Darrel Mitchell facts for kids
Mitchell playing for Oettinger Rockets in 2017
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| Point guard / shooting guard | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 3, 1984 New Iberia, Louisiana, U.S. |
| High school | St. Martinville (St. Martinville, Louisiana) |
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Listed weight | 178 lb (81 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | LSU (2002–2006) |
| NBA Draft | 2006 / Undrafted |
| Pro career | 2006–2018 |
| Career history | |
| 2006–2007 | Galatasaray |
| 2007 | Lietuvos rytas |
| 2008 | Élan Chalon |
| 2008–2009 | AEL Limassol |
| 2009–2010 | Khimik |
| 2010–2011 | Telenet Oostende |
| 2011–2012 | Khimik |
| 2012–2013 | Politekhnika-Halychyna |
| 2013–2014 | Donetsk |
| 2014 | Pieno žvaigždės |
| 2014 | Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez |
| 2014–2016 | AS Monaco |
| 2016–2018 | Oettinger Rockets |
| 2018 | Spartak Primorye |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Darrel Joseph Mitchell Jr. (born May 3, 1984) is a former professional basketball player from the United States. He played basketball in high school at St. Martinville Senior High School in St. Martinville, Louisiana. In 2002, he was named Louisiana Mr. Basketball during his senior year.
After high school, he played college basketball for the LSU Tigers for four years. In 2006, his team made it to the NCAA Tournament Final Four. Even though he was not picked in the 2006 NBA draft, Mitchell began his professional career in Europe. He played for teams in Turkey, Lithuania, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Russia, and Ukraine.
Contents
High School Basketball Star
Darrel Mitchell was born in New Iberia, Louisiana. He went to St. Martinville Senior High School in St. Martinville. His father, Darrel Sr., was the head coach of the basketball team there.
Early High School Success
As a sophomore, Mitchell was a top player, scoring 22.2 points per game. In his junior year, he averaged 21 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2.4 steals. He was named the Class 4A MVP. His team, the St. Martinville Tigers, had a great 32-3 record. They reached the state tournament quarterfinals.
Mitchell mostly played as a shooting guard in high school. Even though he was 5 feet 11 inches tall, which is not very tall for that position, he was very skilled. In July 2001, he was invited to the ABCD Camp. This camp brings together the best high school players in the U.S.
Senior Year Highlights
In his senior year, Mitchell averaged 24.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.9 steals. He shot 41% from the three-point line. In December 2001, he scored 41 points against Lincoln High School from Dallas, Texas. This game was special because Lincoln was ranked the best high school team in the country. Future NBA player Chris Bosh was on their team.
Mitchell led his team to win the state 4A championship. They finished the season with an amazing 36–4 record. At the end of the year, he was named the 2002 Louisiana Mr. Basketball. He also won the Gatorade Player of the Year for Louisiana. Mitchell scored over 2,000 points in his high school career. He also did well in school, keeping a 3.0 GPA. In 2007, St. Martinville High School honored him by retiring his jersey number, 22.
College Basketball Journey
Many top college teams wanted Mitchell to play for them. These included Arkansas, Houston, LSU, and Oklahoma. In April 2002, he chose to play for LSU.
Freshman Year at LSU
Mitchell played his first year under coach John Brady. He was an important player coming off the bench. He played in all 32 games, averaging almost 20 minutes per game. On February 26, 2003, he scored a career-high 19 points against Auburn. He made all 5 of his three-point shots in that game. He was the best three-point shooter on the team, making 42.4% of his shots.
Sophomore Season Growth
In his second year, Mitchell played more, averaging over 30 minutes per game. He started 17 of his 29 games. He scored in double figures in 9 of his last 12 games that season. On February 4, 2004, he scored a new career-high of 22 points against Tennessee. He also had 8 assists in that game. He was still the team's best three-point shooter, making 41.9% of his shots.
