Cincinnati Bearcats basketball adds top Texas post Dillon Mitchell
As players in college basketball's transfer portal begin to find homes, University of Cincinnati head basketball coach Wes Miller lassoed a Longhorn of note as 6-foot-8, 205-pound Dillon Mitchell will depart Texas and join the Bearcats for the 2024 Big 12 campaign.
Mitchell notified a number of national media and posted his intentions on Instagram Thursday afternoon.
The former five-star prospect started in 71 of 72 games the past two seasons for Texas, including its 74-73 win last Jan. 9 with the 25th-ranked Longhorns defeating UC on a Max Abmas jumper in the final seconds. Mitchell had 10 points and four rebounds in the game going 4-of-6 from the field and making both of his foul shots.
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For the season, he averaged 9.6 points and 7.5 rebounds, which included a season-high of 21 against two-time national champion Connecticut. Against Oklahoma in January he had a 13-rebound game. He shot 58% from the field and just shy of 60% from the line. Mitchell was second on the team in blocks with 30 and second in steals with 34.
Before Texas, he played at Montverde Academy in Florida and was ranked the No. 4 prospect in the nation by ESPN and Rivals and No. 5 by 247Sports. He was the 21st McDonald's All-American in history and was the MVP for Team Air in the Jordan Brand Classic in Chicago. Before Montverde, he played for Bishop McLaughlin Catholic in Tampa.
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Recent UC McDonald's All-Americans include Dontonio Wingfield, Damon Flint, Danny Fortson, Kenny Satterfield and Lance Stephenson. UC's class will surely go up in ranking by adding the former five-star Mitchell to four-star transfers Connor Hickman (Bradley) and Arrinten Page (Southern Cal) along with incoming four-star high school recruits Tyler Betsey from Connecticut and Tyler McKinley from Winton Woods. Rayvon Griffith, a four-star from Taft and Arizona Compass redshirted last season and also adds to the talent that will soon grace the floor for June workouts.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bearcats basketball lands 6-foot-8 transfer Dillon Mitchell from Texas
