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Mitchell fills the roster spot that Robert Carter Jr. opened up. Can he match his production?
Measurables and background:
Charles Mitchell is a large dude for sure. Paul Johnson might want him to try out for his team as he could almost pass for a defensive tackle. He is listed at 6-8, 269 lbs. and like many on the team, he went to high school in the Atlanta area. He was a standout at Wheeler High School in Marietta but chose to play for Maryland in 2012. Earlier this year, he cited the need to be closer to his ailing grandmother as a reason to transfer back close to home and for this reason was given a waiver to play immediately for Tech.
2013-14 performance:
In his sophomore season with Maryland, he averaged over 6 points and 6 rebounds but that was in only 18.8 minutes a game. The Terrapins had a glut of forwards on the team last year like Dezmine Wells, Nick Faust and Evan Smotrycz and there weren't enough minutes to spread around.
Hello, my name is Charles Mitchell:
Role on this year's team:
Mitchell plays with a lot of enthusiasm and energy for an old school, low post player. He knows how to get position on the block and can finish around the rim with either hand. If you give him any small opening to the rim, he'll probe until he finds it. He's a tough defender too and quicker than he looks as well.
Mitchell is also a very good rebounder, especially on the offensive end. He was 12th in Division I in rebounding rate among those with enough minutes to qualify, grabbing 15.4% of available grabbing rebounds last year.
Again, in what I expect to be a recurring problem with the Jackets this season, Mitchell has an ugly 41.7% career mark from the free throw line. In addition, his passing and jump shooting could be improved upon but he shouldn't be asked to do anything outside of his comfort zone this season like that.
If he gives the team 8 points and 8 rebounds a night, it will go a long way to helping the team win in the toughest conference in college basketball. I imagine the guy known affectionately as Chuck fights with Robert Sampson for the starting spot at the power forward position, but with his size he can play the center position with ease. Even if he doesn't start, he'll be the main backup to Sampson at the 4 and Demarco Cox at the 5. He's the only one among the Sampson, Cox, Mitchell trio that has more than one year of eligibility left, so he'll be counted on to bridge the gap to Nick Jacobs, Ben Lammers, and Abdoulaye Gueye and others as we move forward.