Spring Recruiting Preview: Who, What and Where.

Patrick Ewing and his Georgetown staff are rolling into the evaluation period this spring with momentum on their side. After securing letter of intents from guard James Akinjo and big man Omer Yurtseven, Ewing & Co will be off to scout 2019 and 2020 prospects this coming weekend.

The open period evaluation dates for the spring & summer can be found here.

And are as follows:

April 20-22

April 27-29

July 11-15

July 18-22

July 25-29

The spring period will, in theory, be a time to sort through previous targets and view new ones - and perhaps set the table for a real game plan come July which will create a clearer view of who is a real target to potentially take official visits in the fall and sign a letter of intent in the early signing period.

Ewing should have a better feel for things this spring - knowing the terrain and likely a better understanding of how to divide time and staff viewings of different circuits and teams.

The three major shoe companies: Nike, Under Armour and Adidas all kick off their pool play this weekend.

Nike’s spring and summer schedule can be seen here.

Of note - 18 of the known 30 Hoya 2019 targets with scholarship offers will be on the Nike Circuit.

Adidas Gauntlet schedule is here

And Under Armour here

Everyone is in Dallas for opening weekend and the following week UA and Nike overlap in Indianapolis while Adidas will be in Atlanta.

Now, as far as Ewing and his staff might be tracking - here are 30 scholarship offers that have gone out to the 2019 class.

2019 Point/Lead Guards with Scholarship Offers:

Jalen Lecque - NY Rens (EYBL)

Cole Anthony - PSA Cardinals (EYBL)

Anthony Harris - Team Takeover (EYBL)

Brandon Weatherspoon - MEBO Team Hood (EYBL)

While the lack of offers to point guards may be concerning so far - the commitment of Akinjo (to go with McClung) certainly eases the desperate need this program had been faced with prior. Lecque is a super athlete who has a composite ranking of #12 in the class. A native New York who has played High School ball in North Carolina, he’ll be turning to his roots with the Rens. Anthony would appear to be a pipe dream, but perhaps there is a strong tie with remaining with his father Greg, and Ewing. Calling either Harris or Weatherspoon a lead guard might be a reach - Harris more of attacker and Weatherspoon billed as a shooter but I’ll include both here with the possibility of being combo guards. Harris is a local product running with Team Takeover and attends Paul VI during the HS season. While the Hoyas offered this winter it appears his recruitment has a strong ACC flavor with Louisville and Virginia Tech positioned well. Lastly, and perhaps most realistic of the three is Brandon Weatherspoon - his brothers currently play at Mississippi State but Ben Howland can tend to wear out his welcome. Robert Kirby is a noted ace recruiter in the state of Mississippi.

2019 Wings with Scholarship Offers:

Cassius Stanley - Why Not (EYBL)

CJ Walker - E1T1 (EYBL)

Jaime Jaquez - The Truth (EYBL)

Keion Brooks - Indy Heat (EYBL)

Kahlil Whitney - Mac Irvin Fire (EYBL)

Antavion Collum - Team CP3 (EYBL)

Lester Quinones - New Heights (UA)

Jahein Spencer - Louisiana Elite (UA)

TJ Bickerstaff - Atlanta Xpress (UA)

Josh Nickleberry - Team Loaded VA (Adidas)

Kobe Brown - Atlanta Celtics (Adidas)

Drake London - BTI Hoops (non shoe circuit)

The group of wings that Georgetown has offered is a talented group with some realistic options. Whitney has a noted relationship with Louis Orr after Orr coached his father at Seton Hall and Whitney has been on campus unofficially. Spencer plays for the same AAU team as did Josh LeBlanc and the Hoyas were the first (and still only) high major with a reported offer after being tipped off by DJ Owens - https://www.prephoops.com/2017/10/recruiting-report-jahein-spencer-2019/

Stanley and CJ Walker would appear to be shooting high - Stanley will take on a national recruitment and Walker will have most of the SEC after him. Keion Brooks is a major prospect in the mid-west with Michigan State and Indiana chasing him hard but that has not stopped Ewing from watching him multiple times. With the Akinjo commitment and Georgetown having been visible on the West Coast lately - Jaquez and London are intriguing. Jaquez is a high academic player who has been in Team USA camp as a versatile, tough competitor. London doubles as a standout football player - and he’ll have to make a decision on what path to take but his athleticism and upside has led to offers from Ewing and Virginia.

