Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Mitchell Enjoyed RU Visit; Marshall Still in Picture
Jonathan Mitchell enjoyed his Rutgers visit just as he enjoyed his Seton Hall trip, yet he still may see Marshall University.
“That’s still a possibility,” Herb Mitchell, Jon’s uncle, said Wednesday by phone. “We’ll determine that this evening when we talk.”
Marshall coach Donnie Jones was Billy Donovan’sassociate head coach through 2007 at Florida and Donovan himself was the head coach at Marshall for two years prior to coming to Gainesville. The 6-7 Mitchell, a native of Mount Vernon, N.Y., is transferring from Florida and will sit out a year as per NCAA transfer rules.
As for Rutgers, Mitchell spent Monday and Tuesday on campus, following last weekend’s 48-hour trip to South Orange.
“The visit (to Rutgers) went well,” Herb said. “Jon pretty much did the same thing that he did at the Seton Hall visit, took a tour of the campus, met with all the coahes and the players and played with them. From his perspective, it was a good visit.”
Herb said RU head coach Fred Hill sees Mitchell playing a similar role to that of Seton Hall head man Bobby Gonzalez, although the teams play a different style of offense.
“At the end of the day it’s a matter of where he fits,” Herb said. “We saw a lot of film on how they play. They were pretty up front. It’s wherever he goes, he has to earn it. They play different than Seton Hall; it’s a different option so we have to digest everything that we discussed.”
Asked if the Devin Ebanks situation would impact Jon, Herb said it would not.
“The Devin Ebanks thing really doen’t play into it,” he said. “The personnel that they have doesn’t impact it. Austin Johnson didn’t have an impact one way or another.”
And when might Jon decide?
“I would say probably by no later than mid-week next week.”
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
Jonathan Mitchell enjoyed his Rutgers visit just as he enjoyed his Seton Hall trip, yet he still may see Marshall University.
“That’s still a possibility,” Herb Mitchell, Jon’s uncle, said Wednesday by phone. “We’ll determine that this evening when we talk.”
Marshall coach Donnie Jones was Billy Donovan’s associate head coach through 2007 at Florida and Donovan himself was the head coach at Marshall for two years prior to coming to Gainesville. The 6-7 Mitchell, a native of Mount Vernon, N.Y., is transferring from Florida and will sit out a year as per NCAA transfer rules.
As for Rutgers, Mitchell spent Monday and Tuesday on campus, following last weekend’s 48-hour trip to South Orange.
“The visit (to Rutgers) went well,” Herb said. “Jon pretty much did the same thing that he did at the Seton Hall visit, took a tour of the campus, met with all the coahes and the players and played with them. From his perspective, it was a good visit.”
Herb said RU head coach Fred Hill sees Mitchell playing a similar role to that of Seton Hall head man Bobby Gonzalez, although the teams play a different style of offense.
“At the end of the day it’s a matter of where he fits,” Herb said. “We saw a lot of film on how they play. They were pretty up front. It’s wherever he goes, he has to earn it. They play different than Seton Hall; it’s a different option so we have to digest everything that we discussed.”
Asked if the Devin Ebanks situation would impact Jon, Herb said it would not.
“The Devin Ebanks thing really doen’t play into it,” he said. “The personnel that they have doesn’t impact it. Austin Johnson didn’t have an impact one way or another.”
And when might Jon decide?
“I would say probably by no later than mid-week next week.”
