BB: Mitchell or Bust? UK out on Jaxon Kohler
- Thread starter TheResistance
- Start date
It's funny, I saw someone above compare Mitchell to TJones and they actually attempted the same amount of 3's (their last seasons) and MM made 3 more than Jones.
I think calling him a non-shooter is discrediting him to a certain degree. And he would give us yet another play maker and lineup flexibility. 5 guys that can be trusted in their decision making with the ball in their hands is a nightmare to defend.
I get your stance on shooting but to me he makes enough to keep defenses honest (almost doubled 3pt attempts to MoD) and gives us everything else we're missing. Just my 2 cents
Terrence Jones played in an era where you could be a 4 who barely shoots threes. Jones also was not playing in a 5 out Zoom offense. The whole point of Pope’s offense is to create power plays where you earn an extra defender. Good luck doing that when 3 of the 5 starters can’t shoot and one other one is streaky. I’ll leave it alone coz no one wants to hear it right now but I don’t like this move one bit.
Being able to score at will inside, maybe his coach limited his 3 point attempts
You made my point for me.
You don't need an outstanding backup center when you've got a solid starter. Plus, Kepnang is only going to have to play about 15 minutes a game. He'll give us something like 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks/game.
That's all you need from your backup center.
So all four years in college, even though he’s a good shooter, each of his coaches prevented him from shooting more than 1.5 threes a game? I don’t think that’s what happened.
Mark Mitchell College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
Mark Mitchell - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more
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He’s a career 32% shooter from deep. He’s a non-shooter and to me, it feels like we are literally rebuilding the 2026 team to me. Pope is the coach and I hope he’s right. I’m worried and I don’t know how anyone thinking about the offense seriously wouldn’t be.
That judge is also a huge Lil bro fan and that court ruling has a couple Lil Bro football players trying to gain 5th years so it’s looking good on that end to get passed.
Hall has character concerns. Think most everyone would want him if he weren’t. His skills are undeniable but he’s a headache.
On the other hand, Mitchell is an offensive matchup nightmare in ways that Kohler isn't. With Kohler you get elite rebounding and a real backup for Moreno. With Mitchell, you get a guy who is going to necessitate double teams. Pope said Wilkins is hitting 51% of his in-game threes this summer, so I expect him to be at around 34 to 37% from three this year. That gives you Milan, Kam, and Wilkins as your shooters and Mitchell as your matchup advantage nightmare as your small ball four. How do you double team Mitchell when you've got Milan on one wing and Kam on the other?
Yes, it still leaves us barren in terms of rebounding, but it allows us to do what we do even better. With Mitchell, this UK team is going to score around 85 to 88 points/game. Plus, he's not a liability from three.
The judge got his law degree from UK.
If Hall ever wants to play in the NBA, he needs to play for Pitino or Hurley. Pitino got the best out of Hopkins and Ejiofor last year.
I definitely agree about Kohler — he would have been the perfect fit. I disagree with some of the rest of that. We will see how it plays out and I hope I’m wrong. I think we are going to go on scoring droughts and have poor spacing.
I bet we see this from opposing coaches, face guard Milan, heavily sag Zoom and Malachi, help/rotate off of Wilkins but he gets priority on secondary switches. This allows help on Mitchell when he gets a foot into the paint. Be physical, who cares if they call fouls? He shoots below 70% from the FT line. Also, when Mitchell doesn’t have the ball, play him far deep and prevent baseline cuts. Good luck scoring.
From everything I've seen, Mitchell is good in isolations and can drive and create with a very good finish rate at the rim. He finishes well in the paint, can create for himself, good ball handling ability, makes tough two's. A bonafide threat offensively. Looks to take advantage of mismatches by geting to the rim. Decent free throw shooting.
