Tag: Makhel Mitchell

Mitchell thriving, despite separation from his twin brother

Other than the two minutes that lapsed between when Makhi Mitchell entered the world on Jan. 31, 2000, followed shortly by the arrival his “younger” brother, Makhel, the identical twins were virtually inseparable for the first 22 years of their …

Other than the two minutes that lapsed between when Makhi Mitchell entered the world on Jan. 31, 2000, followed shortly by the arrival his “younger” brother, Makhel, the identical twins were virtually inseparable for the first 22 years of their lives.

The Washington, D.C., area natives, knew from an early age that their enormous size gave them an advantage on the basketball court. They began playing organized sports at the age of 6, and always remained on the same teams.

“We’ve always been on the same team, we’ve always been to camps together, and we pretty much did everything together,” said Makhi, the 6-foot-10 forward for the Arkansas basketball team, who was a guest on the Eric Musselman Live radio show Tuesday night at Sassy’s BBQ & Grille.

After developing their skills around the courts of the nation’s capital, the twins honed their talents at Woodrow Wilson High School, where they became 4-star prospects, and were rated as the No. 2 and No. 3 players in the region in 2018 by 247 Sports.

After signing together and playing their freshman seasons at Maryland, the duo transferred to Rhode Island for the following two years. Last season, they were plucked out of the transfer portal by Eric Musselman, looking to add some needed size to the Arkansas front court.

The Mitchells helped catapult the Razorbacks to their third straight Sweet 16 appearance, as Makhi started 31 of the Hogs’ 36 games, averaging 7.0 points and 5.3 rebounds a game, while shooting a team-leading 66 percent from the floor. Makhel logged nine starts, averaging 3.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per contest.

After the season, the 23-year-old brothers had to make one of the toughest decisions of their lives, ultimately deciding to move in different directions. Makhi chose to remain at Arkansas for his final season, but Makhel thought it was best to transfer, deciding to spent his final season at Little Rock.

“You know, it was a business decision,” Makhi said. “But I think we are both at that point, that we can handle ourselves and handle our own things. He’s at a good spot. I’m at a good spot. I’m happy for him and proud of him, and I know he is proud of me.”

Makhi has averaged 6.7 points and 5.0 rebounds through the Razorbacks’ first three games this season, but shined brightest in an 86-77 victory over Old Dominion on Monday night, tallying a double-double, with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The twins still talk at least once a day by phone and try to meet up, either in Fayetteville or Little Rock, when time permits.

“I’ve been down to Little Rock a few times to visit and hangout,” Makhi said. “He loves the city and loves the campus down there, so he is happy.”

With their school schedules and practice schedules usually somewhat in sync, the Mitchells get to continue their brotherly competitiveness with each other via online video games, where they battle it out on a regular basis.

“We still get to spend a lot of time together, talking on the phone or playing games, so it’s working out good,” Makhi added. “That’s my brother, man, and I love him so much.”

Two former Hogs headed to Little Rock to play basketball

Makhel Mitchell and KK Robinson both played at Arkansas, though not together. Now both will play at Little Rock.

Khalen Robinson and Makhel Mitchell haven’t played together yet. Yet.

The two former Arkansas basketball players are both transferring to Little Rock to play next season for the Trojans. Mitchell just finished his first and only year with the Razorbacks in 2022-23, while Robinson spent the two years before that at Arkansas.

Mitchell, a 6-foot-10 center, averaged 3.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in about 13 minutes a game last year. He played nearly the entire season as Arkansas’ back-up center, but looked more than capable when called on.

Robinson, who goes by KK, went to Texas A&M after his two seasons with the Razorbacks. He played in just 18 games, most all of which came in mop-up duty. For his three-year college career, he’s played in just 42 games and averaged six minutes per.

Little Rock went 10-21 overall and 6-12 in the Ohio Valley Conference last year.

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Report: Arkansas honing in on its next starting center

Syracuse center Jesse Edwards was barely in the portal before the calls came like crazy.

You know Arkansas has had trouble in the recent past on the interior with bigger, stronger players? Eric Musselman knows it, too.

So when the Razorbacks lost reserve center Makhel Mitchell to the transfer portal last week, the signal fires went up. Arkansas would need someone in the middle.

Makhi Mitchell has yet to announce whether he will spend a final season of college basketball with Arkansas or travel elsewhere. But even if he were to stay, Musselman’s reaching out to Syracuse center Jesse Edwards was huge, per a report, especially as the Hogs coach tends to focus a bit more on wings and guards.

Yes, the Mitchells and Jalen Graham, all play clearly in the frontcourt and arrived at Arkansas from the portal last year. But all three were slightly different players than Edwards, who, for two seasons with the Orange didn’t look like he was going to be much of a factor.

