Prospect Watch: Dillon Mitchell Bouncing Up the Boards

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Dillon Mitchell
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)

San Antonio Spurs fans are officially back after the team landed the No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA Draft. However, there are plenty of other prospects that the Spurs should be looking at with their 33rd and 44th picks. One of those prospects is in their own backyard and he impressed a few people at the NBA Draft Combine to boot. It is none other than Texas forward Dillon Mitchell.

The 6-foot-8, 193-pound forward has not been known for his shooting. That is, until now. He put on a clinic during catch-and-shoot drills. Although there’s no defense or resistance out there, the fact he was hitting shots and looked good doing it will make a lot of teams feel better about potentially drafting him late in the first round or even super early in the second. Here are his stats from his lone season at Texas.

  • 4.3 PPG, 0.6 SPG, 0.4 APG, 3.9 RPG
  • 63.6 FG%, 40.5 FT%
  • 15.1 PER, 110.3 ORtg, 96.8 DRtg

Dillon Mitchell Breakdown

His shooting percentage from the free throw line is not encouraging, but he also only attempted 37 free throws last season. That could be a larger sign of his role in the Texas offense, but he’s shown that he can be a bouncy and useful forward off the bench in his workouts and at the combine. Despite lacking some playing time, his kind of athleticism and finishing are just too intriguing to teams to pass up in this draft.

Mitchell has maintained his eligibility, but it is looking unlikely he will head back to Austin (as a Longhorn). Despite being a bit underwhelming in his lone season at Texas, he did start all 38 games he played in and had opportunities to show flashes of what he might bring to an NBA team. He showed his defensive versatility and with his athleticism, it should translate at the next level.

It is still a bit unknown where he might end up in the draft, but Mitchell’s pre-draft workouts will give us a better idea. If he continues to show that he has a solid base for shooting improvement, his stock will skyrocket. He’s already a long player who should make a difference on the defensive end, but showing some of his offensive repertoire as a creator for himself will go a long way too. He sets up teammates fairly well, but especially so going to his strong side, the left side.

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