Before I even knew that Rick Pitino saw Donovan Mitchell as a point guard, I was interested in drafting Mitchell. He did well at SG last year. He has a 6'10" wingspan and jumps 40.5". Pitino now says that Mitchell was playing out of position and he really is a point guard. Phil loves him big point guards and Mitchell fits the bill. He also outweighs Frank by 40 pounds.
I'm operating under the impression that Fox, Monk, Isaac and the big names are off the board by the time we draft - THANKS NDOUR. With that in mind, I would definitely advocate Mitchell at #8.
Louisville coach Rick Pitino doesn’t like to hear draft analysts downplay 6-foot-3 Donovan Mitchell as an undersize shooting guard. That won’t be his position in the NBA.“Point guard is his natural position,’’ Pitino told The Post. “But because of Quentin Snider, who’s been around a while as a veteran, I played [Donovan] at the two-guard spot. I see him strictly as a one.”
That versatility, his defensive mindset and character are reasons the Knicks have more than a casual interest in Mitchell — whether at No. 8 or trading down a few notches to later in the lottery.
The Louisville sophomore has local ties. His father, Donovan Mitchell Sr., works for the Mets as director of player relations after a career as a minor-league journeyman who played for Mets manager Terry Collins. The Greenwich, Conn., product, who grew up 25 miles from the Knicks’ Tarrytown complex, is projected in most mock drafts as a late-lottery pick.
Pitino said the NBA Combine in Chicago — where Mitchell participated in skills/measurements — helped his stock. Mitchell, 20, measured in at 6-3 with shoes — 6-1½ without — and recorded a healthy 6-10 wingspan.
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Donovan MitchellGetty Images
“I think having that wingspan and being the defensive-minded person that I am will definitely help,” Mitchell said at the combine. “Because at Louisville, you don’t step on the floor unless you play defense.”
Mitchell, who played a handful of games at point guard when Snider got hurt, averaged 15.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists last season. Pitino, the ex-Knicks coach, figured Mitchell would be picked in the middle of the first round after Louisville’s 25-9 season ended in the NCAA Tournament’s second round.
Now he’s thinking grander.
“After the combine, we’re hearing he’ll be [a] lower [number] than where we thought because of what he did there in terms of measurements, 40-inch vertical, shot it well,’’ Pitino said. “He led the ACC in steals and showed anticipation skills. If it wasn’t for his shot getting so much better [this season], he’d be mid-to-late, but his shot improved so much, he’ll probably sneak into the lottery.’’
According to an NBA source, the Knicks put Mitchell on their combine interview list, but the league controls the meetings, and he wasn’t sent their way. The Knicks hope to work Mitchell out before the draft on June 22.
After his freshman season, Mitchell asked Pitino what he had to do to make the NBA.
“I said, ‘Look, Donovan, you’re a freak athlete, but if you’re serious about this game, you have to get a jump shot with arc and really develop it,’’’ Pitino said. “I haven’t seen a guy improve his jump shot more than him in my 40 years of coaching. He’s got great arc. He improved it more than any player I’ve coached outside of Billy Donovan.”
Pitino still has an apartment in Manhattan and owns Knicks season tickets. He said jokingly that it has been tougher to give them away in recent seasons. Pitino sees Mitchell fitting in at Phil Jackson’s Garden. The Knicks president has said he’s not looking for the best athlete in the draft but wants a cerebral prospect who can adapt to team play, meaning he’d grasp his sophisticated triangle.
According to Pitino, Mitchell has the qualifications to run the triangle and adds he’s so overly polite, he calls him Eddie Haskell from “Leave It to Beaver.”
“He’s understands everything about the game — a basketball junkie,’’ Pitino said. “He has a high basketball IQ, a high IQ period.’’
5/26/2017 9:38 AM