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Dwayne Mitchell - The Rose Buried Under the Concrete
'He is without a doubt an NBA player. If it wasn't for his injury he would have made the team, but if he wants to play in the league he should continue working hard,' said legendary NBA coach, Phil Jackson. To the surprise of many, these encouraging words were not intended for an NBA superstar or NBA player at all. Jackson's comment was directed at Maccabi Rishon's combo guard, Dwayne Mitchell, who suffered from being in the right place at the wrong time.
Mitchell, who last week was named a member of the Israeli league's All First Team and has undoubtedly led his organization to the Israeli BSL Final-Four, credits his achievement to his teammates ('I couldn't be this successful without Aaron, Ray, Zeke or any of my guys,') God ('God is great not just on Sunday, but everyday') and his coach, Effi Birnbaum ('He believed in me when others didn't, I had to pay him back on the court.')
Road to Glory
However, not everything was a walk in the park for the University of Louisiana graduate. Last season while playing in Israel, Mitchell suffered from off-court issues, interpersonal relationships with some of his team's professional staff and was marked as a trouble maker. Despite posting impressive averages of 16.1ppg and 4.4rpg, Mitchell asked to leave Hapoel Holon with just 15 games into the season, 'Whatever it is I'm doing, I always want to win. Unfortunately that wasn't the situation with Holon, and sadly, the coach didn't like me from the jump because of my style of play so I was left with no choice,' said Mitchell.
Due to his bad experience with Holon, Mitchell spent this past summer fighting a negative reputation, hoping that someone will give him the chance to showcase his talent, 'Holon said some bad things about me, like I was a bad player so teams didn't really want to touch me and that killed many of my offers.' From then on, Mitchell was only focused on two things, basketball and silencing his critics on the court.
How did your situation turn around in your favor?
'My agent contacted me with the offer from Rishon but I was hesitant at the beginning. I was told not to come here because we would be the worst team in the league. When I heard that, I was happy because it motivated me and gave me the opportunity to change what everybody thinks. Now I led what was supposed to be the worst team in the league to the Final-Four.'
Who told Rishon to take a risk and go for a 'problematic' Dwayne Mitchell?
'My assistant coach at Holon, Avner Yaor, spoke to coach Effi. When coach called me before the season he said every time he saw me play I played hard and with passion. He said that he spoke to our assistant coach and some other people who had nothing but good things to say about me.'
Final-Four
The 'Beast' is Mitchell's nickname which he picked up during his career due to his style of play which resembles a wild animal in the jungle. The American phenomenon has a very strong upper body, which allows him to absorb contact and to attempt acrobatic finishes at the rim while still in the air. The Beast had completed a superb personal season run while being ranked amongst the top 5 players in the Israeli league in efficiency, rebounding, minutes played and first at stealing. In the final quarter finals playoff series game against Bnei Hasharon, Mitchell recorded a stunning triple-double with 20 points, 13 reb' and 11 ass' on a night he would call 'A Lebron James night.' Mitchell's success did not go unnoticed as he was named a member of the Israeli league's All First Starting Team, finishing with the best averages in scoring (15.6ppg) and rebounding (7.4rpg) amongst the chosen five.
Mitchell's reward came in the form of information he received from his agent, saying that if Rishon were to make the Final-Four, Israeli and European power house Maccabi Tel-Aviv would give the athletic freak of nature a serious look for next season. Nevertheless, if Mitchell wants to qualify for the finals he will face off against the same Maccabi that is watching him.
Rishon lost to Maccabi four times this season, why would Tuesday's FF semi-finals be any different?
'It's basketball and on any given day anyone can win. I believe in our team because we have big and talented guards just like them and we create a lot of miss matches.'
What do you need to do in order to contain the Maccabi machine from pounding you again?
'Stop Jeremy Pargo. He likes to run and find the open man for a shot or dunk. If he can't get them good shots, than we have a good chance.'
What is your personal assignment for the game?
'I'm going to guard Pargo so I have to make sure I come out strong so my team can follow my lead. This week in practice I was very aggressive making sure we focus on every detail big and small.'
Mitchell for President or MVP
Tuesday will be an evening where the boys are separated from men and the season's MVP will be taken into consideration. Beating Maccabi would be the icing on the cake for Mitchell, who is eager to get the award knowing exactly who he would owe it to, American teammate Isaiah Swann who had formed a strong bond off the court with Mitchell, a fact that generated a remarkable chemistry on the parquet, 'Isaiah takes the attention off me sometimes which helps me get open shots and focus more on defense. Hands down 'Zeke' (Swann's nickname) is one of the best guards I've played with.'