On the perimeter : provided he gets room enough to shoot, as well as the time, he can hit the perimeter shots - enough to keep defenses playing him honest. Defenses that packed it in and went zone limited him at Mizzou. One on one, and they suffered against him. They won't be able to double team him or collapse off of him with our roster. At least, they *shouldn't* be able to. Saying he's not a shooter, well .... I get that, but he's not looking to chuck it up from range very often. He's not a gunner. Our friend, Village is right on that assessment. But he's downright brutal in the paint. More than makes up for any lack of shooting.
Look at who he gets to pass to :
Milan is a no-brainer first option to kick it out to, or find alone., or under duress, get it to him and let him get his shot off.
Diallo may benefit as well, either in pick and roll situations and working in tandem with Mitchell in the paint to get both to the rim, or moving off ball and finding an open spot to shoot from. Either way, Zoom benefits.
Wilkins? The knock on Wilkins is he is a streaky shooter. We will see. I don't think he's nearly as streaky as people are saying. He was asked to do everything at Furman. Way too much with too little help. He's smooth and poised and has a smooth shot, nice stroke. Playing with better players is going to oepn things up for him. I think he will improve as a result of adding Mitchell.
And on down the line. Moreno will be able to position himself inside as an interior option for Mitchell to pass to, as well as be there for rebounding. Thus, making Malachi better offensively, inside.
I just don't see how he bogs us down with the players we have. Might he slow things down, disrupt a fast paste flow? (lol) Maybe, but everything else he brings to the table is far and away better for us.
Village makes some valid points, and I think his potential to "bog down" our offense falls on the coaching staff and how he is used to prevent that from happening.
For me, he is underwhelming at his size for rebounding. Although he improved in many stats last year, I'd really like to see him up his rebounding and maintain at least 3 - 4 assists per game. If he improves rebouding and maintains his assists and A:TO ratio, then it's a good fit.
He was one of the better defenders for Missouri last year, he holds his own defensively, good feet, has the ability to stay in front of even quicker opponents, but had some mixed results. In some one on one matchups, he was abused. Vanderbilt abused him on the perimeter when he was late closing out defensively. So he has things to work on.
I think if he works on his rebounding and defense, at around 6'9" and 230, with a 7'2" wingspan ( great length!) he holds up well overall, provides added value over and above his offensive skills. Steals + blocks, can be fairly disruptive. He doesn't foul much at all.
2.4 fouls per 40 minutes. We need good interior guiys that will stay out of foul trouble and can also make free throws. ( I wanna see him hit at a better clip though, go from say 68% to 75%+)
Small things to clean up in his game, better quality on the defensive end and incremental improvement stat-wise ( to make an NBA roster, he is going to have to improve his rebounding as a forward) makes him a great fit for our roster.
Criticisms about the ball stalling in his hands, or outright stopping with him, I think are more a result of who he played with and how he was utilized previously. Missouri was fine with him having the ball and dribbling/driving, getting to the free throw line was a priority for them, and he filled that role well. I don't think that he bogs down our offense by default. It's on the coaches to properly utilize him and prevent that from happening. So in any event, IF there are times in which he is clogging the flow up, that's gotta' be something Coach Pope has to address. That becomes more of an issue on how he is being utilized and how well the coaches work with him. He shouldn't bog anything down offensively with the roster we have.
I wondered about how disruptive chemistry wise guys like Hall and others (including Mitchell) might be, added with this roster. But after deep diving on his game and personality, I think I was a little harsh thinking he could possibly be a disruption than added value overall. That's on the coaching staff in how to utilize him and get him comfortable as a fit with our other players.
At this stage of the game, adding Mark Mitchell is icing on the top for Pope. Coach Pope got lucky backing into Milan and Mark as additions to the team. That is, of course, provided we get him, I think it's a done deal as much as it can be at this stage. We are all in, no doubt.
Maybe everything I've said here is obvious. But the bottom line ?
TL;DNR version :
1) Mark Mitchell takes this team from a top 15 - 20 team to a top ten team all year - and possibly higher. He takes us from what we largely think is a sweet sixteen ceiling for this team, into an elite eight and Final Four capable team.
