Donovan Mitchell: The Real Deal
When the Utah Draft drafted Donovan Mitchell with the 13th pick in the 2017 NBA draft nobody knew what to expect. After all, Mitchell had been a decent college player who wasn’t well known. First Attending Canterbury School (CT), he decided he wanted to take his basketball career serious and decided to transfer. He made the switch to Brewster Academy (NH) after one year. At Brewster he started getting attention for his basketball prowess around his Junior and Senior year. He earned a scholarship to Louisville and played two years under Rick Patino. He averaged about 15 Points a game before he declared for the draft. He wore the number 45 in college (and wears it now) because of his love for Michael Jordan. Jordan wore number 45 for 22 games in 1995 when he came back from retirement after sitting out a year to play baseball.
Mitchell attended Brewster Academy (NH) after transferring from the Canterbury School (CT). Photo Insidethehall.com
The Utah Jazz just look like a different ball club than I’m used to seeing over the past few seasons. They have Donovan Mitchell to blame for this new look Utah Jazz. The rookie has been putting up some huge numbers. In December, Mitchell led all rookies in points per game with 23.1 and also averaged 3.4 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals. He also became the first rookie to score 40 points in a game since Blake Griffin did it in 2010-2011. When injuries hit Utah’s Joe Johnson and Rudy Gobert it was Mitchell who picked up the slack and took over the team. He saw the opportunity to step up and exhibit his leadership qualities and executed when the time was right, for the benefit of the team.
Mitchell played under legendary coach Rick Patino for 2 years before declaring himself eligible for the NBA draft. Photo 247Sports.com
The Rookie of the Year race is tighter than originally thought. Before the season Mitchell wasn’t even in the conversation, now he’s right up there near the top of the rookie totem pole. With Lonzo Ball not being the player that people expected and Markelle Fultz being plagued by nagging shoulder injuries the award is up for grabs. Another rookie that wasn’t expected to be a part of the race was Kyle Kuzma, of the Los Angeles Lakers. He has made the most of his opportunity to shine and is making his own run for the award. As expected, rookie Ben Simmons, who sat out last year due to injury, is one of the front runners for this years award.
After a few maneuvers the Utah Jazz walked away with Donovan Mitchell with the 13th pick in the 2017 draft. Photo Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
You can’t teach speed, hops or a center’s wingspan on a point guard’s body. Mitchell has all three of these attributes which makes him such a special player. He’ll be in that All Star conversation very soon and from there the sky’s the limit. Mitchell’s usually long wingspan for a player his height makes him unique. His game is still evolving and he’s still learning the NBA game. He’s improving his ability create space on his own in order to shoot from deep. He already has a tremendous attitude towards being competitive while he’s on the floor and doesn’t shy away from getting the ball and creating with the game on the line. He’s got the eye of the tiger in him and I only see him getting better as his career goes on.
Mitchell has leaped over the competition for the Rookie of the Year award in my opinion. Photo DeseretNews.com
The emergence of Donovan Mitchell might push the Utah Jazz into a playoff spot in the tightly contested Western Conference. This wasn’t even a thought a few weeks ago. Once Mitchell gets a full grasp on the NBA game he is going to wreck even more damage on the league. It’s going to be fun to watch. Stay Tuned.