How do your teammates feel about you wanting the MVP of the season award?
'They all know how badly I want to be named MVP and I couldn't have been this successful without any of them.'
Another guard who believes Mitchell is worthy of the season's most prestigious award is court rivalFrank Robinson who played for Maccabi Haifa, 'He is probably the most athletic and talented guard that played in the league this year. He did a lot for his team and it shows because no one believed that Rishon would be in Final-Four. Dwayne was also the best player as far as statistics go and his accomplishments show he deserves the MVP award.' That said, we might be talking about the most physically impressive player in attendance that is not only extremely explosive, but is also incredibly strong.
The Future
While Rishon is attempting to secure a few key players for next season, Mitchell an undoubted Euroleague player, has had to turn his phone settings from loud to vibrate to silent, due to the amount of job offers he is getting for next season, three of which are from Euroleague teams.
Tuesday's semi-final's court rival, all Euroleague second team first point guard and one of the NBA's top prospects, Jeremy Pargo also complimented the 28 year old guard,
'Where do I start from? He knows how to play the game. He plays very hard, tough and he's gotta be the most athletic guard I've come across, which makes him a match problem.'
Mitchell himself has nothing but warm words to say about Maccabi's head coach David Blatt and high hopes of joining Pargo's back court, 'Blatt is an amazing coach. I love his style and system and how he allows you to be a role player and a star at the same time, but most importantly he focuses his team to play together all the time.'
Mitchell also drew compliments from his LA Lakers summer league head coach Chucky Brown, 'His biggest strength offensively is getting to the basket which he does at will because he is so strong and athletic.' Brown remembers how nothing was ever enough for Mitchell who always wanted perfection, 'He's very eager to learn. He really wanted to play the triangle system and you rarely find guys who like to. He would come and ask questions about where he should be on the floor and if what he's doing is right. He really wanted to play and I thought that was great to see.'
After Rishon had secured the final ticket to the FF, it was hard not to pay attention to the overly happy Mitchell, dancing to his hip-hop music throughout the gym's halls, waving his arms in the air releasing his frustration from the negative comments that were made about him, 'I never talk trash and I dont wish bad things on anyone. I only hope that the people who didnt believe in me and gave me a hard time were here now so I could see their faces.'
(courtesy of Eurobasket News)
Mitchell, who last week was named a member of the Israeli league's All First Team and has undoubtedly led his organization to the Israeli BSL Final-Four, credits his achievement to his teammates ('I couldn't be this successful without Aaron, Ray, Zeke or any of my guys,') God ('God is great not just on Sunday, but everyday') and his coach, Effi Birnbaum ('He believed in me when others didn't, I had to pay him back on the court.')
Road to Glory
However, not everything was a walk in the park for the University of Louisiana graduate. Last season while playing in Israel, Mitchell suffered from off-court issues, interpersonal relationships with some of his team's professional staff and was marked as a trouble maker. Despite posting impressive averages of 16.1ppg and 4.4rpg, Mitchell asked to leave Hapoel Holon with just 15 games into the season, 'Whatever it is I'm doing, I always want to win. Unfortunately that wasn't the situation with Holon, and sadly, the coach didn't like me from the jump because of my style of play so I was left with no choice,' said Mitchell.
Due to his bad experience with Holon, Mitchell spent this past summer fighting a negative reputation, hoping that someone will give him the chance to showcase his talent, 'Holon said some bad things about me, like I was a bad player so teams didn't really want to touch me and that killed many of my offers.' From then on, Mitchell was only focused on two things, basketball and silencing his critics on the court.
How did your situation turn around in your favor?
'My agent contacted me with the offer from Rishon but I was hesitant at the beginning. I was told not to come here because we would be the worst team in the league. When I heard that, I was happy because it motivated me and gave me the opportunity to change what everybody thinks. Now I led what was supposed to be the worst team in the league to the Final-Four.'
Who told Rishon to take a risk and go for a 'problematic' Dwayne Mitchell?
'My assistant coach at Holon, Avner Yaor, spoke to coach Effi. When coach called me before the season he said every time he saw me play I played hard and with passion. He said that he spoke to our assistant coach and some other people who had nothing but good things to say about me.'
