Jayden Epps Announces Transfer
Junior guard Jayden Epps, the last remaining scholarship player from Ed Cooley's inaugural season at Georgetown, will enter the transfer portal, according to On3.com and ESPN.A top 50 prospect out of Suffolk, VA, Epps averaged 9.5 points and 1.5 assists per game as a freshman at Illinois in 2022-23 before entering the transfer portal after the 2023 NCAA tournament . At Georgetown, he became one of the most proficient scorers of the decade, beginning with a game versus American where he scored 20 of his game high 31 points in the final six minutes of the second half and 14 in the final 2:17. Six days later, he scored 34 against Jackson State, 24 after halftime. Epps led the 2023-24 team in scoring in 16 of 29 games, including seven games of 30 or more points, the most in a season by any player since 1996. Despite finishing third in the Big East in scoring, Epps was not selected to any Big East all-conference teams, as his shooting numbers sank to 35 percent from the field and 25 percent from three at season's end.Epps' role became more complementary as a junior with the arrivals of Thomas Sorber and Micah Peavy. Though he only led the team in scoring in five games, Epps was a consistent option throughout the season, starting in 22 of 27 games with a season high of 22 versus Creighton. Epps' shooting visibly lagged towards the end of the season, shooting a combined 29 percent from the field over his final five games. A possible departure received online chatter during the College Basketball Crown, where Epps did not appear in either of the two post-season games. Epps' two year scoring total, 873, was the most in a two year run since Jessie Govan from 2017 through 2019, while his career averaged of 15.8 points per game ranks 17th overall. The basketball office has issued no comment on the transfer, which would be the sixth transfer from Ed Cooley's 2023-24 class and the ninth overall. With the departure, walk-on Austin Montgomery is the only Georgetown roster player with more than a single season of playing experience on the roster. Duncan Powell Decommits For Providence
The transfer portal giveth, and sometimes taketh away.Redshirt junior Duncan Powell has decommitted from Georgetown and will resurface at Providence, per his social media account.
This has become a pattern for the well traveled 6-7 forward, who decommitted from Arkansas as a freshman for North Carolina A&T and changed plans with Louisiana-Lafayette last spring, decommitting for Georgia Tech. Powell announced for the NBA Draft on March 28 before opting for the portal three days later and committing to GU on April 4. Powell may have been limited in his transfer options to Georgetown because the University does not accept undergraduate transfers with more than 60 hours elsewhere. "Transfer applicants," reads University requirements, "should have completed at least one full-time semester of at least twelve transferable credits, or the equivalent, on the college level but no more than four full-time semesters." Powell was not a graduate candidate at Georgia Tech. That's apparetly not a problem at Providence College, where Powell announced a transfer Monday.
Powell has one year eligibility remaining. Drew McKenna To Old Dominion
Outbound Georgetown forward Drew McKenna has transferred to Old Dominion, per social media posts.McKenna announced a transfer on April 4 following his sophomore season, averaging 1.8 points per game.
Julius Halaifonua Returning To Action
Freshman center Julius Halaifonua, sidelined with a foot injury for much of the 2024-25 season, will appear at a May 11 event in New Zealand.The Trans-Tasman Throwdown is a four team, three night tournament across three different cities in Australia and New Zealand, completing May 11 in Hamilton, which happens to be the day after final exams conclude on campus, though the 18 hour flight from Washington to Auckland might have him arriving a few days early.Halaifonua played in only six games before being sidelined after the November 26 game versus Wagner.
2025: The Arrival Of Hoya Gray
From Friday's HOYA, a look at the growth of the student group Hoya Gray, and an unlikely ally behind its success."The group is instantly recognizable to regular attendees of Georgetown home games, sitting in the first few rows clad in high-visibility construction vests and hard hats," writes the newspaper. "The vests represent the team's rebuilding era."One of the group's early backers is Sharon Brummell, chief of staff in the basketball office. Brummell provided a connection where the older Hoya Blue group had been lacking--according to the article, "the [basketball] program did not know the names of Hoya Blue's board members until last month." With the help of Brummell and the Hoya Hoop Club, the Hoya Gray $1 beer night promotion in February represented a turning point. Despite many in Hoya Gray scheduled to graduate this spring, Brummell noted "they'll be at the games [next season]. If I have to get them tickets, I'll get them tickets. Their first three years, it's not been a good experience as far as basketball's concerned. This year, they were happy." Jordan Burks To Central Florida
Outbound Georgetown forward Jordan Burks has transferred to Central Florida, per social media posts.Burks announced a transfer on April 4 following his sophomore season, averaging 5.7 points in 34 games and 11 starts.While Burks issued no public statement regarding leaving Georgetown, his announcement to USF included a footer which reads: "1000% committed Dog off leash".
