Ryan Mutombo 2021 commits to Georgetown

[vv83]

Dec 30, 2020 14:44:11 GMT -5 prhoya said:

Dec 30, 2020 14:40:07 GMT -5 vv83 said:

I watched one of Ryan's game against slightly bigger, more athletic competition. They worked much harder to keep him from catching the ball 2 feet from the rim, and he scored a lot less. Right now - he is playing to win by dominating kids a foot shorter than him right at the basket. It makes sense, this is the best way for his current team to win. But this approach does not challenge him to develop the broader skill set he'll need against BE competition. I'm sure he is working on this stuff in practice. But in games (I have watched 3 or 4 full games), he is not doing much other than posting up much smaller kids at the rim.

He has tried a few right hand jump hooks, and he is still pretty raw with this shot. But given how smooth he is with his simple post moves and in his foul shooting, there is no reason he can't develop a very nice jump hook. With his height and length, this should be an effective weapon against real competition.

I do have to say that the competition Ryan is playing against (and with) makes the "weak" competition Mac played against in High School look like Oak Hill! These kids in Ryan's high school league are very low level players.

How about his bounce in those other games? I don’t see much, but there’s no need.

He doesn't seem to have a lot of bounce/explosion in his game. He moves fine, but doesn't get very far off the ground at any point. If he develops well, he is going to be a highly skilled, very tall, non-explosive big man. That kind of player can be effective in college, especially against teams that don't have height at the 5 to defend him. But he is going to have to become a good 3 point shooter to have any chance to play much beyond the college level.

[beenaround]

Not that this is a bad thing, but the player you’re saying he can develop into, sounds like Jesse Govan.

[trillesthoya]

Hope he doesn’t focus too much on gaining muscle and spends more time working on mobility. If he gets his movement speed up he will be a beast regardless of his weight.

[vv83]

Dec 30, 2020 17:09:35 GMT -5 beenaround said:

Not that this is a bad thing, but the player you’re saying he can develop into, sounds like Jesse Govan.

Govan was a much more developed offensive player as a high school senior than Ryan is right now. Govan could already shoot threes and his right hand jump hook was pretty well developed. Defensively - it's hard to say. Assessing defense when everyone around you is a foot shorter than you and nowhere near playing division I basketball in the future - is pretty tough. Ryan definitely has a good feel for blocking shots in terms of his instincts and timing, but I have no idea if he can move his feet well enough to defend on the perimeter. Just his shot blocking may make him a better defensive prospect than Jessie was as a HS senior, but that is mostly guesswork.

[Deleted]

Dec 30, 2020 16:14:46 GMT -5 vv83 said:

Dec 30, 2020 14:44:11 GMT -5 prhoya said:

How about his bounce in those other games? I don’t see much, but there’s no need.

He doesn't seem to have a lot of bounce/explosion in his game. He moves fine, but doesn't get very far off the ground at any point. If he develops well, he is going to be a highly skilled, very tall, non-explosive big man. That kind of player can be effective in college, especially against teams that don't have height at the 5 to defend him. But he is going to have to become a good 3 point shooter to have any chance to play much beyond the college level.

I can't imagine he'll ever have that kind of range. I think the key for Ryan - to excel at GU and beyond - might be how much growing he's got left in him.

If he's not a legit 7', it's gonna be harder for him to get by on average athleticism or skill. Even at 50, Deke still has 2 or 3 inches on him in pictures.

I'm confident Ryan will work hard and contribute. But if he catches up to his old man sans fro, he'll be that much better.

[hoyazeke]

Dec 30, 2020 19:05:18 GMT -5 vv83 said:

Dec 30, 2020 17:09:35 GMT -5 beenaround said:

Not that this is a bad thing, but the player you’re saying he can develop into, sounds like Jesse Govan.