Final-Four
The 'Beast' is Mitchell's nickname which he picked up during his career due to his style of play which resembles a wild animal in the jungle. The American phenomenon has a very strong upper body, which allows him to absorb contact and to attempt acrobatic finishes at the rim while still in the air. The Beast had completed a superb personal season run while being ranked amongst the top 5 players in the Israeli league in efficiency, rebounding, minutes played and first at stealing. In the final quarter finals playoff series game against Bnei Hasharon, Mitchell recorded a stunning triple-double with 20 points, 13 reb' and 11 ass' on a night he would call 'A Lebron James night.' Mitchell's success did not go unnoticed as he was named a member of the Israeli league's All First Starting Team, finishing with the best averages in scoring (15.6ppg) and rebounding (7.4rpg) amongst the chosen five.
Mitchell's reward came in the form of information he received from his agent, saying that if Rishon were to make the Final-Four, Israeli and European power house Maccabi Tel-Aviv would give the athletic freak of nature a serious look for next season. Nevertheless, if Mitchell wants to qualify for the finals he will face off against the same Maccabi that is watching him.
Rishon lost to Maccabi four times this season, why would Tuesday's FF semi-finals be any different?
'It's basketball and on any given day anyone can win. I believe in our team because we have big and talented guards just like them and we create a lot of miss matches.'
What do you need to do in order to contain the Maccabi machine from pounding you again?
'Stop Jeremy Pargo. He likes to run and find the open man for a shot or dunk. If he can't get them good shots, than we have a good chance.'
What is your personal assignment for the game?
'I'm going to guard Pargo so I have to make sure I come out strong so my team can follow my lead. This week in practice I was very aggressive making sure we focus on every detail big and small.'
Mitchell for President or MVP
Tuesday will be an evening where the boys are separated from men and the season's MVP will be taken into consideration. Beating Maccabi would be the icing on the cake for Mitchell, who is eager to get the award knowing exactly who he would owe it to, American teammate Isaiah Swann who had formed a strong bond off the court with Mitchell, a fact that generated a remarkable chemistry on the parquet, 'Isaiah takes the attention off me sometimes which helps me get open shots and focus more on defense. Hands down 'Zeke' (Swann's nickname) is one of the best guards I've played with.'
How do your teammates feel about you wanting the MVP of the season award?
'They all know how badly I want to be named MVP and I couldn't have been this successful without any of them.'
Another guard who believes Mitchell is worthy of the season's most prestigious award is court rivalFrank Robinson who played for Maccabi Haifa, 'He is probably the most athletic and talented guard that played in the league this year. He did a lot for his team and it shows because no one believed that Rishon would be in Final-Four. Dwayne was also the best player as far as statistics go and his accomplishments show he deserves the MVP award.' That said, we might be talking about the most physically impressive player in attendance that is not only extremely explosive, but is also incredibly strong.
The Future
While Rishon is attempting to secure a few key players for next season, Mitchell an undoubted Euroleague player, has had to turn his phone settings from loud to vibrate to silent, due to the amount of job offers he is getting for next season, three of which are from Euroleague teams.
Tuesday's semi-final's court rival, all Euroleague second team first point guard and one of the NBA's top prospects, Jeremy Pargo also complimented the 28 year old guard,
'Where do I start from? He knows how to play the game. He plays very hard, tough and he's gotta be the most athletic guard I've come across, which makes him a match problem.'
Mitchell himself has nothing but warm words to say about Maccabi's head coach David Blatt and high hopes of joining Pargo's back court, 'Blatt is an amazing coach. I love his style and system and how he allows you to be a role player and a star at the same time, but most importantly he focuses his team to play together all the time.'
Mitchell also drew compliments from his LA Lakers summer league head coach Chucky Brown, 'His biggest strength offensively is getting to the basket which he does at will because he is so strong and athletic.' Brown remembers how nothing was ever enough for Mitchell who always wanted perfection, 'He's very eager to learn. He really wanted to play the triangle system and you rarely find guys who like to. He would come and ask questions about where he should be on the floor and if what he's doing is right. He really wanted to play and I thought that was great to see.'
After Rishon had secured the final ticket to the FF, it was hard not to pay attention to the overly happy Mitchell, dancing to his hip-hop music throughout the gym's halls, waving his arms in the air releasing his frustration from the negative comments that were made about him, 'I never talk trash and I dont wish bad things on anyone. I only hope that the people who didnt believe in me and gave me a hard time were here now so I could see their faces.'
(courtesy of Eurobasket News)