In college basketball parlance, it's called the "one and done" - a player who by their sheer talent is fast-tracked to the upper echelon of the NBA Draft after one season. Aminu Mohammed became Georgetown's first one and done, despite having never earned All-America honors, or carried his team deep in the NCAA tournament, or was even drafted to the NBA. In the end, he won just six games in his college career.

A native of Nigeria, Mohammed emigrated to the United States in 2016 and played his freshman year at Archbishop Carroll HS in Washington, a factor that brought Georgetown to the fray among a number of national programs recruiting Mohammed in the fall of 2020. With his brother playing at Missouri State, Mohammed settled in Springfield, MO, where he was the state player of the year at Greenwood Lab School, averaging 34 points and 15 rebounds as a 6-5 junior. Ranked #14 nationally in the class of 2021, Mohammed's signing in 2020 made him the highest ranked recruit in the Patrick Ewing era and set off enthusiastic expectations that Ewing was finally turning the corner, with a recruiting class ranked in the top 20 nationally.

"He absolutely is truly transitioning into an elite perimeter player," said Mohammed's former coach at Carroll, Michael Powell. "I don't expect anything less than that, just based on his motor, his love for the game, his attention to detail."

The pre-season pick for Big East freshman of the year, Mohammed opened with 17 points in his career opener with Dartmouth, and led the Hoyas in scoring over five of his 11 non-conference games, with a 23 point, 13 rebound effort against Syracuse as a team high. The Big East schedule was far more demanding, and the freshman guard was contained early. In his first two Big East games, Mohammed was held to 7 for 33 shooting in losses to Marquette and Butler, and he shot 50 percent or better in just three games for the remainder of the season. His outside shooting was just 31 percent.

Instead, Mohammed's defense, rebounding, and free throw shooting were Georgetown's claim to staying close in a number of Big East games. But as Mohammed's shooting went, so went the Hoyas. He shot 1 for 13 in a home loss versus St. John's, improved to 18 points against Providence, but missed his first eight shots against DePaul. A 27 point, 10 rebound effort versus Creighton on Feb. 14 was a career high.

Mohammed was the team's leading scorer at season's end. As he was widely expected to pursue examination for the NBA Draft, head coach Patrick Ewing noted in an April interview that "If [the NBA Draft] does not work out for you this year, I would love to have you back." The advice received a rebuke of sorts from Mohammed's advisor, Shawn Harmon, who responded on Twitter that "I have told certain individuals before and will state it personally myself so it will be clear Aminu is not testing the waters regardless of what might be said by anyone else. He has declared for the upcoming draft and is committed 1000% to that process."

Mohammed was not selected in the NBA Draft later that month.

Despite shooting just 37 percent for the season, Aminu Mohammed's overall production was the most of any Georgetown freshman in two decades, comparable to that of Mike Sweetney (2000-03) or Jeff Green (2004-07). Sweetney and Green were eventual NBA lottery picks, but not before two additional seasons of college experience followed. Mohammed's gambit is that he is ready now, not later, for the elite level of pro basketball.