Mitchell Blazes Brightly as Colorado State’s Star

LONG BEACH —  Mike Mitchell has never been one to seek the spotlight. He’s been around it most of his basketball career, but has shied away from the glare.

Mitchell, a senior at Colorado State, has seen spotlight players. He has played with them and against them.

Before he was even out of high school, Mitchell had played with Tom Lewis (Pepperdine) and against John Williams (Washington Bullets). Heck, when Mitchell was a senior at Mater Dei High School, he also played football and his quarterback was a skinny freshman named Todd Marinovich (USC).

Yes, Mitchell has been around the spotlight and it wasn’t for him. That type of thing only brings expectations that rarely are met.

So, imagine Mitchell’s surprise when told this week that he had been named the player of the year in the Western Athletic Conference. Not just first-team all-conference, not just newcomer of the year, but player of the year.

“I was sitting in the gym, waiting for practice, and our sports information director came in and told me,” Mitchell said. “They tell me I looked like I was in shock. I was happy, but I was surprised. I never really thought about individual awards. I’m a team player.”

But, this season, being a team player means stepping into the spotlight.

A transfer from Fresno State, Mitchell is averaging 19.4 points and 6.7 rebounds a game in his first and only season at Colorado State. His play led the Rams to the co-championship of the WAC and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Colorado State will play Alabama today at 2 in a first-round game at the Long Beach Arena.

“All I really need to say about Mike is that we’re back in the tournament,” said Coach Boyd Grant, whose team won the WAC last season. “I figured we would be a second-division team in conference. We lost three players, which was about 50 points a game. Where we are today is because of Mike.”

That could be taken as a little embellishment from a coach talking about his pet player. After all, Mitchell was one of Grant’s favorites when he coached at Fresno State and the two remained close even after Grant resigned in 1986.

But there are facts to support Grant’s case.

Mitchell, a 6-foot-8 forward, has scored at least 10 points in all but two games. During one six-game stretch in December, he averaged 25.7 points and scored 34 against North Carolina in the Mile High tournament.

After a sprained ankle had slowed him in the middle of conference play, Mitchell finished strong. He scored no fewer than 17 points in his last nine games, including a 34-point performance against Texas El Paso.

Mitchell has been so impressive in his senior season that many are predicting he might go in the first round of the NBA draft.

It has indeed been a rapid ascent for Mitchell, who was confused and without a school two years ago.

Mitchell had three solid seasons at Fresno State, but was unhappy. He had been the freshman of the year in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. (now the Big West Conference) in 1985-86 and averaged in double figures, but he said he could never meet the expectations placed on him.

In his second collegiate game, Mitchell had 24 points and seven steals against Eastern Washington in the Sun Met tournament. He was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

“I think that might have done Mike more harm than good,” said Fresno State Coach Ron Adams, who replaced Grant in 1986. “I think people started expecting a lot out of him. They didn’t realize he was just a freshman.”

Mitchell averaged in double figures as a sophomore and junior, but Fresno State had back-to-back losing seasons. The Bulldogs were 9-20 in 1986-87 and 9-19 the following year.

His relationship with Adams began to deteriorate and by the end of his junior season, Mitchell wanted out. Mitchell wanted to move to Brigham Young University, but some of his course work wouldn’t transfer. He was left out in the cold, so he called Boyd.

“I first told him it might be best if he went back to Fresno,” Grant said. “But Mike told me that there was no way he would go back. He was even thinking about going to a Division II school or possibly quitting the sport. So, I called the Fresno athletic director and got Mike his release.”

Mitchell sat out last season, which he said helped him mature.

He worked on improving his outside shot with Ram assistant coach Fred Litzenberger. During practice, Mitchell usually played an upcoming opponent’s leading scorer.

Mitchell also got time away from the court to study and be a student.

“That helped the most,” he said. “I got to relax and take it easy instead of feeling the pressure.”

Mitchell is puzzled as to what all the fuss is about this season.

After the North Carolina game, Mitchell said he looked at the scoreboard, which was showing his point total. His reaction was that of, “What? Who me?”

“I honestly felt I had scored maybe 18 points,” Mitchell said. “I had no idea it was 34. I was just doing my job for the team, that’s all.”

Said Grant: “That’s just Mike. He’s a shy person. He’d rather talk about the team than himself. But I tell you, after the North Carolina game, we started having NBA scouts attend our games. I started hearing from people like the Chicago Bulls.”

Not bad for a guy who was considered a defensive specialist in high school and at Fresno State.

Mitchell always has been considered a great athlete. But being a great athlete at Mater Dei meant you got to be in the starting lineup.

During his sophomore and junior seasons, Mitchell was part of a starting lineup that included Lewis and Matt Beeuwsaert, who played at Notre Dame and California.

“Mike was probably the best athlete we ever had,” McKnight said. “He was big, quick and could leap.”

Still, Mitchell spent most of his high school days in the shadow of Lewis, who scored 2,456 points during his three-year career.

But Mitchell was able to scratch out an identity by playing defense. He guarded the opposition’s best player and usually held him below his season average.

John Williams, who played at Crenshaw, was one of the few who had any success against Mitchell.

“Williams ate everybody up,” Mitchell said. “Playing the other team’s top scorer was just something I had to do to help the team win. And, after guarding Tom Lewis in practice for three years, I got pretty good at it.”

Although being the defensive specialist didn’t get Mitchell as much publicity as Lewis, it did catch Grant’s eye.

Defense was a religion when Grant coached the Bulldogs. Fresno State was consistently in the top five in fewest points allowed during his nine years as coach.

“The first time I saw Mike play, he didn’t score a single point,” Grant said. “But the way he played defense was enough for me. He was perfect for our program.”

Although Mitchell has had an offensive awakening this season, he hasn’t lost that defensive touch.

In a crucial game against BYU late in the season, Mitchell made the key play that gave the Rams a share of the conference championship.

With 26 seconds left, he stole the ball from the Cougars’ talented forward Marty Haas. Mitchell then passed to Mark Meredith for a layup to give Colorado State a 59-57 victory.

Besides giving the Rams a co-championship with the Cougars, that play might also have given Mitchell the player of the year award.

“I thought that if I did get the player of the year award, I would share it with Marty,” Mitchell said. “Maybe that was the play that broke the tie.”

Then again, maybe there wasn’t room for two in the spotlight.