Mitchell's career that has seen him score nearly 16 points per game in his sophomore season and then he had to sit out the next season because of sexual assault allegations. But, where does Mitchell rank among the all time greats of Billikens basketball history?
A lot of factors need to come into effect when you discuss ranking players all time. Winning, scoring, and other statistical numbers all go into consideration. So lets start with the winning.
While Mitchell was playing for the Billikens, Saint Louis went 95-42 in the four years he wore the Billiken jersey. The only season Mitchell sat out was 2010-2011 and Saint Louis struggled and finished that season 12-19. That seems like a pretty good record to me. Included in that record is an Atlantic 10 regular season championship title and an A10 tournament title in his senior season. This was the first conference regular season championship since 1971 and the first conference tournament championship since 2000.
Now, lets discuss the post-season. In his sophomore year, Mitchell led the Billikens to the CBI championship game where they eventually lost to Virginia Commonwealth. In his junior and senior seasons, the Billikens made it to the NCAA tournament. In 2012, Saint Louis beat Memphis in the second round before losing to Michigan State in the third round. Same story in 2013, where the Billikens won their second round matchup against New Mexico State before losing to Oregon in the third round.
At least we can see that Mitchell has been apart of winning teams, but lets see how he stacks up in scoring. Mitchell finished his collegiate career as Saint Louis’ seventh leading scorer with 1,575 points. He ranks fifth in 3-point field goals made with 200. Mitchell’s high scoring game in his career came in 2009 against UMKC where he poured in 33 points.
Mitchell ranks second for points in a season by a sophomore with 557 points. This was the season he averaged 15.9 points per game. Also, since Chaifetz Arena opened back in 2008, Mitchell owns eight individual records, which includes that 33 point game back in his sophomore season.
Next, what about other statistics that will shape the way people see Mitchell as a complete player. He isn’t just a scorer; Mitchell is a complete guard. Mitchell ranks third all time in Saint Louis basketball in both assists and steals. Mitchell finished his career with 420 assists and 172 steals. He ranks sixth in minutes played with 3,939, averaging 31.8 minutes per game. And, Mitchell has played 124 games, starting all of them.
Through this information, people can see how Mitchell is, at least, a top-10 player in Saint Louis Basketball history. Mitchell was a prolific shooter but he could also play defense and dish the ball. In my opinion, Mitchell will be ranked as one of the top five players to ever wear the Billiken jersey.
Travis Zuellig covers the Saint Louis Billikens and Illinois Fighting Illini basketball teams for StlSportsMinute.com. You can follow Zuellig on Twitter (@OnlyOneZuellig) and check out all of his content here.
