North Texas star Tony Mitchell's journey could lead to NBA

[Harry]

The recruiting process in college athletics is much like pursuing a love interest.

In the end, what will be will be. But with the future's great unknowns you can never exactly say never.

And that's how first-year North Texas basketball coach Tony Benford must have felt when he was reacquainted with Tony Mitchell, one of the nation's best basketball talents, whom he had courted aggressively as an assistant at Marquette, only to lose out to a rival.

"It came down to us and Missouri," said Benford, a former assistant at Marquette and lead recruiter on Mitchell, then a 6-foot-8 high school senior at Dallas Pinkston and now a 235-pound sophomore forward for the Mean Green. "Tony is a great kid, a really hard worker, and he's got a lot of ability."

As it turned out, Mitchell's future wasn't at Missouri. He landed at North Texas after eligibility issues interrupted his career in Columbia before it even began.

He showed glimpses of stardom in playing half of last season after becoming eligible.

Mitchell's next stop will likely be the NBA, possibly as soon as June, depending on if he chooses to forgo his last two years of college eligibility.

He appears to be in a win-win situation. Mitchell loves his home and his teammates at North Texas and the NBA scouts love his ability.

UT Arlington (2-1), which lost to Oklahoma by only four points, will get a view up close of that ability at 7:30 tonight when the two regional rivals meet at the Super Pit in Denton.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/11/27/4443331/north-texas-star-tony-mitc

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/11/27/4443331/north-texas-star-tony-mitchells.html#storylink=cpy