Transfer Profile: Primo Spears

Patrick Ewing picked up another talented rising sophomore for the Georgetown backcourt

Primo Spears

Height: 6-3

Former School: Duquesne

New School: Georgetown

Years Remaining: Three

Recruiting Ranking: Unranked

2021-22 Stats: 12.7 ppg/2.5 rpg/3.0 apg/32.2 mpg; 36.7%/39.1%/74.5%

Amir “Primo” Spears burst onto the scene last year as a freshman, starting 28 of the team’s 30 games and leading the Dukes in scoring despite being unranked out of high school. This year, he’ll join the Hoyas as part of their seven-player transfer class. He should immediately become a frontrunner for best name in the Big East.

Spears has spent this summer playing with fellow transfer Brandon Murray in the Kenner League, where the two have developed chemistry.

The Hartford, CT, native picked Georgetown over other high major schools, including Xavier and Seton Hall.

Spears ended his freshman year on a high note. He set career-high point totals in his last two regular season games, putting up 25 points at George Washington and then 34 points against La Salle in the season finale. He followed that up with 30 points in a loss to Rhode Island in the A10 tournament.

What’s His Game?

Spears often ran the point for the Dukes where he had success. He posted an assist rate of 20.3 percent as a freshman, and that rate ticked up to 21.9 in conference play. That was good enough to finish 14th in the A10. While that was coupled with a turnover rate of 15.1 percent, he showed true playmaking skill, especially off of high screens.

The turnovers are absolutely a problem for Spears, but he’s still young. That’s an area where he’ll have an opportunity to improve this season.

Spears will have much better teammates at Georgetown than he did at Duquesne, where the offense was legitimately painful to watch at points. That better talent will create more space in the offense, and it will result in more opportunities being finished.

Spears also excelled on defense as a freshman, finishing the year second on the team in steals. He is an aggressive help defender, and he like to hunt for steals from the weak side. His ability to match up one-on-one will be tested in the Big East, but he and Brandon Murray together should be able to harass ball handlers.

As a scorer, Spears was inconsistent and inefficient at times last year. He’s a good free throw shooter, but he hit less than 37 percent of his shots from the field. Now that he is on a better team, Spears should see more space on the floor and be asked to do less (he attempted 12.6 field goals per game). He also took a lot of his shots from the mid-range. His development path should include finding higher quality looks by either getting to the rim or finding a consistent 3-point shot.

What’s His Role?

While Dante Harris is the presumed starting point guard, Spears may push for the role.

Regardless of who wins the job, Spears should see plenty of playing time next year. The chemistry he has built with Brandon Murray should help with that. Both he and Murray are opportunistic defenders, and having them both on the floor at once could result in a high-tempo offense that thrives off turnovers and in transition.

Due to his athleticism, it’s unclear just how high his ceiling could be. Spears will have three years to spend with Georgetown, and, based on his freshman year performance, he is capable of developing into a legitimate starting guard in the Big East. There will be questions about level of competition coming from the A10, but Spears should see a corresponding increase in level of play from the team around him.

Spears should be a role player at minimum next season with starter upside.