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37. Detroit Pistons: F Tony Mitchell, North Texas Mitchell, like Rice, had some off the court issues, specifically struggling to get eligible at Missouri before transferring to North Texas. He's a freakish athlete but doesn't have polished skills. He can play either forward spot and should be a great fit for the Pistons off the bench. Grade: A- http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/draft/2013/06/27/grades-pick-by-pick-cleveland-cavaliers/2465505/

North Texas forward Tony Mitchell fell into the second round, and the 6'9 freak athlete with the 7'3 wingspan went No. 37 overall in the 2013 NBA Draft to the Detroit Pistons. Mitchell was kinda dominant at North Texas, causing many to think he could peak in the low teens or high 20's in the draft. But teams kept passing on him, and he ended up dropping to the Pistons. Mitchell's two seasons with the Mean Green couldn't have been more different. A head-coaching change at the school might have had something to do with a change in demeanor and a statistical dropoff for the 6'8 forward, but his status heading into the draft likely took a hit anyway. As a freshman, Mitchell was easily considered an efficient player. As a bruising combo forward, he averaged 14.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game while shooting 57 percent from the floor and 44 percent from three-point range. He also averaged three blocks per game. Read more: http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/6/27/4468286/nba-draft-2013-detroit-pistons-tony-mitchell This post has been promoted to an article

We are just hours away from a milestone in UNT history. The NBA draft is tonight, and just about everyone on the planet has Tony Mitchell projected to be selected in the first round. UNT hasn’t had a player taken in the NBA draft since 1984 and hasn’t had a player selected in the first round ever. The last time UNT had a player selected in the NFL draft was back in 2004, when Cody Spencer — a staple of the Glory Days bowl teams — was taken in the sixth round by the Raiders. Spencer got tired of waiting to hear his name called and went fishing to relax. Bottom line — This is a big, big day for UNT. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/06/the-big-day-is-here-mitchell-unt-on-the-clock.html/

...Mitchell is a 6’9″, 230-pound 21 year-old from North Texas who just finished his sophomore year. He was the last guy the Wolves worked out the day of Flip’s presser and his college production fell off a cliff after one good month — sound familiar? Wesley Johnson, anyone? But, of course, he’s freakishly athletic — defending in isolation he held opponents to 5% shooting so Woj has the Wolves nabbing him at 26. read more: http://dunkingwithwolves.com/2013/06/27/nba-draft-trade-rumors-tony-mitchell-to-the-wolves/

Good Luck and best wishes to Tony Mitchell in the NBA draft! I'll never forget the first time I watched you play -- I knew you would be something special. You represented UNT in a class way. We are very PROUD of you and hope you land with a great team! For those following we will have the chatroom open before, during and after the NBA draft! This post has been promoted to an article

http://www.nbadraft.net/2013mock_draft

CBSSPORTS

Listened to a radio show last night interviewing an NBA analyst about this upcoming 2013 draft. Guy said that while there was no super star power, ie Shaq, LeBron etc - there was a lot of quality depth. He said teams with high picks are trying to trade down because they feel the draft is deep enough to get a similar quality player at more of a value. I believe he mentioned that after pick 18 the rookie sliding scale drops down or something to that effect. He also spoke about how interesting it was that the projected #1 pick had major knee surgery and yet is still sticking as the top pick. He said the medical technology is so much better today than it was in the past. Now how could this impact Tony? It seems to me if people are trading down, it will be much harder to pinpoint to whom he is going to go.

Unfortunately for Mitchell, his stats weren't overwhelming at North Texas. After averaging 14.7 points on 56.7 percent shooting as a freshman, Mitchell's numbers fell to 13.0 and 44 percent respectively in his sophomore season. And, even though he played three more minutes per game, Mitchell's rebounding fell from 10.3 boards per game to just 8.5. (He still blocked 2.7 shots per game as a sophomore, which is a lot for an undersized power forward) It certainly sounds like something was going on in his second season, but Mitchell may have calmed some fears at the draft combine in Chicago. Ford: ... [H]e had candid interviews with teams that suddenly made GMs much more comfortable in taking him. Was he just in the wrong situation at North Texas? If teams believe that, he's going to go a lot higher based on his talent. Givony agreed: It's pretty clear that North Texas' coaching change (Johnny Jones went to LSU, and was replaced by former Marquette assistant coach Tony Benford) affected the squad very negatively, as after losing in the Sun Belt conference Tournament finals last season, the team went 7-13 in-conference and bowed out in the first round of the tournament after being blown out by 8-12 Louisiana Lafayette. And if that was the case at North Texas, and it really was just a poisonous situation affecting an otherwise talented player, the Knicks might not even get a chance to take Mitchell with the 24th overall pick. Read more: http://www.nj.com/knicks/index.ssf/2013/06/knicks_draft_watch_experts_lik.html

