Tony Mitchell (basketball, born 1989)

Tony Mitchell (born August 7, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for Aquila Basket Trento of the Lega Basket Serie A.

High school career

As a junior at Swainsboro High School, Mitchell averaged 19 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots. For his effort, he was named the 2007 Georgia Sports Writers Association Class AA Player of the Year and was voted all-state. He averaged 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists per game his senior year and lead his team to a 2008 regional title.^[1] Coming out of high school, Mitchell was rated as a four-star prospect and the #10 overall small forward by Scout.com and a four-star player and the #8 overall small forward by Rivals.com.^[2][3]

College career

In June 2007, Mitchell committed to then head coach Mark Gottfried and the University of Alabama over the University of South Carolina and the University of Cincinnati. His enrollment with Alabama was delayed, however, due to academic issues and he was unable to join the team for the 2008–09 season. He instead played one season with Central Park Christian, a preparatory school in Birmingham, Alabama.^[4]

At Central Park, Mitchell led the team to a 25–0 record and a National Christian Education Basketball Tournament title.^[1] Despite Coach Gottfried being relieved of his duties at Alabama in January 2009, Mitchell maintained his commitment and joined the team and new coach Anthony Grant for the 2009–10 season.

As a freshman, Mitchell averaged over 23 minutes per game and made 18 starts for the (17–15) Crimson Tide. In just his second game, he scored 23 points on 10-14 shooting against Jackson State. On the season, he averaged 9.2 points and 5.9 rebounds and recorded three double-doubles including a 10-point, 12-rebound effort against Kentucky in the SEC Tournament.^[5] He was named as an SEC Freshman of the Week, Alabama's Most Outstanding Freshman and a member of the SEC All-Freshman Team.^[1]

In his sophomore season for the 2010–11 team, Mitchell led the team in scoring, rebounds, steals and minutes played. On February 21, he was named the SEC Player of the Week after he averaged 20 points and 6.5 rebounds in wins at LSU and over Arkansas. Against Arkansas, Mitchell scored a career-high 27 points on 11 of 15 shooting.^[6] He was second team All-SEC. After being suspended for conduct detrimental to the team, he was granted his release from the 2011–12 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team.^[1]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2012 NBA draft, Mitchell joined the Sacramento Kings for the 2012 NBA Summer League. In November 2012, he was acquired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. In March 2013, he won the 2013 D-League Dream Factory Dunk Contest. On April 16, 2013, he was named the 2013 NBA D-League Rookie of the Year.^[7] He was a two-time NBA D-League Performer of the Week and March’s NBA D-League Co-Player of the Month.^[8]

In May 2013, he joined the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters for the 2013 Commissioner's Cup.

In July 2013, he joined the Boston Celtics for the Orlando Summer League^[9] and the New York Knicks for the Las Vegas Summer League. In October 2013, he signed with the Jilin Northeast Tigers of China for the 2013–14 season. In December 2013, he left Jilin after 11 games. On January 8, 2014, he was re-acquired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.^[10]

On March 4, 2014, he signed a 10-day contract with the Milwaukee Bucks.^[11] On March 14, 2014, he was not offered a second 10-day contract by the Bucks. Two days later, he was re-acquired by the Mad Ants. He went on to help the Mad Ants win the 2014 NBA D-League championship.

In July 2014, he joined the NBA D-League Select Team for the 2014 NBA Summer League. On August 18, 2014, he signed with Aquila Basket Trento of Italy for the 2014–15 season.^[12]

References

External links

• Alabama bio
• NBA D-League Profile