2019 Bigs with Scholarship Offers:

Trendon Watford - Georgia Stars EYBL

Kenyon Martin JR - Oakland Soldiers EYBL

Isaiah Stewart - Albany City Rocks EYBL

Carl Lewis - The Truth EYBL

Maxwell Lorca-Lloyd - visit. PSA Cardinals EYBL

Kofi Cockburn - New York Rens EYBL

John Bol Ajak - Team Final EYBL

Abou Ousmane - NY Lighting EYBL

Armando Bacot - mm visit. Team Loaded VA Adidas

Oscar Tshiebwe - Team Loaded VA Adidas

Malcolm Wilson - Upward Stars SE Adidas

Chol Marial - CBC UA

Aidan Igiehon - mm visit. Team Rio UA

Eric Dixon - visit. WeR1 UA

This is an impressive group that Ewing has offered and several targets that appear to have real Hoya interest. Carl Lewis is a menacing west-coast big man that has had a fairly quiet early recruitment despite being regarded as a Top 30ish prospect - both Georgetown and St. John’s have offered. Igiehon and Lorca-Lloyd have both visited and have appeared receptive to the program. Tshiebwe will once again run with Team Loaded and is a past travel teammate of McClung and it was perhaps the team that Ewing viewed the most last spring and summer. Cockburn has Jamaican roots and being a NYC kid, Ewing would appear to have the chance to be a major player in his recruitment. Malcolm Wilson is a promising big man and Georgetown was early to offer him joining a few southern schools - Clemson and South Carolina. Bacot and Stewart have both visited campus but Bacot has UNC and Duke tracking him hard and Stewart/Hoya buzz has fizzled as his recruitment has hit a national level.

There’s also an extensive list of prospects that have either visited unofficially or have received varying levels of Hoya interest. I tried my best to track down those who have - it’s certain to change who they zero in on and who turns into an afterthought for many reasons. I’ve noted who has visited unofficially next to their names and the ‘mm’ stands for a midnight madness visit back in October.

But here they are :

2019 Guards with Hoya interest:

Jordan Hairston - visit. Team BBC Adidas

Judah Jordan - visit mm. Team Thrill UA

Trae Broadnax - Upward Stars SE Adidas

Sedrick Hammonds - Las Vegas Knicks Adidas

Kyle Sturdivant - Team Florida EYBL

Glen ‘JoJo’ Anderson - New Heights UA

Greg Tribble - Ohio Basketball Club Adidas

James Bishop - visit mm. Team Thrill UA

Jalen Rucker - Team Melo EYBL

Logan Curtis - visit mm. Team BBC Adidas

Anwar Gill - visit mm. DC Blue Devils UA

Xavier Johnson - visit mm. Team BBC UA

Gerard Mungo - visit mm. B More Finest UA

Jay Heath - Team Melo EYBL

Broadnax is clearly the name that stands out. He’ll be playing AAU with Malcolm Wilson - so the staff is very likely to monitor both. Ewing certainly knows his father quite well, and a strong spring showing could put the Hoyas in the thick of things for Trae. The rest is anybody’s guess, who shows well and who doesn’t - plenty of local flavor here between Baltimore Basketball Club, Team Thrill, Team Melo and B More’s finest.

2019 Wing interest:

Arecko Gipson - visit. Bluff City Legends EYBL

Ricky Lindo - DC Blue Devils UA

Sherif Kenney - New World Adidas

Zac Ervin - B Maze Elite UA

Jaelyn Withers - Team Loaded NC Adidas

Paul Mulcahy - ?

RJ Blakney - visit. Team Melo EYBL

Charles Noonan - visit.

Jalen White - Aresnal Hoops Adidas

Yavuz Gultekin - visit - Mid Atlantic Select (non shoe circuit)

Jalen Wilson - visit. YGC 36 Adidas (Grayson Carter teammate)

Marvin Price - DC Blue Devils UA

Jaxon Etter - ?

Niven Glover - Team Knight Adidas

Jordan Gurrerro - mm visit. Team BBC Adidas

Jamal King - visit. Team Loaded NC Adidas

Shamar Brown - MEBO Team Hood EYBL

Josh Green - Earl Watson Elite UA

Again, a lot of local prospects who the program has reached out to and some interesting prospects perhaps led by Arecko Gipson - and under the radar recruit who will try to gain more interest at the high major level after choosing to do a prep year and move into the 2019 class. Lindo is another kid who has decided to prep for a year and his length and skill has always been intriguing at a local level. The same can be said for Yavuz Gultekin who came from Turkey to the DMV area just a month ago. RJ Blakney is a name I would watch for opening weekend - from Hagerstown and is making strides. If there’s a 2019 who hasn’t been offered that could be quickly - perhaps it’s him as he’s been to campus unofficially over the summer and there appears to be mutual interest.