Intangibles We already touched on this, but a lot of Mitchell’s red flags come from his production decrease and his effort issues. If these are problems in the NBA, Mitchell is doomed to failure. However, this can be somewhat explained. During his freshman season, coming off academic problems, Mitchell was a much more disciplined player under coach Johnny Jones. Jones left after last season to take over coaching duties at LSU and was replaced by Tony Benford, an assistant from Marquette who was in his first head coaching season. Jones was a very good coach and ran UNT at a fast pace and preached defense, as North Texas finished 26th in the nation in defensive efficiency. Under Benford, the Mean Green fell apart offensively and defensively, finishing 260th in offensive efficiency and 182nd in defensive efficiency. I think this has something to do with Mitchell’s regression. And really, I don’t think this makes Mitchell as poor of a prospect as initially thought. It just puts him in a category with guys like Lance Stephenson, Zach Randolph, Latrell Sprewell and every other player that’s come down the pipe and needs a strong coach or set of teammates to guide him to be effective. Put Mitchell in the right situation, and he’ll be fine. Put him on Sacramento or Charlotte, and he’ll be a black hole. Read more: http://rightdowneuclid.com/2013/06/10/2013-nba-draft-profile-tony-mitchell/

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Jonathan Tjarks of SBNation.com writes that the Portland Trail Blazers should select North Texas forward Tony Mitchell with the No. 10 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. To throw some variety in these mock drafts, we're going in a different direction this week. Instead of looking at where guys are likely to go, this is purely my opinion on where I think they should go. The Blazers need a difference-maker to push them over the top, and all the safe picks could be gone. Mitchell is the perfect combination for them: he has a tremendous amount of upside and a high floor given his off-the-charts athleticism at 6'9, 235. Tjarks wrote a longer feature arguing that Mitchell could be the 2013 Draft's version of All-Star forward Paul George, who went No. 10 to the Indiana Pacers in 2010. How does an elite 6'9+ athlete with a fairly complete skillset fall to No. 10 overall? In George's case, because he was the best player on an underachieving mid-major team, far from the national spotlight. If there's one player in this draft who fits that description, it's Tony Mitchell of North Texas -- complete with two first names. In person, Mitchell more than passes the eye test. He's 6'9, 235 pounds with a 7'2 wingspan and a 38' max vertical. Look at his dunks from UNT Midnight Madness this season. That's a guy bigger than most NBA power forwards dunking two basketballs at once, catching the ball in mid-air and doing a windmill and I'm not even sure what the last once was because holy s--t. At the combine, Mitchell jumped so high they had to put something under the bar to raise it. If things don't work out for him in the NBA, he can march over to the NFL and be an All-Pro TE for the next decade. Read more: http://www.blazersedge.com/2013/5/29/4378372/tjarks-blazers-should-take-north-texas-f-tony-mitchell-in-2013-nba

The focus when it comes to the UNT mens basketball team over the last few days has been the final spot on the roster and the comings and goings of a few prospects, including Cincinnati center Kelvin Gaines and former Alabama State signee Egi Gjikondi. Theres a bit more going on around the program, including the rapid rise up the draft board of Tony Mitchell. The Blazers worked out Mitchell this week. The Oregonian has a short story and video interview it posted yesterday. Its looking more and more like Mitchell might end up being a lottery pick, which UNT head coach Tony Benford predicted weeks ago. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/05/friday-afternoon-basketball-notes-4.html/

