Davion Mitchell is a redshirt junior guard starring for the March Madness champions, otherwise known as the Baylor Bears. Mitchell started his career in Auburn, but eventually transferred to Baylor after his freshman year. That decision will go down as one of the best of his life to be quite honest, as he’s now a national champion and a surefire NBA player.
Davion Mitchell 2021 NBA Draft Profile
College Career
Mitchell averaged nearly four points and 2twoassists per game during his freshman year at Auburn as a backup. After his first season, he made the decision to transfer to Baylor. Per NCAA rules, Mitchell was forced to sit out an entire year. During that time, however, he improved his game – mainly by watching film of two guards he looked up to in Kyle Lowry and Jalen Brunson.
He started during his first year with Baylor, averaging 9.9 points and 3.8 assists per game. Baylor was on track to win the Big 12 and be a force in March Madness until the COVID-19 pandemic halted play for the 2019-20 season. This, of course, was a major disappointment but Mitchell used his time off to improve his game once again.
As a redshirt junior this season, Mitchell became one of the best players in all of college basketball by averaging 14 points, 5.5 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. This came on shooting splits of 51-45-64. He needs to improve his free-throw shooting, but his efficiency, in general, is high. Mitchell helped lead the Bears to an NCAA championship and also developed a killer step-back three (don’t remind the Houston Cougars).
Strengths
Looking past his fine-tuned skills, the first two things that stand out for Mitchell are his toughness and leadership. He lives for the moment and is a major motivation factor for his team. Mitchell is a natural-born winner and will instantly bring this mentality into the NBA.
And then, of course, there’s his elite defense. Mitchell is, without any exaggeration, the best on-ball defender in the draft. He shuts down opposing guards on any given night and will only get better. This alone makes him a first-round prospect.
He’s also growing into a true offensive weapon. His blow-by speed is insane and makes it difficult for any defender to hold him on the perimeter. When Mitchell is not scoring during his drives, he’s dishing it out to open teammates behind the three-point line. As mentioned earlier too, he’s also growing into a knock-down three-point shooter. Mitchell is an ideal two-way prospect.
Weaknesses
Free-throw shooting is Mitchell’s most glaring weakness. His shooting is strong in general, but his free-throw percentage should not be as close to his regular field-goal percentage as it is. It’s hard to envision an NBA starting guard, who’s trusted in the clutch, to shoot just over 60 percent from the line. This should be a quick fix, however.
On paper and the eye-test, that’s really the only weakness in Mitchell’s game. He’ll be a couple of months shy from turning 23-years-old come draft time, which makes NBA teams hesitant to pull the trigger early at times, but the rest of his talent cannot be overlooked.
NBA Player Comparison for Davion Mitchell
Mitchell’s unique two-way talent makes it difficult to find a single comparison for him. He’s somewhat of a mixture of both Kemba Walker and Patrick Beverley. He’s similar to Walker in the sense that he’s a true offensive weapon with a bag of skills, but Beverley as well in the sense that he’ll hound and dominate any player defensively.
Draft Projection
Before March Madness, Mitchell was likely to go in the late first round. Now he should be going late-lottery, and if not, definitely before the 20th pick.
He’s older than most prospects, but not many are as good as him. Mitchell’s ceiling is incredibly high, but so is his floor, honestly. At worst, Mitchell will be Beverley with a better offensive game. At best, Mitchell is an All-Star talent.
Main Image: Embed from Getty Images
