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Mitchell commits to Warriors

DeShawn Mitchell is honoring loyalty by committing to play for the Hawaii basketball team.

Now the high-scoring, high-hopping wing player can focus on earning honors with the Warriors next season.

Mitchell, a 6-foot-5, 207-pound guard/forward at Snow College (Utah), said he will sign a letter of intent to play at Hawaii starting in the 2011-12 season. He will be a junior and will have two seasons of eligibility.

Mitchell ranked fourth in scoring among all junior college players this past season with 23.8 points per game. He also averaged 6.2 rebounds per game and shot 51 percent from the field and 78 percent on free throws.

“Coach (Gib) Arnold said he’s looking for players who can create their own shot, and I feel like I can bring that,” Mitchell said. “I guess the biggest thing I can bring right away is my athletic ability and slashing. I feel like I can score in the system over there at Hawaii.”

Mitchell missed the final seven games of the season at Snow because he was dismissed from the team for violating team rules. Mitchell described it as “a misunderstanding,” and said the Hawaii coaches kept recruiting him throughout.

“The strongest factor for me was the coaches,” Mitchell said. “I went through a situation at my school, me being dismissed, and I loved how the coaches over there at Hawaii had faith in me and stayed cool with me. A couple other schools dropped off without knowing the whole story, but Hawaii stuck with me.”

Despite being dismissed from the basketball team, Mitchell remained enrolled in his classes at Snow, and is on track to receive his associate’s degree – which would make him eligible to play at Hawaii next season.

“I kind of had a bad weekend, a misunderstanding between me and my coach, and it led to what it did,” Mitchell said. “But there’s no hard feelings between me and the coaches (at Snow) and my teammates. I still work out with them every day.”

Prior to attending Snow, Mitchell played his freshman season at UNLV in 2008-09. He averaged just 1.6 points per game and 5.4 minutes per game, and transferred to Rider. He sat out the season at Rider due to transfer rules, but then opted to enroll at Snow because one of his former high school teammates was there.

Despite his limited playing time at UNLV, he was often described as an electrifying player there because of his jumping – and thus, dunking – ability.

Mitchell is the third recruit expected to sign a national letter of intent with Hawaii this week.

Dillon Biggs, a 6-7 forward at Dorsey High in Los Angeles, committed to play for the Warriors in February. Hauns Brereton, a 6-7 forward at Western Nebraska, committed to join the Warriors this week.

Here is a 2008 video featuring Mitchell (wearing jersey No. 15) as a freshman at UNLV:

8 Comments

  1. Recruiting is not over for this signing period, folks.

    I started a thread on the Insider Forum page (you can find it by clicking at the top right of this page) under Recruiting News. Please feel free to join the discussion.

  2. big time get, super athletic class….hopefully they all gel well together

  3. Welcome to the Warrior Ohana bros.

    I know you will do well here and take your game and Hawaii to the next level.

  4. MBB is having a good class coming in.Let’s hope this in will result in a good season next year.

  5. Wishing it was November already. Can’t wait to see who is next.

  6. Mr Mitchell is a gifted athlete with a hug upside. I can see him stepping in and starting at one of the guard spots. This kid can flat out score the basketball.. He attacks the basket like a grown man and plays the game with a passion that isnt matched by many… CANT WAIT TO SEE HIM IN A WARRIOR UNIFORM..

  7. I CAN SEE IT NOW.. GERRY BLAKES, MITCHELL, AND JOHNSON AS OUR 3 GUARDS… NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT A PG PEOPLE. GERRY BLAKES IS THE REAL DEAL… AND HES ALREADY SIGNED HERE….

  8. this is going to be a fun team to watch develop.

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