Tony Mitchell is a physical specimen, a man whose appearance inspires awe. He's built like a boulder, even on top of his nearly 7-foot-3 wingspan. He's one of the most athletic players with his size, too. He registered a 38-inch max vertical at the Combine and tested well in the speed drills also. Plus he did at the North Texas dunk contest. Looking for an athletic, long wing with mixed results in college but an impeccable physical profile and evidence of skill? Look at North Texas, says Jonathan Tjarks. Mitchell thrives on the glass, where he grabbed 29.1 percent of defensive rebounds in his freshman season, though that number dropped to 20.6 percent in his sophomore season. Most of his points come off of opportunities at the rim that he creates with his great combination of size and athleticism. Defensively, he loves looking for shots to block and has all the potential in the world to become a defensive player in the NBA. But the fundamentals aren't there yet. And neither is the consistent effort needed to be a defensive player in the NBA. I got a chance to watch him live a couple of times in his collegiate career and it was always disappointing to see how he could have dominated the Sun Belt but didn't. He was obviously the most talented, most physically dominant player in the conference but never asserted himself with the type of effort that one would like to see. It is concerning for scouts how badly Mitchell's numbers dropped off in his sophomore season. He dropped in points, rebounds, blocks, and assists while becoming drastically less efficient. The Mean Green as a whole disappointed this past season by finishing 12-20 overall after making the conference championship in the previous year. The program went through a coaching change and that could be one of the reasons for Mitchell's head-scratching decline in his sophomore season. After his freshman year, he was touted as a lottery pick with top-10 potential and that potential is still there. But with how bad his sophomore season ended, he could theoretically drop to the Magic at No. 51, though that'd probably be a far decline. Mitchell needs coaching. He needs motivation. If a coach could tap into that potential, he could be one of the gems in the draft. Read more: http://www.orlandopinstripedpost.com/2013/5/28/4368256/prospect-profiles-tony-mitchell-andre-roberson-and-other-big-men

Tony Mitchell 33.5" no-step vert, 38" max vert, 13 bench reps Already known as an explosive athlete, Mitchell once again tantalized with his physical and athletic tools at the combine. He cleared the vert mechanism at one point, they actually had to raise it to accomodate him. His long arms also make the 13 bench reps even more impressive. While he was not a huge standout in the sprint and agility portion, these will be things that he can work on. What he showed with his athletic ability will make him a very hard player to pass up later in the first round with potential to eventually fit in some rotation with his raw ability. Read more: http://www.nbadraft.net/nba-draft-combine-athleticism-test-analysis

CHICAGO North Texas power forward Tony Mitchell expected the grilling over his underwhelming sophomore season. But of all the tough interviews he faced this week at the NBA draft combine, his short time with the Pistons on Thursday night left an indelible memory. That was probably one of my toughest interviews, actually, Mitchell said Friday afternoon. They got after me early, early. But I respect Joe Dumars and all those guys. It was an informative and great interview. What was so tough? They asked questions constantly, he said while snapping his fingers for emphasis. I had to give an answer and be honest with them. It was a great interview, though. Read More: http://www.freep.com/article/20130518/SPORTS03/305180054/tony-mitchell-NBA-draft-combine-detroit-pistons

CHICAGO As it turned out, Tony Mitchells college detour didnt cause irreparable harm to his future. The former Mizzou recruit, who never was able to gain entrance, is projected as a first-round pick in next months NBA draft and said after his workout at the pre-draft combine that hes hoping to go as high as No. 20. Two seasons at North Texas were far from perfect, but the 6-foot-8 power forward doesnt feel he missed a beat by not playing for a major program. Not at all, he said. I just kept faith and the Lord just kept blessing me. Ive got an opportunity to do something amazing for my family and Im going to keep working at it. Mitchell otherwise avoided commenting on how a questionable academic record led to him being declared ineligible by the NCAA out of high school. He went on to enroll at North Texas and averaged 14.7 points and 10.3 rebounds his first season before dropping to 13.0 and 8.5. The Mean Green stumbled last season, posting a 12-20 record that frustrated Mitchell. He admitted to displaying terrible body language throughout the season and suspects teams are watching him closely. They want to know am I going to give it my all every possession, he said. This season I was going up and down, cruising. These guys are looking at my effort and how hard I really work. Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/mitchell-keeps-faith-in-basketball-skills/article_b24d10a4-ae80-5cc3-bd3b-455ab2c361ae.html

Tony Mitchell is a special talent out of North Texas. He can shoot from virtually anywhere on the floor and possesses tremendous athleticism. Projected as a late first-round pick by most mock drafts, Mitchell can provide an X-factor to any team that picks him up. At 6'8" and 235 pounds, Mitchell is somewhat small for the power forward position in the league. But he may be better suited as a hybrid type of forward because of his ability to shoot the ball. Last season, he averaged 13 points and eight rebounds per game. Not eye-popping numbers, but the team around him wasn't exactly up to the task of providing Mitchell with opportunities to succeed. In 2011-12, Mitchell made nearly 40 percent of his three-pointers. That number dipped down to 30 percent last season, but he certainly possesses the skill to hit the outside jumper. If Mitchell can show his abilities to the fullest at the combine, his stock may even rise to the level of a potential lottery pick. Read more: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1634427-nba-draft-2013-explosive-mid-major-prospects-to-watch-for

