Ex-Duke Basketball Starter Set for Another SEC Season…

Mark Mitchell, a former two-year Duke basketball forward, did not enter the transfer portal or declare for the NBA Draft this year.

Aside from Duke’s early December loss to Georgia Tech in the 2023-24 season, Mitchell has been a consistent starter in every game he’s played, both as a Blue Devil and at Missouri.

Now entering his second year with the Tigers, after spending his first two seasons under Jon Scheyer at Duke, the 6-foot-9, 230-pound forward is set to be a key player for Missouri in the upcoming season under fourth-year head coach Dennis Gates.

The deadlines for the transfer portal and NBA Draft have passed without Mitchell’s name being mentioned, indicating that the 21-year-old from Kansas City, Kan., a former five-star recruit, is fully committed to spending his senior year at Missouri.

During his junior year, Mitchell recorded career-high averages of 13.9 points, 1.9 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.8 blocks for a Missouri team that finished with a 22-12 record and a 10-8 mark in SEC play. His 4.7 rebounds per game were a slight dip from his 6.0 rebounds per game at Duke, and his shooting percentages also dropped slightly, with a 50.5% field goal rate and 26.0% from three.

Mitchell was one of seven players to leave Duke through the portal last year, but this time, Jon Scheyer and his staff successfully retained all their scholarship players, a rare feat in today’s transfer portal era.