Heading into the season, the guard position figures to be a relative strength for this year’s Hoyas. After an offseason with various departures from the program, the guard room was struck with the graduation of senior Javhon Blair and the transfer of freshman fan favorite TJ Berger. But as the program lost some of its more valuable pieces, it has some of its most highly touted freshmen guards in Patrick Ewing’s tenure joining the team.
With that said, let’s look at how Georgetown’s guard group shapes up heading into the season.
Returners
Dante Harris
We’ll start with the player who fully embodies the so-called Hoya mentality. Last year, Dante Harris was arguably the most impressive breakout player on Georgetown’s roster, if not in the entire Big East Conference. After starting the season coming off the bench, he was thrown into the fire during conference play and ended the season averaging 30.3 minutes per game and leading the team to its eighth Big East Tournament Championship in program history.
Throughout last year, he matured as a player, developing into a true floor general and leader on and off the court. Coming into his sophomore season as one of two returning starters, he will be forced to take on a larger role on both sides of the ball and will need to continue to build on last year’s play if this team is going to find success.
Donald Carey
As the only other returning starter next to Dante Harris, Don Carey will look to build on his impactful play for the Hoyas last season. Since joining the program, Carey proved to be an efficient scorer, averaging a solid 8 points per game while shooting 46.7% from the field and 45% from behind the arc. On top of his smooth shooting touch, Don stood out as a plus defender and as a vocal leader for the Hoyas, earning himself the role as Patrick Ewing’s first captain. As this roster’s only true three-year starter in college basketball, Carey will be looked on to bring a veteran presence to a very young team.
Chuma Azinge
What is a preview without Chuma Azinge? Similar to his past two seasons, don’t expect much from the walk-on junior. Depending on how the season goes, we might see him in a couple of late blowouts, but nothing more than that.
Newcomers
Aminu Mohammed
As the Preseason Big East Freshman of the Year and highest ranked recruit entering the conference, it would be an understatement to just say that the expectations for Aminu Mohammed’s first season are high. The 5-star wing out of Missouri joins the Hoyas as a true slasher with the exact play style Patrick Ewing looks for in his players. He is an athletic and hard-nosed defender who can guard almost every position.
The only question mark when it comes to Aminu’s play is how much he will be able to contribute offensively, specifically when it comes to scoring. While he was dominant at getting to the rim in high school, scouts noted that his outside shot needs work. This could be an interesting storyline to look out for through the start of the season. If Mohammed shows improvement in his shot, his transition into college basketball could be rather smooth and he could easily meet or exceed expectations.
Jordan Riley
Let’s be clear on one thing: Jordan Riley is an athletic beast. As someone who was able to see him play in high school, Riley was able to carry his mediocre team to dominant victories against decent competition just from his athleticism alone. Coming into Georgetown, though, the high flying 3-star shooting guard out of Brentwood, New York is somewhat of a question mark. Again, although he is absurdly athletic, he comes in as a bit of a raw talent offensively. Like Mohammed, Riley’s athleticism alone should make him a threat when driving and will most likely allow him to be a plus defender right out of the gates, but his shot needs some work and he is slightly less polished overall. If he can prove to be consistent during the first few non-conference games, expect Jordan Riley to play decent minutes behind Don Carey come Big East play.
Tyler Beard
Beard is the final addition to the Hoyas’ guard room. Originally a member of the 2020 recruiting class, Beard comes in to fill the role as the backup ball handler behind Dante Harris. While I wouldn’t expect him to have a large role this year with a very strong and deep group of guards, Beard is athletic and has shown an ability to play solid defense and facilitate on offense in the past. Since Patrick Ewing has said very little publicly about Beard, his overall role remains to be seen.
In the end, it seems like Patrick Ewing has put together his most athletic and talented group of guards to date. But coming into the season, the only true concern is their lack of experience, like with the rest of the team. At this time, we’d expect Don Carey and Dante Harris to pick up most of that burden caused by the freshmen group’s lack of experience, but how well they do is to be determined. Ultimately, we know that this group can play at a high level, so now it is just a matter of how this group meshes and how the freshmen’s games transition to the next level. For that, we will have to wait until Saturday (and beyond).