2) Only a handful of teams will be able to boast having as good or a better frontcourt than us.... Florida, Illinois, Texas .... I'd say he puts us squarely (on paper, in the preseason) as the overall #4 front court in the country. When you add in Big Franck, McBride, Ousmane, that's a solid group.
Adding a quality All-SEC player only improves our team. We are better with him. How much better? Well, we shall see .... but let's get him signed up first, and then, it's go time. I don't believe anything he brings is a negative. If it is, then it's on the coaching staff to work towards that NOT being the case. He is talented and skilled, and can improve.
I'm quietly confident that Coach Pope has the players he can succeed with this year. He's gonna' have to.
On the perimeter : provided he gets room enough to shoot, as well as the time, he can hit the perimeter shots - enough to keep defenses playing him honest. Defenses that packed it in and went zone limited him at Mizzou. One on one, and they suffered against him. They won't be able to double team him or collapse off of him with our roster. At least, they *shouldn't* be able to. Saying he's not a shooter, well .... I get that, but he's not looking to chuck it up from range very often. He's not a gunner. Our friend, Village is right on that assessment. But he's downright brutal in the paint. More than makes up for any lack of shooting.
Look at who he gets to pass to :
Milan is a no-brainer first option to kick it out to, or find alone., or under duress, get it to him and let him get his shot off.
Diallo may benefit as well, either in pick and roll situations and working in tandem with Mitchell in the paint to get both to the rim, or moving off ball and finding an open spot to shoot from. Either way, Zoom benefits.
Wilkins? The knock on Wilkins is he is a streaky shooter. We will see. I don't think he's nearly as streaky as people are saying. He was asked to do everything at Furman. Way too much with too little help. He's smooth and poised and has a smooth shot, nice stroke. Playing with better players is going to oepn things up for him. I think he will improve as a result of adding Mitchell.
And on down the line. Moreno will be able to position himself inside as an interior option for Mitchell to pass to, as well as be there for rebounding. Thus, making Malachi better offensively, inside.
I just don't see how he bogs us down with the players we have. Might he slow things down, disrupt a fast paste flow? (lol) Maybe, but everything else he brings to the table is far and away better for us.
Village makes some valid points, and I think his potential to "bog down" our offense falls on the coaching staff and how he is used to prevent that from happening.
For me, he is underwhelming at his size for rebounding. Although he improved in many stats last year, I'd really like to see him up his rebounding and maintain at least 3 - 4 assists per game. If he improves rebouding and maintains his assists and A:TO ratio, then it's a good fit.
He was one of the better defenders for Missouri last year, he holds his own defensively, good feet, has the ability to stay in front of even quicker opponents, but had some mixed results. In some one on one matchups, he was abused. Vanderbilt abused him on the perimeter when he was late closing out defensively. So he has things to work on.
I think if he works on his rebounding and defense, at around 6'9" and 230, with a 7'2" wingspan ( great length!) he holds up well overall, provides added value over and above his offensive skills. Steals + blocks, can be fairly disruptive. He doesn't foul much at all.
2.4 fouls per 40 minutes. We need good interior guiys that will stay out of foul trouble and can also make free throws. ( I wanna see him hit at a better clip though, go from say 68% to 75%+)
Small things to clean up in his game, better quality on the defensive end and incremental improvement stat-wise ( to make an NBA roster, he is going to have to improve his rebounding as a forward) makes him a great fit for our roster.
Criticisms about the ball stalling in his hands, or outright stopping with him, I think are more a result of who he played with and how he was utilized previously. Missouri was fine with him having the ball and dribbling/driving, getting to the free throw line was a priority for them, and he filled that role well. I don't think that he bogs down our offense by default. It's on the coaches to properly utilize him and prevent that from happening. So in any event, IF there are times in which he is clogging the flow up, that's gotta' be something Coach Pope has to address. That becomes more of an issue on how he is being utilized and how well the coaches work with him. He shouldn't bog anything down offensively with the roster we have.
