Georgetown Basketball: Patrick Ewing building something in DC

Is Georgetown basketball back on the rise? Head coach Patrick Ewing is coming off of a solid 2017-18 campaign and just snagged two big commitments.

Georgetown basketball has had a few tough seasons as of late but the program looks to be back on the rise. Even though the Hoyas finished just 15-15 last year, there were a lot of positives for head coach Patrick Ewing and company. The team was not expected to be competitive at all in the Big East. Yet, they consistently brought solid effort and outplayed expectations. They won five conference games, which was several more than most expected after they tested themselves with the worst non-conference schedule in the country.

Heading into next season, there are some holes that Coach Ewing will need to fill. Most notably, star forward Marcus Derrickson has already announced his intentions to enter the NBA Draft and sign an agent, meaning he will not be returning to Georgetown next season. As a junior this past season, Derrickson averaged 15.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, both of which ranked second on the team.

In addition, the team leader in both of those categories, Jessie Govan, has elected to test the NBA Draft waters without an agent. Another junior, Govan dropped in 17.9 points and 10.0 rebounds per game as a double-double machine in 2017-18. Govan leaving the school for the NBA Draft would be a huge blow to the Hoyas but at least there is a solid transfer coming in to help fill a potential hole in the rotation.

Yurtseven joins the Hoyas

On April 16, it was announced that seven-footer Omer Yurtseven was transferring out of NC State to join Georgetown. One of the more highly-touted international recruits in recent years, Yurtseven was slightly disappointing in his first two years with the Wolfpack but he is still a solid college player. As a sophomore last season, he averaged 13.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. He is clearly a talented frontcourt option that should help fill out the rotation after the losses of Derrickson and Govan. He will be eligible in 2019-20.

Is Akinjo the backcourt solution?

The commitment of top-100 recruit James Akinjo to Georgetown was also announced on April 16. One of the best point guards in the 2018 high school class, Akinjo will hopefully come in and be an instant performer in DC. Everyone expected that Coach Ewing would be able to recruit big men but adding a guard like this one shows just how good he could be as a recruiter. According to 247Sports, Akinjo is the No. 95 recruit in the country and the No. 7 point guard. Akinjo was originally committed to UConn but de-committed after Kevin Ollie was fired.

Rounding out the recruiting class

Akinjo might be the best player in the 2018 recruiting class for Georgetown but he is not alone. In fact, he is the fourth player to commit to the Hoyas for this year. Another fringe top-100 player, Josh LeBlanc (No. 112), is also in the class along with Grayson Carter (No. 231) and the uber-athletic Mac McClung (No. 234). Overall, the class ranks 29th in the country (3rd in the Big East) according to 247Sports. Considering the incoming freshmen, along with Yurtseven as a transfer, the program looks to be in great shape moving forward.

Next: Breaking down Bryce Golden's top four

Based on the way the offseason has gone, it seems clear that Patrick Ewing is brewing something special in DC. The Hoyas might not see the NCAA Tournament for another year or two but it looks like they found a good solution at head coach.