Texas Basketball: 3 cold players off to disappointing starts to Big 12 play

Dillon Mitchell, F

Maybe the most disappointing player for the Longhorns in the last couple of months is the former elite five-star recruit and true freshman forward Dillon Mitchell. As recently as the preseason last fall, Mitchell was considered by most to be a future lottery pick in the NBA Draft.

But he hasn’t shown anything that would affirm that projection as a lottery pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

In fact, Mitchell has regressed in certain areas of his game, especially since the start of Big 12 play. He hasn’t really shown any ability to score the basketball on a consistent basis, and from anywhere beyond five or six feet from the rim.

Mitchell also hasn’t scored in the double figures in any Big 12 game so far. In the last two games, Mitchell has combined for just two points.

At this point, I think that Mitchell’s value is solely limited to what he can do on the boards and with his on-ball defense. His physical tools, and more specifically his length, do allow him to be a formidable one-on-one defender that is also pretty switchable.

But just playing solid on-ball defense and rebounding at a good clip isn’t enough to warrant Mitchell even staying in the starting five. He needs to start contributing more on the offensive end, while posing some sort of threat away from the basket.

Mitchell has yet to hit a single shot from more than six feet from the rim in Big 12 play. He also hasn’t attempted a single three-pointer in Big 12 play.

For someone that has a decent-enough shooting stroke such as Mitchell, he needs to try to expand his game further from the rim if he wants any chance to actually do something on offense.

Moreover, the advanced metrics aren’t doing much to help Mitchell’s case here either. In conference play, he ranks last among the starters in win shares per 40 minutes at .062.

According to Sports Reference, Mitchell has the lowest game score of any of the starters for the Longhorns in Big 12 play.