North Texas forward Tony Mitchell is reportedly declaring for this June’s NBA Draft.
Mitchell, originally a Missouri recruit that had academic issues keep him from enrolling, became eligible for the Mean Green in December of last season. He averaged 14.7 points, 10.3 boards and 3.0 blocks as UNT made it to the Sun Belt title game, but opted to return to school for his sophomore season instead of enter his name into the NBA Draft.
That may have been a mistake, as Mitchell had a disastrous sophomore campaign.
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His production dropped to 13.0 points, 8.5 boards and 2.7 blocks despite playing more minutes as North Texas turned out to be one of the most disappointing teams in the country. It wasn’t totally his fault -- the Mean Green had injury problems all year long and it was obvious that new head coach Tony Benford just didn’t mesh with this team.
But Mitchell’s effort level was more-or-less non-existent throughout the season. He hasn’t developed a post-game. Frankly, in the two games that I saw him play, he just didn’t look like he cared.
He was expected to be a top ten pick heading into the season. Draft Express currently as him going 21st, and that may be a bit high. He’ll get a guaranteed contract simply because his physical tools are just that promising, but he’s become much more of a risk than he was six months ago.
You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.