More prominent, though, is the nonchalance with which it's delivered and the certainty behind it. "If I go to the NBA and I get in the dunk contest, I'm gonna win," Mitchell says. Plus, in his mind, his fate is already sealed. He largely ignores such slights, choosing instead to focus on all the acclaim. For all of the hype he's received in the past few years, he's heard just as much doubt. The 20-year-old Mitchell is used to people questioning his future and his promise as an NBA player. What's not as obvious - not yet, at least - is whether Mitchell can live up to all that hype.
Yes, it's obvious why there was a lot of chatter about Tony Mitchell heading into this college basketball season. Plus, he's quick like a point guard, which is impressive given his size, and he can shoot like a swingman, knocking down an impressive 47.1 percent of his three-point attempts during his freshman season. He has the physical gifts, too, boasting a 41-inch vertical leap and a 7'3" wingspan. He certainly looks the part of a star pro, standing at 6'8" with a chiseled 235-pound frame. Watching Mitchell on the basketball court, it's clear why NBA scouts are similarly drooling over his game. The only other freshman in the country to average a double-double last season was the University of Kentucky's Anthony Davis, whose team won last year's NCAA Championship and who was selected first overall in this year's NBA Draft. In his first season of college basketball, he averaged 14.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. These are significant signs of approval - and a lot to take in, no doubt - but last year's numbers merit this kind of attention for Mitchell. If drafted to go pro, Mitchell would become the first North Texas player to make the league since the '70s. ESPN, meanwhile, ranked him as a second team preseason All-American and has had the sophomore ranked as high as fifth on its mock NBA draft board. Sports Illustratedran a feature on him in their college basketball preview issue, calling him out as one of five student athletes set to place their smaller, nontraditional basketball powerhouse schools on the map this year. 5 on its 2012-13 preseason Top 50 Big Men list. 7 on its 2012-13 preseason list of the Top 100 College Players and No. The launch of that website - which is intent on bringing some extra attention to this year's basketball program - came in October, right on the heels of numerous preseason accolades doled upon Mitchell in the wake of his highly successful freshman campaign.ĬBS Sports ranked the power forward No. And, over the course of his basketball playing life, it has in many ways become his identity - so much so that, a UNT-built site focused on Mitchell, even offers a step-by-step tutorial of his process. Dunking is, after all, the sophomore University of North Texas basketball star's favorite thing to do. Tony Mitchell has dunking down to a science.
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