On the heels of winning a national championship, Baylor guard Davion Mitchell has decided to hire an agent and declare for the 2021 NBA draft, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year this season, Mitchell enjoyed a career year as a junior, boosting his averages to 14.1 PPG and 5.5 APG in 30 games (33.0 MPG), while shooting an impressive 51.1% from the floor, including 44.7% on three-pointers. He played a team-high 36 minutes in Baylor’s championship win over Gonzaga.
Mitchell’s strong showing in the NCAA tournament bumped him up several spots on ESPN’s big board — he now projects to be a potential lottery pick, coming in as this year’s No. 12 prospect.
Here are a few more draft updates from around college basketball:
- Sun Belt Player of the Year DeVante’ Jones has declared for the 2021 NBA draft while retaining his college eligibility, he announced on Twitter. As a junior at Coastal Carolina this season, the 6’1″ guard averaged 19.3 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 2.9 APG, and 2.8 SPG on .487/.368/.862 shooting line in 26 games (32.8 MPG).
- Memphis freshman center Moussa Cisse is testing the draft waters, he announced Tuesday on Twitter. Cisse was the AAC Rookie of the Year in 2020/21, averaging 6.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 1.6 BPG in 28 games (18.6 MPG).
- North Carolina sophomore forward Armando Bacot will go through the draft process while retaining his NCAA eligibility, he said in a Tuesday announcement (Twitter link). Bacot was UNC’s leading scorer and rebounder this season, with 12.3 PPG and 7.8 RPG in 29 games (22.7 MPG)
- South Carolina redshirt junior forward Justin Minaya has decided to test the draft waters while entering the transfer portal, he announced on Instagram. Minaya averaged just 7.0 PPG on 38.4% shooting in 20 games (30.2 MPG) in 2020/21, though he did chip in 6.3 RPG.
- Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report updated his board of this year’s top 50 prospects following the NCAA tournament.
Baylor
If Michell and Butler are 19 years old, they are beta than Suggs?
3pt
Michell 45% average
Butler Elite 8 games
67%
80%
44%
Michell Actual age is 23, rounded
Mitchell and Butler both helped themselves in tournament. I see both as PGs. Although Butler needs to be coached more at PG. Would love for Knicks to get Mitchell. But I doubt he lasts till Knicks. He’s going to be a good pro. Got a strong frame and always plays in control. Both outplayed Suggs if you ask me. Suggs only 19 has big upside, still a top 4 pick.
Mitchell was not the Big 12 POY. That was Cade. I think you meant DPOY.
Yep, thanks, that’s been fixed.
Baylor Bears guard Jared Butler named AP Big 12 player of year …….
link to espn.com