LSU transfer Brandon Murray commits to Hoyas originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Georgetown men's basketball program landed one of the top transfers in the country with the commitment of former LSU star Brandon Murray. His signing was announced by the Hoya program on Monday afternoon.
Murray comes to the Hilltop fresh off an outstanding freshman year with the Tigers. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard averaged 10.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game en route to being named to the SEC's All-Freshman Team. A Baltimore native, Murray originally received an offer from the Hoyas as a top-100 ranked recruit by 247sports.
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"I'm happy to welcome Brandon Murray to the Hilltop. He chose Georgetown and we want to make him feel right at home. I am excited to see what he can do here and he is an important building block in our efforts to return this program back to national prominence," head coach Patrick Ewing said in a statement.
His commitment through the transfer portal comes after a confluence of events. Facing NCAA violations from the FBI bribery scandal, LSU fired head coach Will Wade right before the start of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Then-assistant coach Kevin Nickelberry filled in the interim for their first-round NCAA Tournament exit to Iowa State.
The Tigers would go on to hire Murray State's Matt McMahon as their new coach weeks later, leaving Nickelberry to join Ewing's staff as an assistant in D.C. It resulted in 11 Tigers entering the transfer portal.
Surely, Nickelberry's relationship with Murray was a determining factor for the talented guard.
Nabbing Murray, especially this early in the process, is a huge addition to Georgetown. Already, four Hoyas have entered the transfer portal this offseason - most of them being depth pieces - leaving several open scholarships. Additionally, leading scorer Aminu Mohammed had entered his name into the NBA Draft process and fellow starter Donald Carey has yet to decide if he wants to use his additional COVID year.
Depending on how the roster shakes out, Murray could end up as the Hoyas' top-scoring option for the start of the 2022-23 season. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
Related: Is a lack of D.C. schools in the NCAA Tournament a trend?
This is the first important building block this offseason for Ewing after a terrible year. Three of the team's starters were underclassmen following the massive roster turnover going into a new season. That was reflected in the team's 0-19 record in Big East play.
Unlike last season though, there is no 16th-ranked recruiting class coming in to point the team forward. Several open scholarships still leave the door open for other transfers for Georgetown. Potential targets could include any of the five remaining LSU Tigers who remain in the portal, including starting point guard Xavier Pinson and freshman center Efton Reid.
If Mohammed returns to school - and right now many mocks project him as an undrafted NBA prospect - Georgetown will be positioned well with a talented backcourt when paired with Murray and Dante Harris.
