Omer Yurtseven, N.C. State center, to transfer to Georgetown

North Carolina State center Omer Yurtseven will transfer to Georgetown, the school announced Monday.

The 7-footer originally from Istanbul, Turkey, will be required by NCAA rules to sit out for a year. Yurtseven has two years of eligibility remaining.

Yurtseven was reportedly attracted to playing for former NBA center Patrick Ewing:

Omer Yurtseven to ESPN on why he chose to transfer to Georgetown: “I needed a big man coach and I don’t think anybody is better than Patrick Ewing when it comes to the experience he has as a player.”

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) April 16, 2018

Yurtseven averaged 13.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game for the Wolfpack in his sophomore campaign. He faced stiff competition in the ACC and matched his season-high rebound total of 13 in an upset win over North Carolina.

The big man has an outside shot, too. When he scored a career-high 29 points against Clemson in January, Yurtseven went 5-for-6 from the 3-point arc.

Yurtseven will replace forward Marcus Derrickson in the paint for the Hoyas. Derrickson declared for the 2018 NBA Draft and hired an agent, skipping his senior season in Washington.

The Hoyas also announced that James Akinjo, a four-star guard prospect from California, has signed with the program. He will be eligible to play starting next season.