UCF finished 20-17 this past season (7-13 Big 12), and advanced to the finals of the College Basketball Crown before falling to Nebraska. Entering his third school in as many seasons, Jordan Burks has two seasons of eligibility remaining. Georgetown Assistant Coach Returns To Indiana
The Indianapolis Star reports that assistant coach Kenny Johnson is leaving Georgetown for a similar role at Indiana.Johnson, 49, was an assistant at Indiana from 2012-14 before stops at Louisville, LaSalle, and Rhode Island before arriving at Georgetown in 2024. A former assistant coach at Paul VI High School, he was heavily involved in the Team Takeover AAU club. Two inbound transfers, Isaiah Abraham and Deshawn Harris-Smith, are Paul VI and Team Takeover alumni."Johnson's reputation as a recruiter is long established, and he's helped develop an impressive roster of future NBA players across his career, including Donovan Mitchell, Terry Rozier, Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo," writes Indianapolis Star reporter Zach Osterman. There has been no comment from the basketball office. Report: Mulready Withdraws From Portal
Freshman Kayvaun Mulready has withdrawn from the transfer portal and will return to Georgetown, per 247Sports.com.The web site had originally reported of his entering the portal earlier this week.Kayvaun Mulready has three seasons of eligibility remaining. John Thompson High School?
Seven members of the District of Columbia City Council have co-signed a bill to rename a high school in honor of former Georgetown head coach John Thompson.The bill, introduced Tuesday by at-large councilman Matthew Frumin, would rename MacArthur High School to honor Thompson. The school, located 0.8 miles from the Hilltop in the former space previously occupied by the Georgetown Day School, opened in 2023 and is the first new major public high school in the District since H.D. Woodson opened in 1972 and the first in the Northwest region since Western High School closed in 1977."Since its founding, the school community, including students, parents, teachers, non-instructional school staff, and nearby residents, has been discussing a permanent name for the school," Frumin wrote. "They recently selected John R. Thompson Jr., a native Washingtonian and renowned basketball player, coach, teacher, and advocate, as an appropriate representative of the school's mission." Though Thompson did not attend a public high school in Washington (having graduated from Archbishop Carroll HS in 1960), his legacy remains well regarded in schools across the area. The bill awaits a council vote, followed by mayoral and Congressional review. Arena Renovation To Include Art Exhibits
With the Capital One Arena renovation nearing, officials have announced a series of art exhibits that will be housed within the facility."The District Arts Collection marks a massive step in Monumental Sports' commitment to not only elevate the fan experience at the new arena but to create a unique destination to celebrate the vibrant artistic spirit of Washington, D.C.," said Jim Van Stone, Monumental's chief commercial officer. "This undertaking is more than just an exhibition; it's a living tribute to our community, showcasing local talent while honoring the rich history of our region and our arena's place within it. We invite artists to join us in this exciting journey as we transform our arena into a cultural hub for art and entertainment in the nation's capital."Construction on the two year project begins in earnest this summer. Outbound: Curtis Williams
Georgetown's fifth transfer of the 2024-25 recruiting cycle is sophomore Curtis Williams, per On3.com.Williams arrived at Georgetown following a year at Louisville and averaged 4.7 points while at Georgetown, playing in 33 of 34 games and starting in three, including the two College Basketball Crown games.A 15 point game on Jan. 11 versus Uconn was a career high, part of a run of double figures in four consecutive games, but he managed double figures in only two of his final 16 games. Curtis Williams has two seasons of eligibility remaining. Drew Fielder Relocates To Boise State
Two days after reports of a commitment to the University of Southern California, former Georgetown forward Drew Fielder will transfer instead to Boise State, per reports."On Monday it was reported that he had committed to USC. But two days later, Boise State coach Leon Rice was able to get him to flip his commitment and return to Boise," writes KTVB-TV in Boise. Fielder grew up in Boise but played his senior season of high school basketball in the Los Angeles area, and previously had USC in his list of finalists before originally committing to Providence in the fall of 2023.— Drew Fielder (@DrewFielder6) April 10, 2025 Drew Fielder has two seasons of eligibility remaining. WSJ: Georgetown A Top 20 Program
