If you were to survey Georgetown fans, the majority would likely tell you that Ed Cooley should have been fired after last season. There would be good reason for that too. In his three years at the helm, the Hoyas have gone a combined 16-44 in Big East play. The first year was excusable because of the complete ruin that the program had been left in. In year 2, the team improved greatly. Then things looked promising last fall, especially as the team started 5-0 with wins over Maryland and Clemson. Then they went to Disney for Thanksgiving, lost both games, and completely fell apart. Part of the initial collapse was the loss of Vince Iwuchukwu for 10 games due to an undisclosed medical procedure. But most of it was poor play and poor coaching.
There was disappointment all over the place. Baylor transfer Langston Love didn't turn out to be an impact player that fans had hoped a change of scenary would bring him. Maryland transfer DeShawn Harris-Smith left the team for personal reasons after just six games. Malik Mack, while really good at times, was awful at other times. And UConn transfer Isaiah Abraham was kind of just there.
To make matters worse, most of the few bright spots from last season are gone. KJ Lewis was by far the best player on the team and became a fan favorite. He transferred to USC. Mack left for Providence. Iwuchukwu ran out of eligibility. Jayden Fort looked really promising, but he transferred to UNC Charlotte. And Julius Halaifonua left for Oklahoma State just 11 days after saying he'd be returning to Georgetown. At least Caleb Williams came back.
High school recruiting hasn't been going well either even with Cooley's great history of developing players. But he and the Hoyas still can't get the best players from the DMV to stay home. Baba Oladotun stayed home, but went to Maryland. Qayden Samuels left entirely to go to Aalabama. These are guys that, in theory, Georgetown should be getting. You can look outside the DMV too. Alex Constanza, a four star top 100 prospect from Ohio, was originally committed to Georgetown. Then a couple months ago he decommitted and chose Pepperdine instead. You can't be Georgetown and losing recruits to Pepperdine.
Adding to the frustration was that Providence fired Kim English, Cooley's replacement, in the spring after going 23-37 in conference play over the past three seasons. Yet Georgetown kept Cooley after being even worse in the same time period since he made the move.
Georgetown is a historic basketball program. College basketball is better when Georgetown is good. Unfortunately, with the exception of one magical week in March of 2021, the team has been terrible for most of the last 11 years. The NIL budget is supposed to be pretty good, but so far that hasn't done anything for the program.
2026-2027 Season Outlook
The path ahead for the upcoming season looks rocky. For starters, there are some tough tests on the schedule. That starts with the Rady Children's Invitational in San Diego on Thanksgiving. Last year's Thanksgiving trip to Disney didn't go well, and this one will be even harder. On Thanksgiving Day, the Hoyas face Texas, a borderline top 10 team that returns leading scorer and rebounder Matas Vokietatis. UCLA or Saint Mary's will be the next day, and either one will be tough, as will their earlier trip to Clemson. At least the Hoyas get UNC and Maryland at home.
The roster looks shaky too. In order for this team to do anything this season, Jaland Lowe's shoulder is going to have to cooperate. He dislocated his right shoulder three times and eventually had surgery on it, which is was limited him to just nine games at Kentucky last season. Two years ago at Pitt he was one of the best point guards in the ACC, averaging 16.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game. He wasn't always the best, and could be very inefficient at times (just like Malik Mack was last season for the Hoyas), but at his best he is the best player on this roster. And Georgetown is going to need him to be that.
Kansas transfer Elmarko Jackson is a lot like what Langston Love was for the Hoyas last year: a once highly touted recruit who was underwhelming at his previous school, and who the Hoyas hope will finally reach that potential with a change of scenary. The only difference is that Jackson contributed even less at Kansas than Love did at Baylor.
Chol Machot is a player with a ton of raw talent. The Charleston transfer is a tremendous shot blocker. He led the CAA with 2.5 blocks per game, which was 9th in the country overall. The only probably is that despite being 7 feet tall he still only weighs 190 pounds. That's going to be an issue for a center in the Big East. But if he can fill out his frame, get stronger, and continue to develop he can be a stud.
Cooley was able to make a couple other solid additions too. Vyctorious Miller averaged over 10 points per game last season at Oklahoma State, and Josiah Parker averaged 9.6 points and 6.0 rebopunds per game last season as a freshman at Florida Atlantic.
Do-Or-Die
This is a do-or-die year for Ed Cooley's tenure on The Hilltop. If everything doesn't get significantly better this season, then there will be no justifiable reason to keep Cooley around. The lack of success on the court and in recruiting (both high school and transfer portal), his occasional behavioral outbursts, and the lack of any sustained progress whatsoever are all contributing factors. Hopefully he can turn things around at Georgetown. If not, the Hoyas will probably be looking for a new head basketball coach next spring.
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