HOYA SAXA! 2021 F Jalin Billingsley Commits to Georgetown!

The Cleveland native brings solid height and shooting to Ewing and the Hoyas.

By Whipple Aug 1, 2020, 5:45pm EDT

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Three-star 2021 recruit, Jalin Billingsley, from Cleveland, has chosen the Georgetown Hoyas over Arizona State in an announcement today. The 6’8” forward brings versatility and good shooting (e.g., “stretch-4”), while looking to make an immediate impact in the college game next year.

Never Stressed, I’m Triple Blessed Extremely Excited To Announce I Will Be Attending Georgetown University! #gohoyas ! pic.twitter.com/qTArkpaCc9
— Jay Bill (@JalinBillingsl1) August 1, 2020

Casual Hoya earlier reported that Georgetown had made Billingsley’s “‘Top 2” along with ASU. Leading up to his announcement on Saturday, August 1st, the week featured a Georgetown-leaning set of forecasts from the Crystal Ball predictions on 247Sports and a couple FutureCasts came in on Rivals. Still, it was a pleasant surprise!

#top2 Where Y’all Think I’m Goin’ ? pic.twitter.com/dYLzatdwki
— Jay Bill (@JalinBillingsl1) July 29, 2020

Prior to the “Top 2,” there were about 10 schools including ASU, Akron, Dayton, Penn State, Temple, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Youngstown State. Ewing and staff have been pursuing the 6’8” Jalen Billingsley for some time with an offer in April.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Billingsley is ranked as the sixth-best player of the class in Ohio and the No. 25-ranked power forward nationally in the Class of 2021. Last season Billingsley helped the Lutheran East Falcons to a 20-3 record and Sweet 16 appearance.

2021 4⭐️ Jalin Billingsley @JalinBillingsl1 of Tru Game/Lutheran East is a skilled Forward that can impact the game in a variety of ways.

Not many 6’8 prospects in America can drive the lane hard, elevate in the paint & drop a dime in mid-air to a teammate for an easy bucket. pic.twitter.com/f9DAjSSmi5
— Endless Motor Sports (@endless_motor) July 18, 2020

EndlessMotor.net, who has been covering Billingsley for some time, reported that

Jalin is an athletic 6’8 prospect that can create his own offense from the wing, bury perimeter shots and facilitate for others while having the size/strength/elevation to protect the rim, finish contested shots in the paint and swallow up the boards ...

Jailin is looking for a school that makes him a clear priority with the chance to compete for minutes early on.

Three-star forward Jalin Billingsley just committed to Georgetown, he tells @Rivals. https://t.co/QimZ5PKW8X pic.twitter.com/cgbQiLMsBL
— Corey Evans (@coreyevans_10) August 1, 2020

Last week (time has no meaning) Patrick Ewing received a commitment from a Long Island 2021 guard with tremendous upside in Jordan Riley. The week prior, a DC-based graduate transfer (with two years left of eligibility), Donald Carey, committed to GU. With the reclassification and deferment of Tyler Beard a month ago, Patrick Ewing and staff appear to have only one scholarship available for 2021.

With Jordan Riley and Tyler Beard in the class of 2021, and Carey around for two years, Ewing can still use the last spot to land another impact recruit. Prior to Bilingsley’s announcement, for 2021, Georgetown was ranked #18 recruiting class by 247Sports and #24 by Rivals. Player rankings and commitments are far from finalized, but Billingsley’s commitment certainly boosted those rankings.

If Jalin Billingsley decides to join the Hoyas this Saturday, it would move the 2021 Georgetown recruiting class to #13 in the nation.
— Hoya Paranoia (@paranoia_hoya) July 27, 2020

There are several very talented prospects still on the table for Ewing’s staff to recruit hard for a last spot, as well as 2022 and beyond.