An recent study places Georgetown University among the highest valuations of college basketball programs, even if the numbers don't quite match up.The Wall Street Journal ranked Georgetown 19th among Division I schools in a study compiled by Ryan Brewer, an associate professor of finance at Indiana University-Columbus, who lists the Hoyas' "enterprise value" at $152 million, third among Big East schools and ahead of such programs as Auburn, Maryland, and Florida.The article is lean on specifics as to what enterprise value consists of. While the coverage lists cash flows among schools, including $23.1 million for the top-ranked University of North Carolina, it reports just $57,000 in cash flow for Georgetown. Other anomalies include a net of $124,000 for then-defending national champion Connecticut, $22,000 for an otherwise successful Kentucky program, and $0 for St. John's, among others. The article also notes program revenue, which is admittedly easier to discern for state-funded schools but which seems to have missed the mark with schools like Georgetown. Brewer's study lists revenue of $27.8 million for the men's team, a number that differs from its reporting to the Department of Education. The variance is even more pronounced for Georgetown women's basketball, which ranks 29th nationally in Brewer's survey with adjusted revenue of $5.4 million, despite average attendance of 742 a game at McDonough Gymnasium in 2023-24 and no NCAA tournament appearances since 2012. "The numbers are the product of a regular study conducted by Brewer, who begins his research with a simple question: What would these teams be worth if they could be bought and sold like a pro sports team?", asks the Journal. "He answers it by studying revenues and cash flows while making financial projections about the team's sustainability. In a way, it's not different than it would be if he were analyzing the value of any other business." Valuations notwithstanding, the survey shows that the Georgetown brand, despite more than a decade of underperformance, still commands national awareness. Outbound: Kayvaun Mulready
Georgetown's fourth transfer of the 2024-25 recruiting cycle is freshman Kayvaun Mulready, per 247Sports.com.A four star recruit from Worcester (MA) Academy who originally committed to Providence over UConn, Marquette and Maryland in his junior season, was the second commit upon Ed Cooley's arrival to Georgetown, leading the Hilltoppers into 2023-24 as a senior and joining the Hoyas last summer. "Kayvaun Mulready was tabbed as the No. 57 prospect overall in the class of 2024, the No. 2 prospect out of Massachusetts, and as the No. 10 shooting guard in the country according to 247Sports.com's composite rankings," read his bio at GUHoyas.com.The variety of illnesses and injuries that took hold on the 2024-25 roster during the season limited Mulready's ability to gain time in the rotation. Considered a promising outside shooter coming out of high school, Mulready went 0 for 15 from beyond the arc in his first 16 games and never fully recovered. As with departing forward Drew McKenna, Mulready did not see extended game time until the College Basketball Crown, where he posted a season high nine points in 29 minutes versus Nebraska. He finished the season shooting 30 percent from the field for a 1.4 points per game average, the lowest average among the active scholarship players. Kayvaun Mulready has three seasons of eligibility remaining. Peavy Offers Thanks
Three is no transfer portal for Micah Peavy anymore, no recruiting, no off-season. The Georgetown graduate student took time on social media Monday to thank those who followed and his transformative 2024-25 season. Though his Georgetown career lasted but one season, Peavy leaves Georgetown this spring in select company:
Inbound: K.J. Lewis
With three recruits announced Sunday, Georgetown's busy transfer portal is highlighted by the arrival of 6-4 sophomore Kenyon (K.J.) Lewis.Lewis, who grew up in El Paso, played under coach David Peavy at Duncanville HS in the Dallas suburbs. A two year reserve at Arizona, he chose Arizona over Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Houston, Memphis, Texas Tech, and UCLA. While at UA, Lewis averaged 10.5 points last season, shooting 42 percent from the field and with 22 double figure games as a sophomore. Lewis had six starts as a sophomore behind starters Caleb Love and Jaden Bradley, who led the Wildcats in scoring. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
"Lewis' athleticism, explosiveness, and toughness as a defender and finisher make him an intriguing prospect," wrote NBA analyst Mike Babcock. "Developing his overall perimeter skills will be crucial for his growth moving forward." Inbound: Isaiah Abraham, DeShawn Harris-Smith
Activity in the NCAA transfer portal continues with the report of Georgetown's addition of a pair of local high school alumni in Connecticut forward Isaiah Abraham and Maryland guard DeShawn Harris-Smith.The 6-7 Abraham signed with UConn from Paul VI HS in Chantilly, VA, where he was an honorable mention All-Met selection in 2024 and was a Top 75 national prospect through his AAU play with Team Takeover. Abraham chose UConn in November 2023 over offers from Providence, Marquette, and Virginia Tech. Abraham's tenure at Storrs was a brief one, with 14 points in only nine games as a freshman, and just seven minutes of combined action after November 30. Abraham has three years of eligibility.Harris-Smith, a 6-5 guard, was the 34th ranked recruit of the national class of 2023 when he signed with Maryland from Paul VI and Team Takeover as the Washington Post's All-Met Player of The Year, averaging 17.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Harris-Smith averaged 4.8 points in two seasons at College Park, but just 2.5 as a sophomore, with only four starts as a sophomore compared to 30 as a freshman, with a career high of 17 points as a freshman versus Iowa. He has two years eligibility beginning in 2025-26.
