The Cavs captain tells Rich Kleiman how his Louisville coach helped him improve his game in just two seasons.
The last time St. John’s University won the Big East Tournament Jordan Brand had just dropped the Jordan 15s, Roc-A-Fella was the hottest label in rap, and Facebook was four years away from being founded. Suffice to say, it was a different time for the country and for the Queens, NY-based college. It took the Red Storm 25 years to get back to the top of the conference and a big reason it was able to do so is man by the name of Richard Andrew Pitino a.k.a. Rick Pitino a.k.a the 2013 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Coach Pitino. The man is a powerhouse who has used his signature blend of old school grit and new school innovation to hang banners in the rafters of multiple universities including Kentucky and Louisville. During his time heading the men’s basketball program at the latter, Pitino had the pleasure of coaching current NBA superstar Donovan Mitchell.
Although he only stayed for two years, Mitchell made an impact averaging 15.6 points, 2.7 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game during his sophomore year. It was good enough to get him an AAC First Team honor. And good enough to allow him to declare for the 2017 draft where he went 13th. So, when Mitchell stopped by Network‘s NYC studios to chop it up with Rich Kleiman (a Pitino and STJ fan), it was only fitting that he touched on his time playing under Coach Pitino. “I tell people all the time, those were the worst two years, but the best two years of my life,” said Mitchell about this time at Louisville. “I was always a dog, I was always hungry, but there’s always another level. It’s like another button to be pushed. And that man is the master of finding whatever that is and pushing it.”
Mitchell talks about how it wasn’t unusual for players to transfer out of the program after experiencing Coach Pitino’s style. He says he would tell incoming players, “y’all better be ready.” When recounting the leap in ability and results between his first season and second season, Mitchell gives Coach a ton of credit, saying, “I couldn’t even shoot my first year. I wasn’t even a shooter. But [Coach Rick Pitino] and Ralph Willard, they helped me change my jump shot—get arc on my jump shot. He really helped grow the dog inside of you.”
Be sure to catch the full conversation between Mitchell and Kleiman at Boardroom‘s YouTube channel here, as well as Yahoo Sports’ podcast pages on Apple and Spotify.
Read More:
How On Holding Is Thriving By Targeting Ambitious, Affluent Consumers
Edgar Wright Brings Stephen King’s ‘The Running Man’ Back to Its Novel Roots
Breaking Down Project B’s Bold Vision to Disrupt Women’s Basketball
Cadillac F1 Names TikTok’s Ahmed Iqbal as CMO, Racing Toward a Digital-First Future
The Horsemen Are Back, Reimagining the Power of Illusion in ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’