Govan was a much more developed offensive player as a high school senior than Ryan is right now. Govan could already shoot threes and his right hand jump hook was pretty well developed. Defensively - it's hard to say. Assessing defense when everyone around you is a foot shorter than you and nowhere near playing division I basketball in the future - is pretty tough. Ryan definitely has a good feel for blocking shots in terms of his instincts and timing, but I have no idea if he can move his feet well enough to defend on the perimeter. Just his shot blocking may make him a better defensive prospect than Jessie was as a HS senior, but that is mostly guesswork.

Also I'm pretty sure that Jesse was playing against high comp in NY. I remember him either playing against or with this guard that went to Hofstra in HS championship game....

[DudeSlade]

Dec 30, 2020 19:36:16 GMT -5 hoyazeke said:

Dec 30, 2020 19:05:18 GMT -5 vv83 said:

Govan was a much more developed offensive player as a high school senior than Ryan is right now. Govan could already shoot threes and his right hand jump hook was pretty well developed. Defensively - it's hard to say. Assessing defense when everyone around you is a foot shorter than you and nowhere near playing division I basketball in the future - is pretty tough. Ryan definitely has a good feel for blocking shots in terms of his instincts and timing, but I have no idea if he can move his feet well enough to defend on the perimeter. Just his shot blocking may make him a better defensive prospect than Jessie was as a HS senior, but that is mostly guesswork.

Also I'm pretty sure that Jesse was playing against high comp in NY. I remember him either playing against or with this guard that went to Hofstra in HS championship game....

Depending on his defense, you can also describe Marc and Pau Gasol, Brook Lopez, Jokic and a number of other NBA pros this way. Have to be heady, have great vision on defense and offense, block some shots, and be a good willing passer, but there's still room for a 7 footer at that level without elite bounce or athleticism -- though obviously it's harder.

[reformation]

I saw Govan play my old HS team-which is pretty elite(Stepinac out of White Plains NY) in a scrimmage at the Stepinac gym. Stepinac at the time had two high level D1 recuits and other D1 players. Stepinac did not have a great matcup vs govan (maybe 6'7''/6'8"" mid major D1) but one of their high level small forward D1 recruits was able to dunk on him a few times during the game. I'd say in terms of general offensive movement they look similar. I'd say that Mutombo drives to the basket netter than Govan and Govan demonstrated a better jumper as others have said. I agree its hard to tell given the disparate level of competition.

[bostonfan]

Dec 30, 2020 17:09:35 GMT -5 beenaround said:

Not that this is a bad thing, but the player you’re saying he can develop into, sounds like Jesse Govan.

Jesse had a lot of talent and I think could have been a more effective college player (and possibly an NBA player) than he turned out to be. He was not an elite/explosive athlete, but he was athletic and big/strong enough to take games over if he had the right mindset. The biggest issue I had with Jesse was that he seemed more interested in showing how skilled he was than physically dominating the game. I think he had the ability to just overpower some opponents but that never seemed to be his mindset. I don't have a problem with big guys shooting and making threes, but you don't have to give up your biggest asset which was his size and strength.

I don't know anything about Ryan as a person beyond the highlights and the few tweets I have seen, but I think if he wants to excel at the college level, and beyond, he will need to play with more of an edge that Jesse did. There will be things he needs to improve over his first few years (speed/quickness/explosiveness) but I think he can do that within the strength and conditioning program, if his mindset is that he wants to be a "dominating" player.

I look at Luka Garza at Iowa and see a kid who is not more physically gifted than the players he plays against, but he has decided he will outwork everyone and then just punish the defenders when he gets the ball. Not everyone is going to be able to do that, but having that mentality would go along way for Ryan.

[professorhoya]

Dec 30, 2020 17:09:35 GMT -5 beenaround said:

Not that this is a bad thing, but the player you’re saying he can develop into, sounds like Jesse Govan.