Junior Year as a Starter
Coach Brady made Mitchell a full-time starter in his junior year. He started all 30 games for LSU. On January 15, he scored a new career high of 32 points against Ohio State. Just three days before, he had scored 18 points against South Carolina. He was named Player of the Week by the LSWA on January 18. Mitchell finished the season as the third-best scorer on the team, averaging 13.1 points per game. He also improved his assists, averaging 2.9 per game.
Senior Year and Final Four
In his senior year, Mitchell was part of the 2005–06 LSU team. This team had many talented players from Louisiana. On November 26, 2005, Mitchell scored a game-winning shot against West Virginia. In that game, he also reached 1,000 career points.
LSU made it to the 2006 NCAA tournament. Mitchell started the tournament strong with 19 points against Iona. He then scored 16 points against Texas A&M. He also made the game-winning three-pointer with only 3.9 seconds left. After beating strong teams like Duke and Texas, LSU lost to UCLA in the Final Four. Mitchell scored 8 points in that game.
He averaged 16.8 points per game for the season, which was second-best on his team. Mitchell played 1,322 minutes in 2005–06, which was the third-highest in LSU history for a single season. When he finished his college career, his 1,569 total points ranked 10th all-time at LSU. He also became LSU's all-time leader in three-point field goals with 258.
College Statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | LSU | 32 | 0 | 19.8 | .413 | .424 | .732 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 7.0 |
| 2003–04 | LSU | 29 | 17 | 30.4 | .412 | .419 | .710 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 11.9 |
| 2004–05 | LSU | 30 | 30 | 35.0 | .401 | .364 | .846 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 13.1 |
| 2005–06 | LSU | 36 | 36 | 36.7 | .436 | .394 | .758 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 16.8 |
| Career | 127 | 83 | 30.6 | .418 | .396 | .767 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 12.4 |
Professional Basketball Career
After college, Darrel Mitchell was eligible for the 2006 NBA draft. However, he was not chosen by any NBA teams. He then decided to start his professional career in Europe.
Early Years in Europe
Mitchell first signed with Galatasaray, a team in the Turkish Basketball League. He played 30 games in the 2006–07 season, averaging 13.8 points. He was also named to the TBL Foreign All-Stars team. In September 2007, he joined Lietuvos rytas in Lithuania. This gave him the chance to play in the Euroleague, a top European competition.
After leaving Lithuania, Mitchell played for Élan Chalon in France. He averaged 13.5 points and 5.3 assists per game there. He also played in the 2007–08 ULEB Cup with Chalon.
Playing Across Europe
In 2008, Mitchell moved to AEL Limassol in Cyprus. He played in the 2008–09 FIBA EuroChallenge, averaging 10.7 points and 3.7 assists. The next season, he joined Khimik in Ukraine. He had a great season, averaging 17.7 points and 5.4 assists. He shot 42.4% from three-point range.
In April 2010, he moved to B.C. Oostende in Belgium. He played in the Pro Basketball League and stayed with Oostende for the 2010–11 season. He also played in the 2010–11 FIBA EuroChallenge with the Belgian team.
Later Career and Championships
In 2011, Mitchell returned to Khimik in Ukraine. He played a full season, averaging 17.1 points and 6 assists per game. In 2012, he joined another Ukrainian team, Politekhnika-Halychyna. In December 2013, he moved to Donetsk.
In March 2014, he left Ukraine and played briefly for BC Pieno žvaigždės in Lithuania. He then returned to France for the 2014–15 Pro A season. He played for Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez before moving to Pro B team AS Monaco. With Monaco, he averaged 14.2 points and 5.9 assists. Monaco won the French 2nd Division championship in 2015 and moved up to Pro A. Mitchell stayed with Monaco for the 2015–16 season.
In 2016, Mitchell joined the German team Oettinger Rockets. He played one season in the ProA (second level) and one season in the Basketball Bundesliga (top league). In 2018, he played 20 games for Spartak Primorye in Russia. He helped them win the Russian 2nd Division title. Mitchell retired from professional basketball in 2018.
See also
In Spanish: Darrel Mitchell para niños