The basketball office has not commented on the transfers. Casual Hoya: Under New ManagementSB Nation's Casual Hoya has posted notice that it is under new management, after briefly suspending operations last week.Late last week, a message at the Casualhoya.com read "The blog has been shut down until further notice." No further comment was posted; its last update was the recap of the April 2 Georgetown-Nebraska game.On Monday, the site changed course and announced that "the lunch blog is back, under new-but-familiar management." Casual Hoya dates to 2008 and it the third oldest active Georgetown basketball web page behind this site (1996) and Hoya Report (2003), currently managed at Rivals.com. Inbound: Duncan Powell
Redshirt junior forward Jordan Powell is the latest Georgetown addition from the NCAA transfer portal, as reported Friday.A well traveled player, Powell originally committed to Arkansas in September 2019 from DeSoto TX in the Dallas suburbs. Six months later, he decommitted from Arkansas but in lieu of reestablishing contacts with the other schools on his finals list (TCU, Mississippi, St. Louis, SMU, Tulsa), he sighed with North Carolina A&T, redshirting as a freshman and averaging 8.0 ppg with four starts. A season at Sacramento State followed, whereupon he committed to Louisiana-Lafayette, than decommitted two weeks later for Georgia Tech. He saw his best efforts to date at Georgia Tech, averaging 12.2 points on 44 percent shooting from the field. Powell started in 13 of 33 games for the Yellow Jackets, with a season's best 24 versus Duke in the ACC tournament.
Outbound: Jordan Burks, Drew McKenna
Two starters from Georgetown's run in the College Basketball Crown announced transfers Friday.Forward Jordan Burks will leave Georgetown in search of a third school in three years, following his freshman season at Kentucky in 2023-24. Burks started 11 games overall for the Hoyas and the last nine of the season following Thomas Sorber's injury. He averaged 5.7 points and 3.4 rebounds overall, with season highs of 16 points and 13 rebounds against Washington State in the Crown: these last nine games saw Burks average 10.4 points per game compared to just four points a game as a reserve. Burks averaged 1.9 points while at Kentucky.Drew McKenna's tenure at Georgetown was in stark contrast to his potential when he was the top ranked junior in the state of Maryland. McKenna opted to forego his senior season at Glenelg Country School for Georgetown but did not complete his high school requirements in order to enter college in the fall of 2023. He arrived as a greenshirt that spring, but saw no action that season. McKenna's sophomore season mirrored that of a promising greenshirt from a decade earlier, Stephen Domingo (2012-14), who shot just 3 for 27 from three point range and transferred following his sophomore season. In 2024-25, McKenna averaged just 1.8 points in 20 games, with his only start coming in the injury depleted Crown games. His three point shooting of 1 for 16 limited his on-court time, with an 0 for 13 statistic since the Notre Dame game in early November, and was not effective enough on defense to garner significant playing time, averaging just seven minutes per game. A nine point, six rebound game versus Washington State was a career high. Destinations for the two transfers have not been announced to date. Inbound: Langston Love
In the midst of the transfer portal, Georgetown's first inbound transfer has been added to the list.Langston Love, a 6-5 guard from Universal City, TX who played three seasons at Baylor, announced a transfer to Georgetown via the portal Wednesday. This announcement was not confirmed by the basketball office, which no longer comments on inbound recruits or outbound transfers.Ranked 28th in the ESPN class of 2021, Love averaged 8.9 points this past season, with 11 starts in 20 game appearances. Parts of his career at Baylor were limited by injury, with an ACL tear as in 2021-22, an eye injury late in the 2022-23 season and an ankle injury in 2023-24. Love has one season of eligibility remaining. Recruiting services are favorable that Love can contribute to the Hoyas in 2025-26, though he does not appear to be a direct replacement for either the graduating Micah Peavy or the transferring Drew Fielder. It is unclear, at least for now, whether this addition might be preemptive to a pending transfer by someone else.
