers per game in the 2019-2020 season with Howard, which would currently lead this year’s Georgetown roster in that category. Hopefully, this high turnover rate was merely a result of his inexperience playing at the collegiate level.
Not much is known about Bristol’s ability on the defensive end, but his mixtape from high school includes some nice steals and showcases his ability to draw the charge. He averaged just about a steal per game in his time at Howard. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Ewing called out Bristol’s size as an important asset and referred to him as “an elite defender.”
It remains to be seen how Patrick Ewing will allocate the minutes amongst his guards after bringing in Bristol. With Jordan Riley having surgery likely shutting him down for the year, Don Carey was forced to play heavy minutes in the Hoyas’ last three contests. If he plays this season, Bristol should allow Carey to get more rest. Once Dante Harris and Timothy Ighoefe are both healthy, I expect Ewing to continue with the starting five of Harris, Carey, Mohammed, Rice, and Ighoefe. Bristol would be one of the first guys off the bench and serve as an excellent spark plug if the team needs offense.
Bristol is listed as a junior on ESPN, so he likely will have at least three years of eligibility left in total with the extra Covid year that all athletes received and the potential to get an injury waiver for the season he missed. With Kaiden Rice graduating and Don Carey likely leaving as well, Bristol will be a key piece for next season. In his media availability on Wednesday, Ewing acknowledged, “We lose two elite shooters for next year, and he’ll bring that to the table.” The team also has 4-star recruit Denver Anglin coming in as a sharpshooter, but it will be nice to have Bristol as an additional three-point threat for years to come.
It is unlikely that Bristol will suit up on Friday against Marquette since it would be such a quick turnaround. Hopefully he is deemed eligible for this season and gives the Hoyas more offensive firepower down the stretch against Big East competition. Even if Bristol cannot play this season, the future is bright for Georgetown guards.