I wondered about how disruptive chemistry wise guys like Hall and others (including Mitchell) might be, added with this roster. But after deep diving on his game and personality, I think I was a little harsh thinking he could possibly be a disruption than added value overall. That's on the coaching staff in how to utilize him and get him comfortable as a fit with our other players.
At this stage of the game, adding Mark Mitchell is icing on the top for Pope. Coach Pope got lucky backing into Milan and Mark as additions to the team. That is, of course, provided we get him, I think it's a done deal as much as it can be at this stage. We are all in, no doubt.
Maybe everything I've said here is obvious. But the bottom line ?
TL;DNR version :
1) Mark Mitchell takes this team from a top 15 - 20 team to a top ten team all year - and possibly higher. He takes us from what we largely think is a sweet sixteen ceiling for this team, into an elite eight and Final Four capable team.
2) Only a handful of teams will be able to boast having as good or a better frontcourt than us.... Florida, Illinois, Texas .... I'd say he puts us squarely (on paper, in the preseason) as the overall #4 front court in the country. When you add in Big Franck, McBride, Ousmane, that's a solid group.
Adding a quality All-SEC player only improves our team. We are better with him. How much better? Well, we shall see .... but let's get him signed up first, and then, it's go time. I don't believe anything he brings is a negative. If it is, then it's on the coaching staff to work towards that NOT being the case. He is talented and skilled, and can improve.
I'm quietly confident that Coach Pope has the players he can succeed with this year. He's gonna' have to.
Weren't we pretty convinced that offense wasn't going to be an issue this year? Rebounding and defensewere going to be the questionable areas. This was before 5/5. Now adding a guy like Mitchell is going to cause scoring to be a problem?
Have to say I disagree, my friend.
I have to say that Runt nailed it above. IF Mitchell causes offense to stall, then it is up to the coaching staff to correct/adjust. I see no negatives to adding MM the third.
I’d argue your example of last season is a great one. The difference is how we see it playing out. Last year, we convinced ourselves that Pope can pull a rabbit out of the hat with non-shooters on offense. “Yeah, Mo D shot 46 percent from three, so he’s gonna be great.” We ignored the volume. Same thing people are doing for a 32% shooter who averages less than 1.5 attempts from deep per game in four full college seasons. This is not just any position. The power forward spot is probably the most important position on the floor in this particular offense for being able to shoot. I’ll say for the last time — hope I’m wrong and all of a sudden Mitchell is a sniper.
I guess I see a bit of that, but just two weeks ago most of this board was in agreement that this UK team was going to score a ton. But now we downgrade our scoring by replacing N'Diaye or McBride in the starting lineup with Mitchell?
Help me understand the logic. Did you not think this team would be a high scoring team without Mitchell?
Adding Mitchell makes us top ten imo. Likely higher than that.
This feel like rage bait obviously Mitchell isn’t a downgrade in scoring, maybe doesn’t shot as many 3’s but it’s not that far off.
When analyzing the addition of Mitchell, consider that his minutes won't take completely away from McBride or N'Diaye. Mitchell has the skills to play the 3.
He's a force, but he also can pass. His assist rate last season would've been the top in our starting lineup.
Zoom
Milan
Mitchell
McBride/N'Diaye
Moreno
That's a viable lineup. Full court handles could be a question, but in the halfcourt, Mitchell is a capable ballhandler.
He's a force, but he also can pass. His assist rate last season would've been the top in our starting lineup.
Zoom
Milan
Mitchell
McBride/N'Diaye
Moreno
That's a viable lineup. Full court handles could be a question, but in the halfcourt, Mitchell is a capable ballhandler.
Adding Mitchell would give us a guy that you can give the ball to and he’ll make something happen. Oweh was that guy for us last year and bailed us out a lot in close/late game situations, as of rn we don’t have that on our roster
Pope will not get Mitchell nothing has changed with his recruiting top players they do not want to play for him.milan was bought with high bid plain and simple.His substituting is not a draw for top players.
Justin McBride is a career 33% shooter from three.So all four years in college, even though he’s a good shooter, each of his coaches prevented him from shooting more than 1.5 threes a game? I don’t think that’s what happened.
