Georgetown has a whopping eight new players on its roster eligible to play this season. Out of these eight eligible players this season, three were transfers, four were recruits, and one was a walk-on. We break down all eight of these new faces and what role they will play for the Hoyas this season.
Chuma Azinge
As a walk-on, you’d expect Azinge to have minimal impact on the Hoyas. After all, the other walk-ons George Muresan and Jaden Robinson saw a combined total of four minutes of playing time last season. Judging from video though, Azinge looks to be athletic as well as solid at driving to the basket and shooting the three. Hey, you never know!
Timothy Ighoefe
Ighoefe seems to be a true “project”, and as such we may not see much of him this season. The 6’11” freshman hails from Lagos, Nigeria, and has the physical prowess to assert himself against any opponent. According to 247Sports, he has a 7’7.5” wingspan to go along with his height. This should translate directly into shot-blocking ability, giving Ighoefe some upside in a potential rim-protector role in the coming years. The real questions here are around Ighoefe’s post-skills, how well he moves at his height, and whether he will be able to adapt to the speed of the college game. If anyone can develop a big man like Ighoefe, I would bet on Patrick Ewing, and thus there’s definitely hope that Ighoefe will contribute for the Hoyas, though likely not this year.
Myron Gardner
It’s hard not to love Garndner’s game. A potential lockdown defender with impressive rim-rattling abilities, the 6’6” high school teammate of Lamelo Ball (at Spire Academy) has a very high ceiling. Given his average at best size for a wing player, Gardner will not be able to overpower defenders at the rim like he did a lot in high school. His jump shot is a little bit of a question mark at this point, and Gardner may need to be more consistent behind the arc to be a true offensive weapon. However, Myron did play well over the team’s trip to the Bahamas this summer, and adds another versatile defender for Ewing, thus the freshman will more than likely be involved in the rotation, just not as the first or second player off the bench.
Malcolm Wilson
The first thing that strikes you about Wilson is his length. Wilson is 6’1” and lanky, at only 205 pounds, and impressed as a rim protector in high school, averaging 6.4 blocks per game (!) his senior season. Many speculated that Wilson might redshirt this year in order to put on weight and work on his skills, especially with two other centers in the freshman class, but there has been no news to that end so far. Wilson and Ighoefe both fill a similar role, and each may receive a handful of minutes here or there, but, just like Ighoefe, Wilson’s focus this year will more than likely be on development.
Qudus Wahab
Wahab figures to see a good chunk of minutes this season, as he’ll likely be the back-up center to Yurtseven. Just like the other two freshmen centers, Wahab will likely be more of an asset defensively, at least to start, and may take some time to develop offensively. Still, during the preseason media day, Ewing said that Wahab is the most game ready of the three, and thus he must have done something to differentiate himself over the summer or in practice. This is not exactly a surprise considering Wahab was the most high profile of the recruits coming in. As for Wahab’s role in the offense, he likely won’t be asked to do too much besides banging on the inside, helping on the glass, and running the occasional pick and roll. With a lot of frontcourt minutes up for grabs behind Yurtseven, Wahab will definitely get first crack, and likely will continue to improve (especially offensively) as the season goes on.
Galen Alexander
Alexander’s ties to Georgetown run deep. He was a teammate of Josh LeBlanc’s in high school, and he was originally recruited to LSU by current Georgetown assistant coach Robert Kirby. After some struggles at LSU, Alexander took the community college route, and now returns to the D1 level with two years of eligibility remaining. Galen seems likely to contribute from the get-go, as he will be part of the wing rotation, splitting minutes with Jamarko Pickett and perhaps Myron Gardner. Still, Alexander’s experience with the college game and physicality make it likely that he will start the year as Pickett’s backup rather than Gardner. From Alexander’s high school and college tape, as well as the team’s stint in the Bahamas this summer, the first thing that jumps off the page is his aggression and ability to bully his way to the rim. Pair this with a suitable jump shot (he shot 34.9% from three last year) and you have the potential for an all-around scorer. If Pickett fails to show improvement from last year in non-conference play, I would fully expect Alexander to have overtaken his starting role come December or January.
Omer Yurtseven
A consensus five star recruit out of Turkey, the 7’ Yurtseven originally committed to play at NC State. After two years at NC State, including a sophomore campaign in which he started 32 out of 33 games and averaging 13.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and was named to the All-ACC Third Team, he put his name in the transfer portal. He ended up transferring to Georgetown, sitting out a year. With a year under Patrick Ewing’s tutelage, Yurtseven has had time to work on his outside shooting and post moves, potentially adding more finesse to his dominant physical presence. To say there are high expectations for Yurtseven would be an understatement. Be advised Hoya fans, it may take a few games for him to dust off some of the cobwebs from a year off, but when Omer gets going, I have a feeling he’s going to be hard to stop.
Terrell Allen
A transfer from University of Central Florida (UCF), Allen started all 33 games for the Knights last season. While only averaging 6.7 points per game, Allen made his mark as a quality distributor on offense (2.52 assist to turnover ratio) and a solid defender. He thus plays a similar role to Jagan Mosely, and could be another steadying presence off the bench for the Hoyas. It is already a crowded backcourt with McClung, Akinjo, Mosely, and Blair returning, but Allen’s experience and defensive contributions should allow him to carve out a role, likely somewhere in the 10 minutes per game range.
