The Georgetown men’s basketball team tips off its 111th season Wednesday evening at Capital One Arena with a matchup against Mount St. Mary’s. Entering their third season under Head Coach Patrick Ewing, the Hoyas will look to get off to a strong start against a Mountaineers squad that struggled mightily a season ago, going 9-22 overall and 6-12 in the Northeast Conference. Ewing will aim for solid contributions out of his sophomore core consisting of guards Mac McClung and James Akinjo and forward Josh LeBlanc, while a host of newcomers expect to have an impact.
Georgetown fans are highly anticipating the debut of senior center Omer Yurtseven. Playing for North Carolina State, Yurtseven averaged 13.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game in 2017-18, his last season in action before being forced to sit out last year due to NCAA rules.
“I expect a lot out of him,” Ewing said of the 7’0” big man. “I’m expecting him to continue what he did at NC State, the same but better here. I expect him to be a leader not only on the floor but off the floor and to continue his high level of play.”
Yurtseven figures to effectively fill the gap left behind by Jessie Govan, a centerpiece of the Georgetown offense a season ago, averaging 17.5 points per game. Also likely to pick up minutes at the center position is freshman Qudus Wahab, a three-star recruit from Ashburn, VA, one of three centers in Ewing’s 2019 recruiting class.
“Definitely going to see Qudus. He’s the most ready to play,” Ewing said. “But I’m sure at some point you will have the opportunity to see all three.”
In terms of filling out the rest of the lineup, Ewing expects to switch things up, incorporating a mix of players in various roles.
“There will be a lot of times,” Ewing said, “where you will see three-guard lineup, one-guard lineup, big lineup, small lineup, so I think that with the depth that we have, we should be able to do a lot of things.”
Despite their disappointing 2018-19 season, the Mountaineers return sophomore guard Vado Morse, who averaged 14.7 points per game last season, and junior guard Jalen Gibbs, who averaged 12.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Junior Omar Habwe and sophomore Malik Jefferson will also look to improve on last season’s solid performances in the frontcourt.
The Hoyas and Mountaineers last squared off in 2017, when the Blue & Gray easily took the victory at Capital One Arena, 102-68.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The game will be available on the CBS Sports Network, with live stats and a stream available at guhoyas.com. For continued coverage of men’s basketball, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
