Mark Mitchell returning too

[kshepinthehouse]

I don’t agree. Successful Duke teams have a player starting at both of these roles. We need *both* a Proctor *and* a Mitchell. Williams/Duhon weren’t Williams/Duhon without a Battier. Jones wasn’t Jones without a Winslow.

Hurley wasn’t Hurley without Grant MFin Hill.

At the end of the day, success boils down to how well the core of the team plays together against the best opponents. The best Duke teams have a dominating presence at that 3-4+ position.

Mark Mitchell is not available on the waiver wire. That’s a huge win for us and a hit to every other team we are going to play.

We have other guys that can play the 3/4. We don’t have another true point guard from what I’m reading and I think Proctor is going to blow up next year. Mitchell is an important player for Duke and has a nice role, but Proctor is the one harder to replace.

[NYBri]

Drums are the most important. You’ll have to settle for bass being the coolest.

Paul McCartney on line two.

[rsvman]

Drums are the most important. You’ll have to settle for bass being the coolest.

Happy to settle for cool. 😎

[peloton]

Paul McCartney on line two.

Bill Bruford is on line 3. Update...Billy Cobham's on line 4 also.

[Music man55]

I’m a bass player myself. Played rhythm guitar but the bands I were in needed bass players it always seemed. But I enjoyed it. Also sang. Where did those old days go?

[kako]

Draymond has two things going for him that are very hard to replicate. First and foremost, he is an absolute defensive savant. One of the best of all time.

Two, he’s a great passer. Another skill that one can hone, but you gotta have the core elite talent to start.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Mark is a great defender, but he’s no Draymond/Battier next level wizard.

I'm not saying Mitchell is a Green now. Of course, he needs work. Both Green and Battier also stayed 4 years to learn their crafts. I'm simply saying a player with defense and passing skills can have a career in the NBA without having a 3pt shot. And it's possible that player could be small ball 5, depending on the team. So Mitchell doesn't necessarily need to be 40% from 3 in the NBA to succeed... though it would help.

9F

[cato]

We have other guys that can play the 3/4. We don’t have another true point guard from what I’m reading and I think Proctor is going to blow up next year. Mitchell is an important player for Duke and has a nice role, but Proctor is the one harder to replace.

I’ve got common ground we can agree on: we are both pumped to see that Proctor and Mitchell will be suiting up for Duke as Sophomores. LFG

[kshepinthehouse]

I'm not saying Mitchell is a Green now. Of course, he needs work. Both Green and Battier also stayed 4 years to learn their crafts. I'm simply saying a player with defense and passing skills can have a career in the NBA without having a 3pt shot. And it's possible that player could be small ball 5, depending on the team. So Mitchell doesn't necessarily need to be 40% from 3 in the NBA to succeed... though it would help.

9F

You pretty much compared a guy who doesn’t even play small ball 5 in college to arguably the best small ball 5 in the history of the NBA.

[SkyBrickey]

Mitchell had about a close to 0% chance of getting drafted this year. I don't say that to bash Mitchell. I love him, and I'm thrilled that he's coming back. He's a huge get. But he wasn't getting drafted.

I don’t know how you say that with such confidence. He averaged 9 points and 4 rebounds a game on a Duke team loaded with future NBA talent. His FT and 3 pt % were very good. And he’s tracking to be an elite defender.

Most importantly, I believe his measurables at the combine would have been excellent across the board.

So with your same level of confidence, I’ll state, he would have been a mid to late second rounder.

[tommy]

I don’t know how you say that with such confidence. He averaged 9 points and 4 rebounds a game on a Duke team loaded with future NBA talent. His FT and 3 pt % were very good. And he’s tracking to be an elite defender.

Most importantly, I believe his measurables at the combine would have been excellent across the board.

So with your same level of confidence, I’ll state, he would have been a mid to late second rounder.

I'm with CDu on this. Mitchell would not have been drafted this year. And I'll go a step further: I'm not confident he's going to be drafted next year either.

Don't get me wrong: Mark is a really good player and an important one, and brings a lot to the table. Primarily, defensive versatility, toughness, and smarts. But he is not an elite run/jump athlete. That outside jumpshot, despite the percentages this year, needs a lot of work and is not going to translate to the NBA without some significant changes to it. The scouts are going to see that right away -- they already have, really. And he didn't show much in the area of driving and finishing. A lot of times he would drive (almost always to his left) into the lane and kinda get stuck. And he wasn't able to jump over guys or get around them with his dribble. Could that improve with a year of work? Sure it could, and of course I hope it does. He is a really effective college player who I am THRILLED to have back on our team, and I expect him to improve his game. But right now, he is not a draftable player.