2019 Big Interest:

Jason Muprhy - mm visit. Team Melo EYBL

Jason Jitoboh - Woodz Elite EYBL

Daniel Ramsey - Team Thad UA

Qudus Wahab - Team Loaded VA

Olanrewaju Olamuyiwa - Team Melo EYBL

Anthony Walker - visit mm. Team BBC Adidas

DJ Burns - Georgia Stars EYBL

EJ Jarvis - Team Takeover EYBL

Jaylin Williams - Game Elite Adidas

It appears that any big Ewing viewed highly was offered in the 2019 class. It’s hard to see many from list become a priority compared to those who already hold offers. Murphy has long been on the Hoya radar dating back to JTIII’s staff and this will be an important travel season for him to solidify himself as a high major prospect.

As always, it’s an important to keep an eye on the next recruitment cycle and the 2020 class offers some intriguing prospects locally. To date, Georgetown has extended 12 known offers to the 2020 class.

2020 Guards with Scholarship Offers:

Jalen Cook - Louisiana Elite UA

Darius Miles - DC Premier UA

Cook is another Louisiana prospect that will run with LA Elite - currently holds an offer from Houston. Miles is a local product at Roosevelt HS and Georgetown is the first high major to have extended an offer.

2020 Wings with Scholarship Offers:

Earl Timberlake - visit mm. Team Loaded VA Adidas

Johnny Juzang - Compton Magic Adidas

Che Evans - visit. Tem Melo EYBL

Terrance Williams - Team Takeover EYBL

Jabri Abdur Rahim - Team Rio UA

This is where it gets good locally. Timberlake is a rock solid wing who is changing from Team Takeover and Nike to Team Loaded VA (perhaps not the worst thing given what appears to be a good relationship Ewing is building with Loaded). Che Evans is a talented wing scorer who already is seeing a national level recruitment. Williams is a budding star at Gonzaga who will run with Takeover. Juzang is another California prospect while Abdur-Rahim is a high, high level recruit who already can pick nearly any school.

2020 Bigs with Scholarship Offers:

Justin Lewis - Team Melo EYBL

Jaemyn Brakefield - MBA Hoops Adidas

Mark Williams - Team Loaded VA

Mason Hooks - BTI Hoops (non shoe circuit)

Akeem Odusipe - B Maze Elite UA

Justin Lewis will be a highly recruited Baltimore prospect and should show well this spring. Mason Hooks will play on the same travel team as Drake London and Georgetown was very early in extending an offer.

Ewing has also extended interest to the following 2020 prospects:

2020 Lead Guard interest:

Jaden Springer - visit. B Maze Elite

Josiah Freeman - Team Takeover EYBL

Tyler Brelsford - visit. Team Melo EYBL

Amir Nesbitt - visit. Boo Williams EYBL

Ace Baldwin - mm visit. Team BBC Adidas

Keyshawn Johnson - mm visit. Team BBC Adidas

Jeremy Roach - mm visit. Team Takeover EYBL

Jamal Muhammad - mm visit

Jabril Muhammad - mm visit

A lot of local names that will shake out over the next year. Roach is a game changer but likely out of reach as he’ll have his choice of blue-bloods and perhaps Ewing doesn’t want to waste his time there.

2020 Wing Interest:

Elijah Wood - visit. Team Thrill UA

Woody Newton - mm visit. Team Thrill UA

Tymu Chenery - visit mm. Team BBC Adidas

Alex Antetokounmpo - visit

Myles Stute - mm visit. Team Takeover EYBL

Jerry Iliya - visit. Team Superstar South UA

I personally would offer Wood and Newton immediately. Both are high upside wings from the DMV. Newton a DC product that has been at McKinley Tech and Wood playing at Bethesda-Chevy Chase. Both running for Team Thrill should make them a team to watch.

2020 Big Interest:

Javarzia Belton - Upward Stars SE Adidas

Hunter Dickinson - visit. Team Takeover EYBL

Roy Eze - visit

Dowar Jioklow - mm visit. DC Blue Devils UA

Not much to see here. Dickinson and Hoyas don’t seem enamored with each other on the local level - at least not yet. Belton is a southern kid who has re-classed to 2020.

It’s worth remembering that this is travel basketball - and many of these kids are likely to switch teams and circuits from the spring to July (and by no means are my team projections currently 100% correct - Nike stays pretty solid, the rest are more up in the air).

Ewing and his staff are hitting the trail with some momentum after Monday and hopefully growing relationships on the circuits. It will be interesting to see how it shakes out - and hopefully this provides a somewhat reliable list of prospects to follow through the first week.