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UNLV confirmed this morning that forward DeShawn Mitchell has been granted his release from the Rebels’ basketball team.
The 6-foot-5 native of Newark, N.J., scored 34 points in 21 games during the past season. Fourteen of those points came in his collegiate debut, on Nov. 18 against Texas-Pan American. He averaged 5.3 minutes and made half his shots (14-for-28) from the field.
"I really enjoyed my year at UNLV and wish the coaches and players nothing but success in the future," Mitchell said in a school-prepared 9 a.m. release. "It is important for me to look for a situation that will provide me with a more significant role and more playing time."
One of the most athletic Rebels, Mitchell excelled at dunking and blocking shots. Since he was a true freshman this past season, he can transfer to a Division-I school, sit out 2009-10 as required by the NCAA and have three seasons of eligibility left.
There had been some talk about Mitchell leaving Las Vegas in the week before the Mountain West Conference tournament, but he discounted those rumors.
“I’m a Rebel,” he told the Sun. “I’m not going anywhere.”
UNLV coach Lon Kruger had one scholarship available for next season. Now he has two. If he doesn’t use either, he will have three for the Class of 2010.
"We really appreciate DeShawn's effort this past year," Kruger said in the release. "We hope he finds a place that is a good fit for him so he can play a bigger role in the future."
Chace Stanback, a transfer from UCLA who will be eligible in the fall, likely will play an abundance of time, which made Mitchell expendable.
Mitchell was given his release Sunday afternoon. He is the sixth player to leave the program since the start of the 2007-08 season. Emmanuel Adeife, Lamar Roberson, Troy Cage and Marcus Lawrence all bolted that season. Beas Hamga, a 7-foot center burdened by huge expectations and unrealistic ratings out of high school, left this winter.
Mitchell reportedly will play closer to home, possibly in New York or Pennsylvania.
This really bothers me and I'm not sure why just yet. Guess it depends on why he left.....homesick, playing time?
Fast, wow... you ARE fast! :-) I think you are spot on with those two assessments. PT wasn't going to improve with Stanback's obvious prowess. DeShawn is kind of stuck in no-man's land, not being a point guard, not really having the shooting skills of a 'two' and not really having the body, despite his kangaroo leaping ability, at the 'three.' Fantastic kid with great parents and step-parents, however. This will be good for them, because they'll be able to see him play much more frequently.
Sounds like you know where he's going.......?
Not exactly. To be determined, but he should be fine.
He's a great leaper, very athletic. But I agree that he really didn't fit any one position very well.
Stings a little to see him go. I invisioned his career being a lot like Rene's. Working hard next year in practice (maybe even using his redshirt year), and then making a significant contribution in his junior and senior years.
If he can go to a smaller school and get more PT, more power to him and I wish him the best of luck.
It's a little misleading to simply look at the big number of SIX transfers over the last 2 years. Half of them were for disciplinary reasons and I commend the staff for doing the right thing for the program in those cases.
I'm sure the anti-Kruger pea brains will spin this into something like "Kruger has turned UNLV into Transfer U," but this is the way things go in division 1 ball these days. Big time programs have transfers all the time.
You never like to see kids leave, but it happens. UNLV has transfers from Memphis, UK and UCLA. A high profile guy is transfering from KU too (also wants to be closer to home).
Now we have TWO rides for next year :) Let the speculation commence.
I bet the staff already has something up their sleeves.
Here is the problem I see. We have 6 six players leave the program for one reason or another starting at the beginning of the 07-08 season. There is something wrong with our recruiting right now. If people can't see it than this should help. Either we aren't scouting these kids enough to get them to fit our system or we have had the worst luck in history for kids leaving. What do you guys think?
If he could have put on some weight he could have been fierce. I was always pulling for the kid.
I was a Mitchell fan. I liked when he came on the floor. I liked his energy, skills, and presence. I think some program is going to have a great kid in their program. Good luck, DeShawn. You have a fan in Vegas.
ryph, I think it's big-time hoops and nothing should surprise anyone. Kids bolting or leaving early for the draft, or being told by friends or parents that they should be playing more, or better players coming along and, all of a sudden, the prospects don't look so good at a particular school, or a coach and his staff don't exactly see in a kid what they thought they'd see, either on the court or handling adversity ... it can be quite a complex game.
All that being said, UNLV has a wealth of talent on its roster and DeShawn made the best move, for friends and family who will be able to see him play much more, and for him. He'll go where he'll be a good fit, and he'll showcase his talents much sooner.