[kshepinthehouse]

I'm with CDu on this. Mitchell would not have been drafted this year. And I'll go a step further: I'm not confident he's going to be drafted next year either.

Don't get me wrong: Mark is a really good player and an important one, and brings a lot to the table. Primarily, defensive versatility, toughness, and smarts. But he is not an elite run/jump athlete. That outside jumpshot, despite the percentages this year, needs a lot of work and is not going to translate to the NBA without some significant changes to it. The scouts are going to see that right away -- they already have, really. And he didn't show much in the area of driving and finishing. A lot of times he would drive (almost always to his left) into the lane and kinda get stuck. And he wasn't able to jump over guys or get around them with his dribble. Could that improve with a year of work? Sure it could, and of course I hope it does. He is a really effective college player who I am THRILLED to have back on our team, and I expect him to improve his game. But right now, he is not a draftable player.

This is the correct answer and a spot on assessment of Mitchell. And his three point percentage ended around 35% which is pretty good but not great. Down from earlier in the season and I would surmise many of his attempts were wide open due to other teams not really respecting his shot. It is going to
take him years to fix his jumper. This is not a knock on him at all as he will continue to be a very useful player for us but I don't think the NBA would find him useful at the moment.

[jv001]

This is the correct answer and a spot on assessment of Mitchell. And his three point percentage ended around 35% which is pretty good but not great. Down from earlier in the season and I would surmise many of his attempts were wide open due to other teams not really respecting his shot. It is going to
take him years to fix his jumper. This is not a knock on him at all as he will continue to be a very useful player for us but I don't think the NBA would find him useful at the moment.

I agree with you on Mark's shooting form and I think NBA teams probably feel the same as we do. Mark shot the 3 pretty well at the beginning of the season, but his percentage fell off by seasons end. However, I believe it's something that needs to be worked on in the offseason and not wait until the season has begun. Mark is a terrific college player, but he needs to improve in some areas to be a successful NBA player. He needs to look at Luke Kennard's shot and try to duplicate it.

GoDuke!

[arnie]

He needs to look at Luke Kennard's shot and try to duplicate it.

GoDuke!

Don’t we all? Luke with huge lead in 3-pt% over the best BBall players in the world.

[wilko]

Perfect analogy ... the unsung but many times the most important member of the group ... he's one of my favs. And like others have mentioned, I think we saw what his absence meant in the Tennessee game.

Thanks for being a devil MM!

Absolutely! I was guilty of not fully realizing his true value until he wasn't there.
And like what they say about a Bass player - The best ones, you don't typically notice. (unless you are dealing with a virtuoso kind of player) The bad ones, you notice immediately.
And w/o Mark - the defensive song just wasn't the same. The outcome may have still been a loss - but the performance overall would have been tighter.

[DavidBenAkiva]

Mitchell will be drafted because he's 6'8" with a 7' plus wingspan that can guard 1-5 and can hit an open corner jumper. Lots of guys have funky releases on their shot. Jokic does. Mark's shot goes in from the perimeter and FT line. It needs more arc. If he improves his form and hits a good rate on his catch-and-shoot attempts, I could see an NBA team taking him in the 1st round. He shot the ball a lot better than Jeremy Sochan from Baylor last year and Sochan was a lottery pick. NBA teams value a versatile defender like Mitchell because so many stars in the NBA today are big wings.

One thing Mark should improve is his finishing around the rim. That's an area where he needs to show improvement, not just the jumper. The NBA loves 3s but it is also about creating space and opportunities around the rim.

[kshepinthehouse]

Mitchell will be drafted because he's 6'8" with a 7' plus wingspan that can guard 1-5 and can hit an open corner jumper. Lots of guys have funky releases on their shot. Jokic does. Mark's shot goes in from the perimeter and FT line. It needs more arc. If he improves his form and hits a good rate on his catch-and-shoot attempts, I could see an NBA team taking him in the 1st round. He shot the ball a lot better than Jeremy Sochan from Baylor last year and Sochan was a lottery pick. NBA teams value a versatile defender like Mitchell because so many stars in the NBA today are big wings.

