Former Bishop Miege player, a five-star basketball recruit, picks Duke over Mizzou

Missouri men’s basketball made the final three cut for one of the best prospects in the country but wasn’t able to seal the deal.

Five-star Mark Mitchell, the No. 15 high school boys player in the 2022 class (per the 247 composite) out of Sunrise Christian in Bel Aire, Kansas, announced his commitment to Duke on Friday.

“It was a tough decision,” Mitchell said during his commitment ceremony on CBS Sports Network. “I went back and forth for a long time, but I think I just followed my heart and that’s what really led me to becoming a Blue Devil.”

The 6-foot-8, 210-pound small forward’s move isn’t much of a surprise. The Blue Devils are ranked No. 3 in the country and have a proven pipeline to the NBA, whereas the Tigers are struggling to stay afloat at 5-4 and only have two active players in the league (Michael Porter Jr. and Jordan Clarkson).

Kansas was among Mitchell’s suitors as well, but the former Bishop Miege High School product trimmed his list down to a list of Mizzou, UCLA and Duke last month.

Mizzou has two players signed for next season in four-star Aidan Shaw and East St. Louis product Christian Jones, which brings the team up to 13 scholarship players with senior Javon Pickett set to graduate. Shaw is the best player to join the program since 2017, which was also the last time Cuonzo Martin and the Tigers were able to snag a five-star.