Then, this season, he averaged 14.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks. With Jim Boeheim’s retirement and just one year of eligibility remaining, Edwards decided to seek greener pastures.

The fit with the Razorbacks seems to be clear. Arkansas needs a big body in the middle and could certainly use rebounding and rim protection. But the Hogs are hardly in that. Per the report, the Razorbacks are already competing with Georgia, LSU, Missouri and Vanderbilt from the SEC.

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Arkansas center Makhel Mitchell leaves for transfer portal

Makhel Mitchell is the first player to announce entry to the portal from Arkansas. He won’t be the last.

Makhel Mitchell is the first Arkansas player from the 2022-23 season to enter the transfer portal.

The 6-foot-10 center played one season with the Razorbacks after transferring, along with his twin brother Makhi, to Arkansas from Rhode Island. That means Mitchell will have to sit out the 2023-24 season if he lands at another Division I program.

That seems likely. Makhel Mitchell averaged 3.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in 12 minutes per game. He was a regular in the rotation, but played fewer minutes against teams who did not have a traditional big man.

No word has come about Makhi Mitchell. He was the team’s primary starting center with Makhel serving as his back-up.

Makhel Mitchell is the fourth player to exit the program overall, though the other three could return. Nick Smith Jr. is likely to stay in the NBA Draft, as is Ricky Council. Devo Davis is likely to return to the program, however, though he, too, announced his entry to the draft.

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Jalen Graham announces return to Arkansas next season

Arkansas basketball received some more clarity on their roster after Jalen Graham’s decision Wednesday night.

The [autotag]Arkansas basketball[/autotag] roster for the 2022-23 season continues to take shape as forward [autotag]Jalen Graham[/autotag] will be returning next year.

Graham announced his decision in a two-minute video posted to his Twitter account late Wednesday night. He is the second Razorback to officially announce his return for next season, joining [autotag]Trevon Brazile[/autotag].

Last season was up-and-down for Graham, but fans saw glimpses of his potential to be a special basketball player. Graham appeared in 31 games last year while averaging 5.2 points on 66% from the field. He also grabbed 2.3 rebounds a game in his limited action. Where the optimism towards Graham comes from is his per 40minutes average. His numbers per 40 minutes are 22.1 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.0 BPG and 2.0 SPG.

If Graham is able to improve his performance on the defensive end of the floor, he has the potential to be a regular rotation player – but that’s a big if. His flashes of brilliance on the offensive end gave Arkansas fans hope, but next season is when he will need to put everything together on both ends of the floor.

The return of Graham gives the Razorbacks a full allotment of scholarships, but that will likely change as we await the decisions of [autotag]Anthony Black[/autotag], [autotag]Makhi Mitchell[/autotag] and [autotag]Makhel Mitchell[/autotag] among others.

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Pregame tweets: Arkansas takes on Illinois in first round of NCAA Tournament

Here’s what they’re saying ahead of Arkansas’ first round game of the NCAA Tournament vs. Illinois.

The [autotag]Arkansas Razorbacks[/autotag] are just about ready to get underway in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Arkansas is going to be starting [autotag]Anthony Black[/autotag], [autotag]Ricky Council[/autotag], [autotag]Nick Smith Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Devo Davis[/autotag] and [autotag]Kamani Johnson[/autotag]. Illinois will be starting Terrence Shannon Jr., RJ Melendez, Matthew Mayer, Coleman Hawkins and Dain Dainja.

The Razorbacks are 0-5 all-time against the Illini but haven’t played since 2004 when Illinois defeated the Hogs, 72-60. Arkansas has won in the first round of the NCAA Tournament each of the past two seasons under [autotag]Eric Musselman[/autotag].

It should be a very close, nerve-racking game that comes down to the wire, but the Razorbacks have the talent to walk out with a huge win on Thursday. Here’s what fans are saying on social media ahead of the first round contest between the Hogs and Illini.

Beyond the Box: Did the officials cost Arkansas in loss to No. 23 Kentucky?

Were the officials to blame for yet another Arkansas loss? Here’s a closer look at Saturday’s 88-79 loss to No. 23 Kentucky.

The Arkansas Razorbacks (19-12, 8-10) just dropped their third straight game to end the regular season after an 88-79 loss to No. 23 Kentucky (21-10, 12-6).

The atmosphere was electric inside Bud Walton Arena and the action on the floor was intense from the opening minutes. That intensity resulted in a very physical game from both teams, which led to a couple of altercations that had implications in the result of the game.

Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe and Arkansas’ [autotag]Makhel Mitchell[/autotag] got tangled up under the basket just three minutes into the game. The replay showed that Tshiebwe threw an elbow which appeared to connect with Mitchell’s head. Despite the video evidence, officials did not assess Tshiebwe a flagrant foul. Instead, they assessed common fouls to both players and one to Anthony Black for getting into a verbal altercation with a couple of other Wildcat players.

Tshiebwe would eventually get a flagrant for contact to [autotag]Kamani Johnson[/autotag] later in the half, but played the majority of the game on his way 12 points and 13 rebounds.

The other crucial moment happened with 18 minutes left in the second half. Kentucky was on a decent run and Arkansas players were becoming visibly frustrated. [autotag]Devo Davis [/autotag] was called for back-to-back fouls and appeared to stomp and yell out in frustration, garnering a technical foul from the official closest to the Wildcat bench.

As Davis continued toward the Arkansas bench he appeared to say something else in the direction of the court and was assessed his second technical foul which meant an automatic ejection.

Both of these situations deserve their fair share of criticism when it comes to the officiating, and there were countless other missed calls and non-calls that could’ve gone the Razorbacks’ way. You can argue that if Oscar Tshiebwe is ejected early in the first half, Arkansas wins. You can argue that if Devo Davis isn’t ejected, maybe that also makes a difference in the final score.

However entertaining those “what if?” scenarios won’t change anything and, quite frankly, they weren’t the reason that Arkansas lost. There were plenty of opportunities that the Hogs failed to take advantage of and it cost them a big win at home.

Let’s go beyond the box score to take a closer look at how Arkansas lost today’s game.

Beyond the Box: Arkansas vs Louisville – Anthony Black steals the show in dunkfest

Arkansas turned a five point lead to 25 in just 10 minutes against Louisville on Monday.

Anthony Black’s scoring won’t be the main plus he brings to the Arkansas basketball team in 2022-23.

But on Monday against Louisville, in the quarterfinals of the Maui Invitational, Black didn’t just stuff the box score, he dominated it, and in points, too.

Black scored a career-high 26 points on 9 of 11 shooting while adding six assists in the Razorbacks’ 80-54 win. The Hogs advanced to play No. 10 Creighton on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

Louisville trailed by just five points with 14:26 left before Arkansas went on a 24-4 run. At one point during the streak, the Razorbacks had scored on dunks on five straight possessions.

Let’s examine behind the basic statistics, though, to see just how Arkansas dominated what was, for a good 25 minutes, a close game.

Smith, Walsh named All-Americans by Sports Illustrated

Two gems of the 2022 recruiting class have been named All-Americans by Sports Illustrated

Two of the gems in the 2022 signing class for Arkansas Basketball have garnered national attention, yet again.

[autotag]Nick Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Jordan Walsh[/autotag], two five-star signees that will join the Razorbacks next season, have been named All-Americans by Sports Illustrated.

Smith was named first-team All-American by the publication, while Walsh earned third-team honors.

Here’s why Smith was named first-team All-American, according to Jason Jordan of Sports Illustrated:

Smith dominated the competition all summer running with Brad Beal Elite (Mo.) then carried that over to the high school season, posting 26 points, seven assists, and six rebounds a game for North Little Rock (Ark.). Smith capped off his high school finale with a state title, posting 25 points, six rebounds, and five assists in the win. Smith was the best player during practices at the McDonald’s All-American games, a telling feat for what is widely regarded as the most competitive practices of the year.

Link Academy’s Jordan Walsh (23) drives to the basket during the second half of the GEICO Nationals semifinal between Prolific Prep (Calif.) and Link Academy (Mo.), Friday, April 1, 2022, at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Fla.Link Academy defeated Prolific Prep 59-53.

GEICO Nationals 2022: Prolific Prep (Calif.) vs. Link Academy (Mo.) semifinal, April 1, 2022

Jordan believes that Walsh has everything that you want in a player:

Walsh is a highly productive wing that checks off many boxes on and off the stat sheet. This season, he led Link Academy (34-2) to the GEICO Nationals title game, averaging 11 points, seven rebounds, 3.2 assists and one block a game. At 6’7”, Walsh has great length and agility, making him a capable defender at multiple positions and rebounder.

Currently, Arkansas has the 2nd best recruiting class for the 2022 cycle. Joining Smith and Walsh in the class are five star [autotag]Anthony Black[/autotag], four-stars [autotag]Derrian Ford[/autotag], [autotag]Barry Dunning[/autotag], and [autotag]Joseph Pinion[/autotag] from high school, as well as [autotag]Trevon Brazile[/autotag], [autotag]Jalen Graham[/autotag], [autotag]Makhi Mitchell[/autotag], and [autotag]Makhel Mitchell[/autotag] from the transfer portal.

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