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"Freak athlete" was the phrase out of Jay Bilas' mouth. "Upside pick" said Bill Simmons. What the ESPN analysts were alluding to Thursday night after the Detroit Pistons selected North Texas' Tony Mitchell in the second round also is ringing true with others today: Detroit may have ended up with one of the steals of the NBA Draft at No. 37. That's certainly an opinion of CBSSports.com's Gary Parrish, who listed Mitchell among the players "picked too low" in the draft. Read more: http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/2013/06/detroit_pistons_grabbed_a_lott.html

That trend could be seen all over the NBA playoffs, where teams struck gold with players drafted in the second round, or not drafted at all. The Golden State Warriors had Draymond Green and Carl Landry. The Houston Rockets had Omer Asik and Chandler Parsons. The Indiana Pacers had Lance Stephenson and Sam Young. The Memphis Grizzlies had Marc Gasol. They were all players who were drafted in the second round, either by the team they were playing for or a previous team, and all played crucial minutes for teams making postseason runs. It was more of the same in the NBA Finals, where Miami had second-rounder Mario Chalmers and undrafted big men Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem against the San Antonio Spurs, perhaps the NBA's gold standard for finding and developing under-the-radar talent. Danny Green was a second-round draft pick of the Cavaliers in 2009 and was cut twice by the Spurs before developing into a reliable perimeter shooter who broke the record for 3-pointers made in a finals series. Gary Neal was undrafted and had to go over to Europe before getting a chance with the Spurs' summer league team and solidifying himself as one of the team's first players off the bench. And Manu Ginobili, of course, has been one of the most successful second-round picks in NBA draft history, a three-time champion and one-third of a Spurs core that has stuck together for 10 years. Read more: http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2013/06/27/sports/doc51cbff4f39ca5604184291.txt

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

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.

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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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

27. Denver Nuggets — Tony Mitchell, 6’8″, 235 lbs, SF/PF, North Texas, So. The Nuggets could use a little muscle along their front line. Mitchell is a bit of a raw ‘tweener but he can shoot and run the floor which is key in George Karl’s system. Read more: http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/nielsen-on-nba-2013-mock-draft-v-2-0/

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

20. Tony Mitchell, PF/SF, North Texas: Aim high! In a draft full of middling prospects, it seems worth it to go after one of the biggest boom/bust guys we have seen in years. Mitchell is one of (if not the) best athlete in this class and like some of the other players on that list has not impressed this year. That said, Tony did a good job in the U-19 World Championships where he was the per-minute rebounding leader over guys like Jonas Valanciunas and Patric Young. If he can put it together, Mitchell could be an NBA starter and/or an important contributor on a strong team. Read More: http://basketball.realgm.com/article/226689/Lottery-Lowdown

NBADraft.net has Tony Mitchell going No. 5 to the Sacramento Kings http://www.nbadraft.net/2013mock_draft http://www.nbadraft.net/players/tony-mitchell http://www.nbadraft.net/ranking/bigboard

"If he was at Missouri instead of North Texas, we'd be talking about him as top-5 pick in the upcoming draft," one NBA scout said. "He's that good and the draft is that bad. But he's got all the tools to be a very effective NBA player." Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/222876/Tony_Mitchell_Projected_As_Possible_Top_5_2013_Pick#ixzz22zEz8zLj

Consider the source (BR) but they project him going #18 to the Jazz. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1242270-2013-nba-mock-draft-7-underclassmen-sure-to-be-lottery-picks/page/19

Tony Mitchell (North Texas, So.) – 6’7, 215 lbs. Power Forward There’s no doubt that Mitchell would have been a first-round pick in this year’s draft, probably going somewhere in the mid-to-late 20s. He nearly decided to forego his remaining eligibility when a coaching change occurred at North Texas, but in the end he opted for another year to work on his game and prove that he’s one of the best power forwards in the country. Mitchell is not your average overlooked mid-major star. He’s known by virtually every scout and general manager in the league. He committed to Missouri out of high school, but ran into some academic issues that forced him to eventually end up in North Texas. Mitchell is a man with an NBA-ready body. He’s rugged on the defensive end, crashing the boards with aggression and blocking shots with ferocity. If he shows an improved offensive game he could be next year’s Thomas Robinson, who went five overall to the Sacramento Kings. Read more: http://www.hoopsworld.com/looking-ahead-the-2013-drafts-top-10

"Tony Mitchell, 6-foot-8 sophomore power forward, North Texas: A monster athlete, Mitchell is still very raw, but despite playing at the mid-major level, his explosiveness is no secret among pro personnel types." Read more: http://www.csnchicago.com/blog/bulls-talk/post/Early-look-at-2013-NBA-Draft-prospects?blockID=733920&feedID=630