North Texas Mean Green Winners
The Mean Green knew they had themselves a winner when they landed heralded recruit Tony Mitchell, a combo-forward who once committed to Missouri only to fail to qualify for the Tigers (what a scary thought this year's Missouri team would have been with Mitchell). The 6'8" forward can play both inside and out, masterfully demonstrating his perimeter skills early on in the season and his low-post dominance as he carried North Texas within a couple of buckets of the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Expected to jettison the program to be a first-round pick in the NBA Draft, UNT got more great news from Mitchell when he decided to stay with the Sun Belt program and get his first full season under his belt (he sat out the first nine game per the NCAA).
Maturity is key for this talented youngster. He can be a terror on the glass (averaged 10.3 rebounds, corralling 29 percent of opponents' missed shots on the defensive end, which would have been third-best in the nation had he had enough minutes to qualify) with his motor, energy and explosive leaping abilities. What's scary is that has barely touched on his enormous offensive talents, excelling in transition and still developing his low-post scoring moves and ball handling to create more of his own shot.
If all goes according to plan, Mitchell could be a lottery-to-mid-first-round pick in 2013.
By President Corey Ruff - 4 - 11 - 12
