Mitchell signs with UH
Hey guys, this was my writeup on DeShawn Mitchell for our breaking news section, which apparently is having some technical difficulties on adding new stories at the moment:
DeShawn Mitchell, a dynamic 6-foot-5 swingman formerly of Snow College (Utah), said he has signed and sent a letter of intent to play for the Hawaii men’s basketball team.
Mitchell, who averaged nearly 24 points in 23 games at Snow, was dismissed from the team by his coach late in the season.
Other schools, including several from the Mountain West Conference, dropped Mitchell from their recruiting radars. That the UH coaches stayed in contact with him from that point meant a lot to Mitchell.
“They were already recruiting me heavy, they were one of my top choices before the whole situation happened,” Mitchell said. “I loved whole the whole coaching staff stayed in contact with me and were there for me. They were real faithful to me. They listened to the whole story about what happened.”
He said there was no issue with his teammates.
“It was just a verbal big misunderstanding with me and my coach one weekend. I guess he didn’t appreciate how it went down, so he dismissed me,” Mitchell said. “I was real hurt that I couldn’t finish the season, but I got to stay and finish school, so that’s all that really matters, as long as I’m eligible to play next year.”
The New Jersey native said he is on track to receive his associate’s degree, which is a requisite of transferring to UH. He said he will go to Manoa starting in the first summer session.
Mitchell, who played his freshman season at UNLV, has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
He is the third signed commitment at UH this spring, along with Dorsey (Calif.) High small forward Dillon Biggs and Western Nebraska forward Hauns Brereton.
Great news, Can’t wait to see DeShawn at the SSC.
Brian — Thanks for Getting “The Facts” before giving us “ALL the Opinions”; if you didn’t hear, Josh’s noon show also gave you props for getting behind the surface talk …
Overall — GREAT Start to “Finalizing” the Recruiting Class — Brereton, Biggs, Blakes, Mitchell, & Stevens sounds more like a Law Firm — with greater athleticism and our returnees teaching/transferring shutdown defense sounds like U.H. more often than not, will Rule the Courts …
AND Props to Gib & Staff for also getting behind the barriers and surface prejudices — Getting the Early Jump (which was harder last year) on Emerging and Inner City Talent like Blake & Biggs and Following through with a player you had “already had decided was a good person” gets you past some of the short-term & young-men growing up obstacles …
OTHER BIGS ? EURO-Point ?
It is an accomplishment to think a prominent player on 2 dominating Oak Hill teams is coming to Hawaii to play basketball for reasons other than playing in the Iolani Classic.
Gib is walking in the walk when in comes to bringing change to UH bball.
Great job as usual, Brian!
Do you know whether UH has received any of these signed letters yet?
In the spirit of June Jones, I’m glad da Gibba is giving DeShawn Mitchell a fresh start. I hope Mitchell knows that he’s on a short leash and the basketball eyes of the state will be upon him.
BIK
I’ve been doing a little digging and from what I’ve come up with, the Euro PG from Montenegro has decided to go back home. Too bad, he sounded like a good one. Maybe we still get chance with Odunsi?
Welcome DeShawn to our basketball ohana! Looking fofard to seeing you next season!
Welcome DeShawn to our basketball ohana! Looking forward to seeing you next season!
Hey Brian,
Enjoy your blog. Do you know if we are going to have any recruits visiting this weekend? Also is Gib still in California recruiting? Is the rest of the coaching staff on the road recruiting as well?
November can’t come soon enough.
With Deshawn and Blakes on board, wouldn’t it be great to have a slam dunk contest at Midnight Ohana?
Hey Brian,
Enjoy your blog. Do you know if we are going to have any recruits visiting this weekend? Also is Gib still in California recruiting? Is the rest of the coaching staff on the road recruiting as well?
November can’t come soon enough.
With Deshawn and Blakes on board, wouldn’t it be great to have a slam dunk contest at Midnight Ohana?
Mahalo!
This is a low risk – high pay-off move. The risk is low: loss of one position on the team. The potential pay-off is high: a super quality player on the team for the next two years.
Coach Gibb made a good decision, a no brainer.
UH needs a power forward to fill the shoes of Bill Amiss. DeShawn Mitchell is the answer. With his athleticism and skills, he is a welcome addition to the team. I am looking forward to watching him play next season.
What I like about Coach Gib’s coaching style is free substitution. He keeps inserting fresh players into the game to maintain an uptempo game. Depth is important to his style of coaching. DeShawn is going to be just one player, in this scheme, but most likely, a key one. He should understand that coming into the program. It is team effort and team wins. The individual can stand out, but more important is what he contributes to the team to make it possible for the team to win. If his head is screwed on right in the beginning and he knows what to expect, everything should be all right, meaning “no habut’ when he is benched or don’t get to play.
Hawaii fans are forgiving. As far as Hawaii fans go, he comes in on a clean slate, until he proves us wrong. Then, he will experience our wrath. It’s his choice.
Go DeShawn. Go Warriors!
Thanks Kendall,
Coach Arnold returned to the islands late last night from California, and his staff are all here. They do have some visits arranged this month, but none this weekend that I am aware of. Things can change rapidly, however.