St. John's Dillon Mitchell, the newest team captain, has earned everything he's received
St. John's forward Dillon Mitchell dunks against William & Mary in the second half of an NCAA men's basketball game at Carnesecca Arena on Nov. 15. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
There is nothing unusual in this era of the NCAA transfer portal for a college basketball player to change schools to play his final season. The schools that want to bring that player in? They almost always are looking to fill a need, some talent the player has proved over his 3-4 seasons at other schools, that he can do at a high level.
If a program needs better rebounding, it gets a proven rebounder. If a program needs a point guard, it finds a gifted floor general looking for a new home.
But what’s happened between 14th-ranked St. John’s (2-1) and Dillon Mitchell is something far different — far more special — than all of that transactional stuff.
Mitchell is a rarity. Coach Rick Pitino and his staff knew what to expect, and then he gives them more. And then, when he’s done that long enough and established a new norm, he gives them even more.
They knew that Mitchell was going to be an elite defender and exceptional athlete when they signed him as a transfer from Cincinnati. Then in the preseason and first weeks of the regular season, he has shown that he can score, handle the ball and find people in a position to score.
And now he’s been recognized for his leadership qualities. On Tuesday, Pitino announced Mitchell has been named the third team captain for St. John’s, joining Zuby Ejiofor and Sadiku Ibine Ayo. The 6-8 forward is turning out to be St. John’s gift that keeps on giving.
It was the biggest news of the day in a day filled with it.
Joson Sanon, the 6-5 Arizona State transfer, joins the starting lineup for Thursday’s 7 p.m. game against Bucknell (2-3) at Carnesecca Arena, Pitino said. He added that Dylan Darling will start at point guard Thursday and in all three high-level games at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas next week, where the Storm open against No. 16 Iowa State and Baylor.
And his newly appointed captain, Mitchell, will likely be the Sixth Man for most of the season.
“The players really look up to him — that’s important — and I also think that he believes in all the things that comprise of the elements of being a good captain,” Pitino said Wednesday. “All three of those guys are selfless. The name on the front is more important than name on the back. It's all about winning — it’s not about their stats. . . . And he exudes that, along with Zuby and (Sadiku).”
Pitino informed the Storm in the film room Tuesday before they drilled down on the Bison, who are coming off losses to Hofstra and Pittsburgh, and Mitchell said the team met the news with sincere congratulations.
“Those two guys are really unselfish basketball guys, especially as far as knowing what the coaches want from this team, knowing what we want as a team, and trying to be unselfish,” Mitchell said of Ejiofor and Ibine Ayo. “To be a part of that group [of] really good leaders who are vocal? They even helped me when I first got here, [to] kind of understand what the culture is and everything like that. So being a part of it, [I’m] very appreciative.”
In the first three games, Mitchell averaged 11.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.7 steals in just 23 minutes. As to the idea of making him the first player off the bench, Pitino said, “Outside of Zuby, he’s one of the most valuable players on the team and we need him. We don't need him in foul trouble at the end of the end of the game. We need his defense. We need his ball-handling ability.”
Bucknell may not be a sort of acid test for the rigors St. John’s will see in Iowa State and Baylor, but Mitchell would like to see the team show a little more passion for rebounding, contact and toughness. Pitino feels confident the team is ready after playing now-No. 8 Alabama tough in a seven-point loss.
“We're ready for Vegas,” Pitino said. “Iowa State is a different type of team to play against, but, look, we played against Alabama and we could have won that game... We don't have any doubts in our minds at all about who we are [or] what we are. We know we have to play great to win, but I think we're capable of playing great.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