Govan is only 6-10. A decent 7-3 wingspan but for some reason could never block shots at the rim protection college level.
I think being undersized along with not having athleticism and zero lateral quickness hurts him at the next level.
In theory he has a key asset with his 3 pt shot in the "modern" NBA game but it can't really be used because he's weak defensively and athletically along with being undersized for a center.

[Deleted]

Scored 15 in a loss last night.

[95hoya]

I'm not very high on him. I don't think he's anywhere near ready to compete at the next level. He's gotta transform that body. Everything he does is in slow motion. Big guys are different though, there are plenty of bigs that appear to be underwhelming but become completely different players once they fill out and spend more time with a strength and agility coach.

He's a 5 and there's really no PT available for him next year. Maybe a redshirt candidate?

[Deleted]

Jan 16, 2021 12:56:12 GMT -5 95hoya said:

I'm not very high on him. I don't think he's anywhere near ready to compete at the next level. He's gotta transform that body. Everything he does is in slow motion. Big guys are different though, there are plenty of bigs that appear to be underwhelming but become completely different players once they fill out and spend more time with a strength and agility coach.

He's a 5 and there's really no PT available for him next year. Maybe a redshirt candidate?

I'd say the odds of all 3 of our 5s returning are pretty slim.

I think he'll be playable - even if he's not a finished product physically - from the get go. Tough to ignore how much more skill he has on the offensive end than Tim or Malcolm. Think he could probably be in some kind of offense/defense platoon off the bench.

He just needs to squeeze a couple more inches out of that frame, and he'll be VERY good.

[daymondmyles]

Jan 16, 2021 12:56:12 GMT -5 95hoya said:

I'm not very high on him. I don't think he's anywhere near ready to compete at the next level. He's gotta transform that body. Everything he does is in slow motion. Big guys are different though, there are plenty of bigs that appear to be underwhelming but become completely different players once they fill out and spend more time with a strength and agility coach.

He's a 5 and there's really no PT available for him next year. Maybe a redshirt candidate?

A redshirt candidate?! Are you serious? You think Ewing is going to redshirt Mutombo’s son and a 4 star recruit? He didn’t even redshirt Carter or Wilson. Nor should it. I have doubts about him too but a redshirt seems HIGHLY unlikely.

[95hoya]

Jan 17, 2021 21:38:28 GMT -5 daymondmyles said:

Jan 16, 2021 12:56:12 GMT -5 95hoya said:

I'm not very high on him. I don't think he's anywhere near ready to compete at the next level. He's gotta transform that body. Everything he does is in slow motion. Big guys are different though, there are plenty of bigs that appear to be underwhelming but become completely different players once they fill out and spend more time with a strength and agility coach.

He's a 5 and there's really no PT available for him next year. Maybe a redshirt candidate?

A redshirt candidate?! Are you serious? You think Ewing is going to redshirt Mutombo’s son and a 4 star recruit? He didn’t even redshirt Carter or Wilson. Nor should it. I have doubts about him too but a redshirt seems HIGHLY unlikely.

Redshirts are uncommon, sure. But without attrition, there's 4 guys who are all 5s, and don't have the versatility to play the 4. If there is a scenario where redshirting makes sense, it's in the case of a raw big man with a lot of physical development needed.

I don't really care either way.

[blueandgray]

I think he’ll be better than Trey Mourning....that’s my expectation at this point.

[thedragon]

While I have concerns about Ryan's mobility/agility at high level college hoops - i must say I've been quite impressed in the way his frame/build has come along. He's worked hard on adding muscle for his senior year and its obvious.

[trillesthoya]

His best attribute is his confidence. He truly believes in himself and that’s something this team could use some more of.

[daveg023]

Jan 18, 2021 13:15:30 GMT -5 blueandgray said:

I think he’ll be better than Trey Mourning....that’s my expectation at this point.

In my opinion, a guy of his rating, the bar should be high impact starter by his junior year, and valuable bench contributor by Sophomore year.

So yea, certainly would mean > Trey Mourning.

[hoyas315]