Analysis of Tony Mitchell

aztecskin · January 2, 2013

Um. We forgetting that Tony absolutely dominated from the jump last season? He likely would have done something similar this season if it weren't for the coaching change/injuries to guards. He is still obviously the best player on the floor. He has a ton of flaws -- the worst being the lack of a perimeter game. The right coaching and mentoring can turn him into a solid NBA guy for years. He most definitely plays out of position and isn't complimented well enough. His flaws exacerbate our current problems (lack of shooting, lack of post-moves). It still is on the coach to work around that not make excuses.

I don't buy that Tony is lazy, untalented, moody, or overrated. He impressed at both camps this offseason, and did well at the USA thing. As for shooting in the NBA? Last year when he got rhythm 3s he hit 40% of them. Totally can be a Bruce Bowen spot up guy if he works at it.

Mavs might* be a lotto team this year - -- what ya'll think? Tony in a Mav uniform?

Dr. Seuss · January 2, 2013

All this talk of him falling to the second round is absurd. He's a lock to be picked in the first round if for no other reason than potential. Guys his size with his athleticism and skillset don't grow on trees.
Does he need another year? I'm going to say no. Age is a valuable commodity in the NBA, and he'd be better served spending next year with an NBA team, getting NBA-caliber coaching, without having to worry about going to class. Oh, and the money doesn't hurt. He's not a center, and both Johnny and Benford refused/refuse to accept that. Given that 99% of his college minutes are spent at the 5, while 0% of his NBA minutes will be spent there, there's only so much he can improve on while here. Not to mention that everytime he touches the ball, he's got 2 or 3 defenders swarming him. In the NBA, defenses won't be gameplanning to shut him down. He's better suited to be a role player on offense. He would have to improve significantly to offset the extra year of his age being tacked on.
As far as pay is concerned, in the NBA, you make the bulk of your money after your rookie contract. Even if he fell to the mid-20s, he'd still be making around 1 million, compared to 1.8 million if he was picked 10th. And if he came back to school, that's another year of possible injury, while not getting paid, with limited practice time, and mandatory classes.
It is in his best interest to leave. That is not to say that I wouldn't love to have him back. I guess we'll see what happens.
Go Mean Green

Just like Perry Jones III was a sure top 5 pick this time last year....Still more than 1/2 a season left, I think he'll be a first round pick but his play this year isnt helping

Edited January 2, 2013 by Dr. Seuss

cl_1_2008 · January 4, 2013

Just like Perry Jones III was a sure top 5 pick this time last year....Still more than 1/2 a season left, I think he'll be a first round pick but his play this year isnt helping

Perry Jones still got drafted in the first round. You just made a great example but it only further proves my point. And Perry started last year as a borderline top ten pick. Nobody had him as a lock for the top 5. But even though he had an awful year, he still went in the first round, all because of potential. As I stated, Tony is obviously falling, but barring injury, he's absolutely going in the first round. Tony's numbers on offense are very similar to Perry, despite the fact that Tony's supporting cast isn't in the same universe as Perry's was. Perry wasn't being double and triple-teamed like Tony constantly is. Defensively, Tony is light years better than Perry ever thought about being. So yeah, Perry's stock plummeted, but even though he played awful, he was STILL a 1st round pick, because of potential. And if it wasn't for a knee injury that teams found out about very late in the process, he wouldn't have even fallen that far. So thanks for proving the point that I was making.

UNT90 · January 4, 2013

Um. We forgetting that Tony absolutely dominated from the jump last season? He likely would have done something similar this season if it weren't for the coaching change/injuries to guards. He is still obviously the best player on the floor. He has a ton of flaws -- the worst being the lack of a perimeter game. The right coaching and mentoring can turn him into a solid NBA guy for years. He most definitely plays out of position and isn't complimented well enough. His flaws exacerbate our current problems (lack of shooting, lack of post-moves). It still is on the coach to work around that not make excuses.

I don't buy that Tony is lazy, untalented, moody, or overrated. He impressed at both camps this offseason, and did well at the USA thing. As for shooting in the NBA? Last year when he got rhythm 3s he hit 40% of them. Totally can be a Bruce Bowen spot up guy if he works at it.

Mavs might* be a lotto team this year - -- what ya'll think? Tony in a Mav uniform?

What Tony is missing more than anything is a good teacher that could get across to him how to use his body in the post. He plays way too vertical in the post, relying on his athleticism. You can see this by how easily he allows guys to front him and then calls for the pass over the top.

I would love to see him spread his legs, drop his center of gravity about a foot and a half, and imprint his ass into the stomach of a defender. Just once.

Playing the post has become a lost art in basketball. No finer example of this than Tony.