Don't Look Now...
Monday marks the formal opening of the college basketball transfer portal, and it's expected to be a busy one.
Over 50 schools are still playing in the various NCAA, NIT, Crown, and CBI tournaments, but over 1,000 players nationwide have got an early start by declaring for the portal last week. This puts pressure on teams that have ended its season to reconstruct rosters, on teams still playing (such as Georgetown) to manage what it has, and on high school recruits which seem an afterthought to many schools as experience takes presence over potential.Some will wait, others will not. One Vanderbilt player announced a move 13 minutes after his team was eliminated in the NCAA tournament.
It’s 1,251 college basketball players in the transfer portal, and it’s no where near over. HS kids, if you have an offer- the expiration date is approaching - if not already expired. Make a decision , don’t play around thinking you have leverage. pic.twitter.com/gwHsqAJeYQ
— Coach John A. Smith ?? (@CoachJohnASmith) March 23, 2025
Report: Drew Fielder To Transfer
The first recruit of the Ed Cooley era is the first transfer out for the 2024-25 off-season, according to reports.
In a day where over 200 basketball players announced intentions to enter the transfer portal when it formally opens Monday, forward Drew Fielder will do so as well, as announced to 247Sports.com.One of the nation's top 20 center prospects in the class of 2023, the 6-11 Fielder had verbally committed to Providence College but withdrew his commitment following Ed Cooley's move to Georgetown. Starting only two games, he averaged the fewest minutes per game of any of the eight regular members of the Georgetown rotation in 2023-24, averaging 5.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 32 games. Fielder's progress was slow at times, but noticeable: a key rebound here, a drive to the basket there. He led the team with a 40 percent three point average and was second on the team in blocked shots.
Fielder started 31 games as a sophomore, averaging 7.1 points and 5.4 rebounds, with a season high of 20 points and 13 rebounds versus Coppin State and a 19 point, eight rebound effort versus DePaul. Fifth in scoring and third in rebounds, his role took on a significant change when Thomas Sorber was injured and ruled out for the season versus Butler. With no other options, Fielder was repackaged as a center, where he became a frequent target of quicker drives into the paint. Fielder fouled out of three of his final seven games of the 2024-25 season and was in foul trouble in the other two. His outside shot waned as he moved inside, finishing the season 0 for 10 from the three point line over his final four games.
The basketball office posted no comment following the report. Georgetown hasn't actually acknowledged a transfer in five years, since an awkward comment from then-head coach Patrick Ewing was seen as a factor in Mac McClung's departure from the team in 2020.
Fielder had no comment of his own, but reposted Travis Branham's original Twitter post, below.
NEWS: Georgetown big man Drew Fielder will enter the transfer portal, a source tells @247Sports.
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) March 19, 2025
6-11 sophomore averaged 7.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists this season. Started in all 31 games this season. pic.twitter.com/OiUZOsv3cW
Conjecture suggests that Fielder will not play in the March 31 game with Washington State, leaving head coach Ed Cooley with Jordan Burks, Drew McKenna, or even Micah Peavy as the nominal center for the game. Burks is the only GU player taller than 6-8 remaining on the active roster, while Washington State, which lost starting guard Isaiah Watts (11.0 ppg) to the portal today, has two starters at 6-10 and 6-11, respectively.
In bygone days, players transferred over a lack of playing time, insufficient grades, or homesickness. Most of today's players leave over just two options: either Georgetown didn't offer him enough NIL, or some other team did.
Fielder becomes the fourth transfer in the Ed Cooley era and if past is prologue, he is not the last.
