North Texas Head Basketball Coach Johnny Jones is patiently waiting for the NCAA ruling on Tony Mitchell. Mitchell, 6-8, 235, was the #12 ranked player in the nation according to Rivals.com. Scout.com had him as a five star product. Jones recruited Mitchell out of Pinkston High School and thought he would get the prized recruit out of high school. However, Mitchell signed with Missouri which was a surprise to Jones who stated “we were a little shocked when are name wasn’t called” because “we were just crazy enough’ to think we would “get him the first time around.” 

After an investigation by WFAA-TV8 about his high school grades, the NCAA ruled Mitchell ineligible. In question was his transfer grades from the Center of Life Academy(CLA) in Miami to Pinkston High School and how he was able to make up credits by testing.They also questioned how he was able to play basketball in his senior year while missing 100 school days.

DISD considers CLA a non-accredited school even though they are associated with a home schooling association. DISD does allow a transfer student to take tests for any non-transferable credits. Mitchell took the tests for the 14 non-transferable credits. He passed the tests and went from a freshman to a senior. What was questioned is he took nine make up exams in two days. Five of the tests were done in a two-hour period. After the NCAA looked into the makeup tests his credits were denied.

Missouri appealed the ruling but it was upheld by the NCAA. His career at Missouri was over. The Big 12 doesn’t allow non-qualifiers to be signed by its member schools. The Sun Belt doesn’t have that rule which allowed Mitchell to sign with North Texas.

Mitchell enrolled at North Texas but had to pay for his own tuition. Going to North Texas allowed him to avoid any expensive out-of-state fees from schools outside of Texas.

Before he could play or practice with North Texas he had to become qualified and clear the NCAA Clearinghouse. That is where Mitchell is right now. Jones said Mitchell has been diligent with his studies. He looks for Mitchell to be cleared by the NCAA possibly before the LSU game.

When Mitchell is cleared to play, he will be the highest ranked player to ever play at North Texas in any sport.

When it came to grades issues, Mitchell has admitted it was his fault. He did not take of business during high school. On the advice of an AAU coach, he went to the Center of Life Academy in order to get qualified and be able to play college ball.

CLA is known as a diploma factory. Mitchell played for the school during his junior year before transferring to Pinkston.  Here is a link to a story about the school and it mentions Mitchell. Miami Times. There are other links in the story which talk about what the school is doing. It also explains how he and other players were caught up in the same situation. One talks about a Sun Belt school and its association with the program.

What makes Mitchell different from many players is he can play all five positions. What is special about playing all five positions is he can play with his back to the goal or facing the goal. Most players can only play facing the goal or with their back to the goal but not both.

Most players that play facing the goal and visa versa, become very ineffective if the are asked to play with their back to the goal or visa versa. Therefore, when injuries occur, teams find themselves in trouble because they may not have a player who can play facing or with their back to the goal. With Mitchell, he can be plugged into any position with no loss to team effectiveness.

In high school, he averaged 20.5 points, 13.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. He was SportsDay “2010 All-Area Basketball Player of the Year,” Texas Association of Basketball Coaches named him to the All-State Selection and Rivals.com #12 player in the nation. Slam magazine named him an All-American. He helped lead Pinkston to the Class 4A Region II Tournament for the first in the schools history. Pinkston finished with a 26-10 record. Highlights of Mitchell in high school.

Jones expects Mitchell to go through a learning curve “once he gets on the floor with us.” It will take time for him to learn the North Texas system. Once he gets into practices and games “it will help him tremendously and help our team a great deal too.” He is “one of the few players we’ve seen around the country that can play one through five.”

North Texas will be limited to what they can do in the beginning when he hits the court. The team will only be able to use certain plays until he has more playing time with the team. Once he has more time with the team they will be able to open up more of the playbook.

Mitchell played in the Under19 USA team where he was given a 20.4 efficiency rating that was second in the tournament. For the entire tournament, he led the team in rebounds and block shots. Maybe his 72” wingspan gave him the advantage.

When a player has as much talent as Mitchell, he generally is a problem to deal with. Jones said he really is a good kid, wants to learn and is a pleasure to be around. His talents has not gotten into his head.

Jones gives credit to Mitchell’s mom for keeping the player modest about his talents and the way he handles himself. Jones said Mitchell understands the hard work he has to do in order to get back to playing “the game he loves so much that has been taking away from him.” He sees how easy it is for things to be taken away from him. “He’s a great young man.”

If you believe the pundits, Mitchell is a pro prospect and will be playing in the NBA.