Nebraska 81, Georgetown 69
Brice Williams scored 28 points as the Georgetown Hoyas fell to Nebraska in the quarterfinal of the College Basketball Crown.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
With the same short-handed starting lineup that held together in the win over Washington State, Georgetown started 2 for 10, but hung around for much of the first half, forcing seven turnovers and adding six offensive rebounds. Runs of 7-0 and 9-0 carried the Cornhuskers to a 34-24 lead at the half, with the Hoyas shooting just 29 percent from the floor, 28 percent from three (4-14) and 28 percent from the foul line (2-7), with Mack limited to 1 for 8 shooting at the break. Mack opened the second half with a turnover and two misses and the Hoyas struggled, giving up a 11-2 run and trailing by 19 four minutes in. Back to back threes from Mack brought GU to 12 with 13:18 remaining, and a three to close to 10 at the 10 minute mark, 57-47. Mack scored 11 of GU's next 16 to close to nine with 3:29 to play, 76-67. A Mack pass to Austin Montgomery brought the Hoyas to eight, 77-69, but the Huskers got an offensive rebound tip-in, 79-69, and Montgomery missed a long three with 1:34 remaining, ending a spirited Georgetown run. Nebraska's 34-18 advantage in the paint proved decisive desite Malik Mack's 25 points for the Hoyas, 23 of which came in teh second half. "It's my goal to never be in this tournament again," said Georgetown coach Ed Cooley in post-game remarks. Though not critical of the venue, Cooley explained that he is seeking a return to the NCAA tournament. "I think the accommodations are great, it's nice to see all the bright lights, but this is not what we're trying to build our program to be." Georgetown ends the sason 18-16, its foirst winning season in six seasons. Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Mack 40 3-8 4-8 7-9 1 3 0 25
Ca. Williams 29 4-7 0-0 1-2 4 2 5 9
Cu. Williams 30 0-1 1-5 1-2 3 1 4 4
McKenna 19 2-6 0-2 2-3 5 0 1 6
Burks 37 1-4 3-8 0-0 6 1 2 11
Reserves:
Montgomery 12 1-2 0-2 0-0 2 0 0 2
Van Raaphorst 4 0-0 1-1 0-0 1 0 0 3
Mulready 29 0-1 3-4 0-0 3 1 1 9
Team Rebounds 6
Totals 200 11-29 12-30 11-16 31 8 13 69
Injured: Halaifonua, Moses, Sorber
DNP: Fort, Peavy, Epps, Asadallah, Diouf
Georgetown 85, Washington St. 82
A career high 37 points from Malik Mack steered Georgetown to an 85-82 win over Washington State in the opening round of the College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
Because nothing comes easy for the 2024-25 Hoyas, three players, including starters Micah Peavy and Jayden Epps, were sidelined by an undisclosed illness. A patchwork lineup of Mack, Curtis and Caleb Williams, Drew McKenna and Jordan Burks had the feel of a summer scrimmage against a depleted Washington State team of its own, down two starting guards from exits to the transfer portal.
Early returns were not promising. McKenna picked up two fouls in the first five minutes, as three Georgetown walk-ons saw action before halftime. Georgetown shot 3-11 to open the game, as the Cougars opened up an eight point lad six minutes in, 16-8, with little resistance inside, as neither Burks not McKenna could contain WSU inside. The Hoyas trailed throughout a first half where the Cougars were largely uncontested inside, and led 35-25 with 4:05 to halftime having shot 11 for 16 in the paint. If there was ever a point of the game where the Hoyas could have packed it in, this may have been it. Having lost six of eight without Thomas Sorber, and now without Micah Peavy, Jayden Epps, and Drew Fielder, Georgetown was shooting just 33 percent and gave up 20 rebounds in the first 16 minutes. Instead, Ed Cooley and the staff put all the chips on the table with sophomore Malik Mack.
"Neither team is defending. It's like Stevie Wonder is guarding Ray Charles out there." |