Although the Georgetown men’s basketball team is losing two players to transfer, it will also welcome three recruits and one transfer to the Hilltop for the 2006-07 season.

Vernon Macklin, a 6-foot-9 forward from Portsmouth, Va., made a verbal commitment to the Hoyas Wednesday. Rated as the 12th best prospect by the recruiting Web site https://www.rivals.com, Macklin chose Georgetown over other top-rated basketball programs Wake Forest and 2005 NCAA Champions North Carolina.

Macklin’s commitment was the third verbal commitment received by Georgetown for next season. Guard Jeremiah Rivers, son of renowned Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, will join Macklin on the Hilltop next year. Rivers is also considered by many to be among the top high school players in the country. Forward DaJuan Summers has also made a verbal commitment to the university.

In addition to the prospects for the 2006-07 season, the Hoyas will have a new face on the bench this season as forward Pat Ewing Jr. has transferred to Georgetown from Indiana University.

The son of legendary Hoya Patrick Ewing (CAS ’85), Ewing Jr. originally considered coming to Georgetown before enrolling at Indiana, according to rivals.com.

In two years with the Hoosiers, Ewing Jr. averaged 3.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 57 games. After sitting out the 2005-06 season per NCAA regulations, Ewing Jr. will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Georgetown men’s basketball Head Coach John Thompson III also announced last spring that junior guard Ray Reed and freshman forward Cornelio Guibunda were granted releases to transfer from Georgetown.

Reed will play for California State University, Fullerton. A native of Southern California, he came to Georgetown from Inglewood High School.

Reed was one of the most consistent bench players for Georgetown. He competed in 31 of 32 games in the 2004-05 season, averaging 2.4 points in 16.2 minutes of play.

Meanwhile, Fullerton is coming off one of its best seasons in recent history, finishing with a 21-11 record that included a three-game run in postseason play in the National Invitation Tournament.

Guibunda will travel across the District to join the team at American University.

Originally from Maputo, Mozambique, Guibunda attended King & Low Heywood High School, where he was ranked the No. 16 high school center in the nation by College Basketball magazine before enrolling at Georgetown.

Guibunda appeared in four games for a total of seven minutes in his freshman season.

Georgetown Senior Sports Communications Director Bill Shapland said the university has no further comment on these transfer students.