Omer Yurtseven shines in Georgetown debut

The former State big man had a double-double in leading his new team to a come-from-behind victory

Omer Yurtseven was on the cusp of blossoming into the 5-star player he was predicted to be when he decided to transfer away from NC State following his sophomore season.

Wednesday, after sitting out a season at Georgetown, the Turkish center picked up where he left off in his debut with his new school.

Yurtseven scored 20 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in helping the Hoyas rally from a 19-point second half deficit on the way to an 81-68 victory against Mount St. Mary's.

The 7-foot junior put Georgetown ahead 68-67 with a fastbreak down and scored six of his points during a decisive spurt in which the Hoyas outscored their opponent 20-1 over the final 6 1/2 minutes.

"The first half was not as good as I wanted as a team or personal play," said Yurtseven, sporting a lot more hair than he did during his two seasons with the Wolfpack. "The second half things changed. We woke up. With the press we just shifted something and it got us going, got us aggressive. It helped us bigtime and it felt amazing."

Omer Yurtseven grabs a rebound against Seton Hall for the Wolfpack in the 2018 NCAA tournament

Peter G. Aiken/USAToday sports

Yurtseven, who was originally recruited by former State coach Mark Gottfried, averaged 13.5 points and 6.7 rebounds as a sophomore before transferring.

He helped the Wolfpack to the NCAA tournament and earned third-team All-ACC recognition while finishing in a tie for second in the voting for the league's Most Improved Player Award.