It could be a hard battle for Mark Mitchell to get back to the NCAA Tournament after the Duke basketball transfer announced his commitment to Missouri.
Mitchell, who was one of the first Blue Devils to enter his name into the portal, was a former 5-star recruit and McDonald's All-American before spending two seasons in Durham.
He is the first of the seven players on last year's Duke roster that entered the portal to commit to a new program.
The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 11.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game this season while shooting 54-percent from the field yet 27.5-percent from 3-point range.
MIZ🐯 pic.twitter.com/5RKG3u2ZXA
— Mark Mitchell (@Mark_mitchell25) April 19, 2024
However, Missouri was one of the worst power conference teams last season after finishing 8-24 and winless (0-18) in SEC play. The Tigers' last victory was on December 30 against Central Arkansas.
It came off the heels of winning a game in the NCAA Tournament a year prior before being upended by No. 15 seed Princeton in the Round of 32 in the first season under head coach Dennis Gates.
Mark Mitchell joins a transfer class that is comprised of Iowa's Tony Perkins, Northern Kentucky's Marques Warrick, and UT Martin's Jacob Crews. It's currently ranked as the No. 4 transfer portal class in the country, according to 247Sports.
Missouri also has the No. 8 class of incoming freshmen, according to 247Sports.
Duke, in theory, could play Mitchell and the Tigers this season in Cameron Indoor Stadium during the ACC vs. SEC Challenge, however, given the poor record from last year's team, it seems unlikley that the two teams will matchup early in the season.
Duke is expected to be have a Top-5 preseason ranking with returning starters Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster, as well as the No. 1 recruiting class entering Durham this season.
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