One thing Mark should improve is his finishing around the rim. That's an area where he needs to show improvement, not just the jumper. The NBA loves 3s but it is also about creating space and opportunities around the rim.

His flat shot is only going to be even more of a problem in the NBA due to the longer distance. He's not a very good driver/finisher as you've stated, so basically, nothing about his offensive game at the moment translates to the NBA. He's spent his whole life learning to shoot in his current form so it isn't that easy to change it over night. Combine this with the fact that he isn't a great run and jump athlete. It's going to be an uphill battle to climb. Yes he moves his feet well on defense but I wonder how well he will be able to do this against better athletes in the NBA. He has a lot to work on if he wants to be drafted.

[clinresga]

His flat shot is only going to be even more of a problem in the NBA due to the longer distance. He's not a very good driver/finisher as you've stated, so basically, nothing about his offensive game at the moment translates to the NBA. He's spent his whole life learning to shoot in his current form so it isn't that easy to change it over night. Combine this with the fact that he isn't a great run and jump athlete. It's going to be an uphill battle to climb. Yes he moves his feet well on defense but I wonder how well he will be able to do this against better athletes in the NBA. He has a lot to work on if he wants to be drafted.

I am surprised at the predominantly negative view of Mitchell and the NBA. He's already a college shutdown on-ball defender and can play post defense as well. Solid rebounder. Great attitude. Does he have limitations? Of course. He's not a strong finisher yet, but that will come with time and practice. As a high schooler, Bleacher Report noted that "athleticism and long arms should especially help him inside, where he can finish above the rim with regularity."

As for the potential to improve his outside shot, it's far too soon to write him off. His form is quirky, arc too flat, but he still hits at a decent percentage, albeit down to 35.2% from his earlier season pace. But his FT% is 76%, always a good sign. And if you think that because a player has spent his life shooting one way he'll never improve, think Mo Bamba. In college, a 27.5% 3pt shooter, and in the first three years in the NBA, only 32.5% on just 1.9 attempts/game. But in year 4, he's up to 36.7% and doubled his output at 3.8 apg. There are many similar stories.

I think the NBA sees a solid 3 and D player. Remember, he's only 19! And, as as the cliche goes, you can't teach height and wingspan. Add fundamental athleticism, a great attitude and work ethic, and two (YES!!!!) years of great Duke coaching and I think he'll be NBA-bound.

[azzefkram]

I agree with many of the poster's views on Mark's challenges at the next level. He made an excellent choice to stay, as his likelihood of getting one of the good second-round picks, let alone a 1st round pick was minuscule. I'm afraid I have to disagree that he will have difficulty getting drafted in the first round next year. Will he go in the lottery? Probably not, but I don't think that somewhere in the 20+ range is out of the question. It only takes one GM to fall in love with what Mark does, and Mark does many little things that would appeal to most GMs.

[DavidBenAkiva]

His flat shot is only going to be even more of a problem in the NBA due to the longer distance. He's not a very good driver/finisher as you've stated, so basically, nothing about his offensive game at the moment translates to the NBA. He's spent his whole life learning to shoot in his current form so it isn't that easy to change it over night. Combine this with the fact that he isn't a great run and jump athlete. It's going to be an uphill battle to climb. Yes he moves his feet well on defense but I wonder how well he will be able to do this against better athletes in the NBA. He has a lot to work on if he wants to be drafted.

Where does this idea come from that Mitchell isn't a good run/jump athlete? The kid is incredibly athletic. Are you comparing him to Zion or Cassius Stanley? Well, no, he is not that. But he is long, quick, and can easily elevate. According to T-Rank, Mitchell had 24 dunks on the season, second on the team behind Lively. The kid can get up and throw it down. I guess he is more of a gazelle with his long strides. He'd probably be an average athlete in the NBA. I think of Jacob Grandison as a guy that lacks the kind of quick-twitch explosive athleticism. Mitchell is much different than that.

EDIT: By way of comparison, here are dunks from recent Duke wings/forwards:
Justise Winslow: 24
Brandon Ingram: 17
Jayson Tatum: 18
RJ Barrett: 40 (weirdly, another guy that I saw a lot of people say was "unathletic")

Dunks are not a perfect measure of functional athleticism, but they are a pretty good tell. You have be able to get up and throw it down in order to dunk in a game.

[sagegrouse]

Moreover, in pre-season scrimmage tapes, Mitchell was wowing everyone here with his speed, energy and athleticism.