Mark Mitchell College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
Mark Mitchell - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more
He’s a career 32% shooter from deep. He’s a non-shooter and to me, it feels like we are literally rebuilding the 2026 team to me. Pope is the coach and I hope he’s right. I’m worried and I don’t know how anyone thinking about the offense seriously wouldn’t be.
N'Diaye shot 31% from three last year.
Again, two weeks ago everything was awesome about this team, and now that UK might add an All-SEC player, it's suddenly a downgrade offensively?
Mitchell would essentially be replacing a 7 to 9 point per game Tulane transfer who can neither dribble or create his own shot (Kam) in the lineup.
I disagree. Momcilovic isn't just a shooter, he is the BEST shooter in the country, and at 6'9" playing the 3, he can't get his own shot and shoot over anyone outside. Moreno and Mitchell aren't simply "non-shooters", they beasts in the post. Wilkins can get his own shot and Zoom is 6'6" and a strong driver of the basketball at the point, which will play greatly with that cast.
Its not even close lol. Think about this year vs last if we get Mitchell...
DA, Chandler, Oweh, Jelly/Mo, Frosh Moreno
vs
Zoom, Wilkins, Momcilovic, Mitchell, Soph Moreno
In college basketball, it's pretty important to have a guy who can just bully his way to the rim and get buckets. Mark Mitchell is that kind of bucket. I've seen way more teams win that way in the tournament than by some theoretical optimal spacing meta shooting lights out from deep. Michigan shot 2-15 from 3P in the title game. This isn't the NBA.
Mark Pope needs all the dog/bully type players he can get. Mitchell is perfect. He has the mentality and skills to match. He will be what we thought Mo D was going to be.
Looking back at last year, Mo D was terrible. Maybe I'm being harsh but I just didn't like anything about his game. Dribbled ugly. Shot ugly. Body language ugly. He had a few games where he put in work and did what he was supposed to do but most of the time he just felt like a negative imo.
Cal’s best teams out athleted and bullied guys too. I love having shooting for sure but you need size/rebounding/bucket getters.
But we're the desperate ones? I thought we weren't the brand anymore....
Maybe Mark Mitchell and Keyshawn Hall can 1v1 for the final roster spot.
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What glorious news to wake up to about Mark Mitchell. The Mark Pope haters better be on high alert. Receipts have been saved Don’t switch up now.
For a guy that can't shoot that will "bog down the offense" he sure did shoot well and not bog down the offense against UK last year at Mizzou...
Game-by-Game Breakdown vs. Kentucky (2025-26 Season)
- January 7, 2026 (Regular Season - Missouri 73, Kentucky 68):
- Minutes: N/A (Full starter workload)
- Points: 21
- Rebounds: 7
- Assists: 5
- Shooting: 7/15 FG, 6/7 FT
- March 12, 2026 (SEC Tournament - Kentucky 78, Missouri 72):
- Minutes: 39
- Points: 32
- Rebounds: 7
- Assists: 1
- Shooting: 13/21 FG (2/2 from three), 4/7 FT
- January 7, 2026 (Regular Season - Missouri 73, Kentucky 68):
I don’t accept the premise that Zoom is a non-shooter. It would be awesome to have a 40% from 3 PG, but when your PG can play bully ball and get into the lane, he really only needs to hit a respectable number from three to keep the defender honest. Zoom is expected to create and hit open threes. It appears he can do that after improving each year from the perimeter. Wilkins may be streaky but Pope said he was hitting like 54% from three in scrimmages. The idea that MilMom just needs to be face guarded to stop his production is unlikely, as if coaches last year were not focused on slowing him down. Moreno has a nice shot. We just need to see if it translates as a sophomore. Mason, Ousie, McBride, Kam can all shoot. This team should not get stuck often in the mud.
I'm not worried about Zoom. Like you said he doesn't need to be lights out. I put him above many of the point guards we've had the last ten years. Get in the lane hit open teammates. That's all we need from him. And be nasty on defense.
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