21. Utah Jazz (From Golden State Warriors): Tony Mitchell, SF/PF, North Texas The combine and pre-draft workouts may not be as important to anyone in this draft as they will be to Mitchell. An athletic forward with drool-worthy tools, the former 5-star recruit had an incredibly disappointing year with North Texas, but good workouts will remind everyone why he was projected to be lottery pick back in November. Read more: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1627204-2013-nba-mock-draft-updated-picks-and-projectons-for-entire-first-round

The last UNT player to be selected in the NBA Draft was John Horrocks in 1984. Sophomore Tony Mitchell looks to snap the 28-year drought for the NBA Draft on June 27. To some NBA experts, a disappointing sophomore campaign hurt his value, while others think he can overcome it and produce at the next level. Where will Tony Mitchell be picked in the upcoming NBA Draft? Tony Benford, UNT head men’s basketball coach: “I think he’ll go anywhere from 10 to 20. I think he can get to the lottery – once he goes to workouts and shows guys what he can do, I’ll think he’ll be in the lottery. Unfortunately, and I tell people this all the time, we did not have our whole team the entire season, which is why his numbers were down…that hurt him.” Doyle Rader, sports writer for WFAA.com: “A sophomore slump scrapped any chances of Tony Mitchell being taken early in the NBA Draft. However, this could be beneficial for him. Though I don’t see him being picked in the first round, he could be taken late in the second round by a playoff team. Where Mitchell will really prove himself will be in the combine and in Summer League.” Ian Cobb, editor for the NBA blog MavsMoneyball.com: “He had a disappointing second season at North Texas, which is why he is no longer seen as a surefire top-15 pick, but it is entirely likely that he will stir up interest again at the NBA draft combine, held May 16 and 17 in Chicago. There, talent evaluators will find a prospect with the sort of ‘measurables’ that tend to get players drafted early: long arms, an NBA-quality physique, and terrific athleticism. As they say, Mitchell has qualities you simply can’t teach, and all it takes is one team to decide that the qualities Mitchell doesn’t have, they can teach. I would not be surprised if by late June, Mitchell is being discussed in the top-20 again.” Jonathan Tjarks, freelance sports journalist and assigning editor for SB Nation: “It’s hard to say right now. Once teams bring in Mitchell for workouts, I have a feeling he’ll start to rise on draft boards. You don’t see his combination of size, athleticism and skill very often. I think he’ll end up sneaking back into the first round discussion, especially with teams in the late 20s looking to make a gamble. Purely on potential, he’d go much higher than that. Mitchell is definitely going to be an intriguing storyline to watch over the next few months.” Read more: http://wordpress1.cws.unt.edu/?p=4041