Six in a year and a half? Right, ryph, it might look worse than it actually is. Half of those cases were disciplinary-based, no doubt. With the others, it's either circumstance or just not a good fit for either party.
Man.... I have been fiercly defending Kruger thru the offseason, but it seems like he is doing everything possible to make me change my mind. Is Theus still available? This is bull----.
Looks like I leaked the story earlier Rob (Im in the generation of facebook and instant news), good write up though. Mitchell did have some great dunks, but like you said, he didn't fit into a position well. He did not shoot that well, and didn't seem to have the dribbling ability to blow past defenders and drive hard to the rim. I wish him the best of luck and look forward to Kruger adding another player or two (HOPEFULLY A BIG MAN).
If you're counting Facebook as a news source then this story was known months ago.
rumors, innuendo, facebook, myspace ... it's all garbage until I hear it as fact from either Kruger or UNLV.
I liked Mitchell too but I'll never forget that HUGE missed tomahawk jam! Man, that cracked me up! He must have jumped from the free-throw line!
snyd, he's still trying to land! Man o man, some impressive hops, eh?
Players come & players go. My only thoughts on DeShawn was, was he really given a chance? How much more damage could he have truly done to this past years team by giving him some real pt? I'd have much rather seen 10 missed tomahawk jams then personally watch Darger launch AND MISS 3-pointer #212 with a clear lane to dribble into.
I understand there's been disciplinarian problems but if Lon can't figure out a way to get others involved, this will become a glaring negative in future recruitment.
I don't know about that, sure ... with any story like this, there's more under the surface. Always is, right? Let's just say that, even deep into the season, there were some technical aspects of the game, especially on defense, that were difficult for DeShawn to grasp.
We may win but the team loses alot of panache with his transfer. DeShawn leaving really sucks. Until we find a few guys who can really posterize opponents with the monster jams UNLV is going to stay un-intimidating and boring. I love Kruger's system but this guy did have a place... somewhere in between guard and forward in the much needed "swagger position."
Recruiting cycles take a couple of years and it seems as though UNLV's success in 2007 and 2008 helped to move the recruiting forward with the bigger dividends starting to come. Marshall, Lopez and Hawkins with tranfers Jasper and Stanback is very attractive.
However, it also seems to have left some players behind. (Mitchell, Cage, etc.) Not a bad thing for the program at all. Maybe Mitchell is the type of player we were able to recruit prior to the S16 run? I'm sure he officially signed the fall after, but that is the type of player we had to recruit prior to being back on the national scene a little bit. And since it takes a couple of years to recruit the higher level players, the cycle is a little behind.
Then Bellfield (who signed later in the same class) is the type of player we are able to get after the S16 and with some more success.
If this is the case then that's a good sign. Oscar was ready to play D1 while DeShawn was not. That was easy for all of us to see. The talent level is rising and some guys might get caught in the middle of it. Might be tough for them but good for the program in the long term.
I understand him wanting the minutes. He has a ton of athleticism but that does not guarantee minutes and there are good players coming in here it looks like. Good luck, DeShawn.
native, touche. Very well put. At the heart of it, I think, is the fact that you never, ever know what you're going to get in a kid until you see him here, on your own court, in October ... what will the effort be, DEFENSIVELY, every day? In Kruger's system, defense comes first. A dunk is two points.
In the meantime, I think it would be a good thing for everyone to step back and take a deep breath. There are more important things.
RIP, Gondo.
Why are we losing so many kids? I liked Mitchell, I liked him alot. Ya, he needed a lot of work, esp on defense. But why recruit him in the first place if you don't think he can cut it?
Who pulled the trigger on this move, the staff or player?
The blowtorch is gonna be on this program next season..
As a person who recruits and hires, I know that what you get on paper and in an interview can sometimes - despite my instincts and best efforts to properly screen candidates - turn out to be very different than what either I or they expected once they get into the work environment.
Not only that, but people and circumstances change, sometimes quite rapidly. You can lose good people to situations far beyond the control of the management (or, in this case, coaching staff). Health, finances, family obligations, emotional distress ... You are not hiring or recruiting a number, but a human being, which is far more complex.
Overall, as a lifelong Rebel fan and an alumni, I'm pleased, so far, with Kruger's performance. The next two seasons will really tell if he can build the program.
Well said James, you hit the nail on the head by saying what I was feeling but couldn't put my finger on it.
If the Rebels do well next season, no one is going to care or even remember much about Mitchell. That being said, good luck to you young man.