I'm eschewing my normal "Strengths, Weaknesses, Outlook" format for this profile. Everything with Mitchell this season was so inter-connected that it's really difficult for me to break things down like that. To begin, Mitchell's frame and body are strong by NBA standards for a power forward. He's 6'8, 235 pounds with a 7'3" wingspan. Those numbers are pretty comparable to Tristan Thompson. Mitchell also has strong athleticism that scouts look for in the power forward position. The first thing that must be said about Mitchell's game is that he's really good around the rim, shooting over 80% there each of the past two seasons. I believe he suffered a little bit from no guard on North Texas being able to effectively throw an entry pass to him in the post this season, which began the process of sapping his efficiency. Early in games, he works hard to establish strong post-position, and against the likes of the Sun Belt he is usually successful. He has a really strong lower body that allows him to get a lower center of gravity, which helps him get defensive players pinned down on the block. One thing that could cause issues down the road is that he doesn't really have any post moves. Normally, Mitchell just ends up going over his backside shoulder and up over weaker Sun Belt opponents. In that regard, he doesn't really show any sort of solid footwork in the post either. But 80% shooting is still 80% shooting, so it might be a circumstance where he's simply good around the rim. However, he gets disinterested if he's not involved in the game early. His body language can get really harmful from time-to-time. A perfect example of his inconsistency this season came in the two games North Texas played against Troy. In game one, they got Mitchell involved early (going to him on the first possession, allowing him to get fouled and go to the line), allowing him to shoot four times in the first six minutes (his average FGA per game is 9.9). He responded by putting up his best game of the season: 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 4 blocks on 17 shots. In the second game however, Mitchell took two shots in the first eight minutes, only eight shots for the full game, and ended up with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. The problem here is that when Mitchell doesn't get involved in the post early, he tends to float. The biggest cause of his drop in efficiency this season was that he took 12% more threes and 12% fewer shots at the rim this year. By taking more threes, Mitchell saw his three-point shooting regress to what I assume is the mean for him, at about 30%. He doesn't have the best shooting mechanics (particularly with his follow-through and keeping his shooting elbow in), which makes me believe last year's 44% from behind the arc was a fluke. Because of the increase in three-pointers attempted, his true shooting percentage plummeted from 64.5% to 53%. NBA teams will have to iron out his shooting mechanics and get him to stay around the rim more if he's going to be a successful offensive player. Moving on to the defensive side of the ball, I actually like Mitchell more. His strong lower body helps him keep players out of strong post position. Mitchell also has pretty good instincts as far as blocking shots. He ended up with 2.7 blocks per game this year, which was good enough for first in the Sun Belt and 14th nationally. Sometimes Mitchell does get a little bit disinterested here too, but I think that the possibility exists that he can be an above-average defensive player in the NBA. I should also mention that Mitchell is a really strong rebounder with his strong lower body and long arms. If he is to make a definitive mark on the NBA, it will be in that regard. Overall, Mitchell is going to be a really polarizing prospect. He has already declared and stated that he's staying in the NBA Draft, so this is it for him. It's probably the right decision, considering he's not a young sophomore (he turns 21 next week) and the situation is less than glamorous at North Texas. Right now, I'd put his draft stock at anywhere from 20-undrafted. It's that volatile. It's all going to depend on interviews and workouts with teams. If he can convince them that it was the situation at North Texas -- not his play -- that led to his demise this season, then he has a chance to go in the first round. Otherwise, he just didn't show a lot worth drafting this season. The tools are there, but the toolbox might not be. He could be anywhere from a Thompson-type player to a Samardo Samuels. I would bet on him being closer to the latter than the former, so I probably wouldn't select him in the first round. Read more: http://www.fearthesword.com/2013/3/28/4155874/nba-draft-2013-profiles-week-3-kelly-olynyk-tony-mitchell-and-khalif-wyatt

The Sun Belt Conference tournament final between Western Kentucky and Florida International is underway. A lot of people thought a year ago that UNT would be playing tonight. The Mean Green was bounced in the first round by Louisiana-Lafayette instead. So, what are UNT’s prospects moving forward? That’s something we will take a look at over the next few days on the blog. First off, a disclaimer. Tony Mitchell said after UNT’s loss to ULL that he would make a decision on whether or not to enter the NBA Draft after meeting with his coaches and family. UNT’s prospects will hinge largely on Mitchell’s decision. There has been some talk among the UNT faithful that this team might be better off without Mitchell. My take? That’s nuts. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/03/unt-mens-basketball-look-ahead-part-i-whos-gone.html/

In case you forgot about Tony Mitchell, he is still playing college basketball. This isn't a slam on Mitchell, rather to state the obvious - he is off the map. And for those of you who do know who Mitchell is, he told me on Wednesday he is not sure if he will turn pro after North Texas' basketball season ends. Bet hard that he will, and that even after an ish second season at North Texas his background and atleticism say he can still be a high draft pick. His game, athleticism, and background look very similar to Indiana Pacrers All-Star forward Paul George. Stay with me on this. Mitchell is 6-foot-8, 235 and can jump. George is 6-foot-8, 221 and can jump. No one knew who Paul George was when he left Fresno State, and now he is on the verge of becoming a franchise player for the Indiana Pacers.. George (6-8, 221) was the 10th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft. He, like Mitchell, played two college seasons, both at Fresno State. In his second year at FSU, the Bulldogs finished 15-18; George averaged 16.8 points and 7.2 rebounds. Paul George was a second-team all conference player. Read more: http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com/mac-engel/2013/03/the-next-paul-george-may-come-from-north-texas.html

The All-Sun Belt team came out today. Loryn Goodwin was the Freshman of the Year on the women’s side. Goodwin and Alexis Hyder were third-team all-conference picks. Tony Mitchell was a second-team all-league pick. He should have been the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year. I will get to that later, but first, a few notes on UNT’s Pro Day. UNT had its seniors out at Apogee Stadium today to work out for NFL scouts. Four scouts were on hand this year, down from about a dozen last year, when Lance Dunbar was the main attraction. Joe Greene was back again this year. He is a scout with the Steelers these days. Patrick Cobbs, who is working as a coach at a private school down in Dallas, was also there. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/03/all-sun-belt-team-out-unt-pro-day-notes.html/

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/draft/prospect-rankings TM comes in at #30