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@PaulBiancardi You seem to be much less bullish on Shelton Mitchell than others, what caused his drop? #askcoachB
— Jake S (@BloggerSoDear) October 3, 2013
Just because a player drops out of the ranking, there is no need to panic or be alarmed or think the worst. It just means he has more work to do. Shelton Mitchell shined as a young prospect and earned a high ranking. There are plenty of good, talented players who aren't in the rankings.
The two biggest reasons for his drop out of our top 100 is his lack of development in shooting and the play and productivity of others over that same time period, as evaluated by our staff.
In the Nike EYBL, for example, he shot 41 percent from the field and 20 percent on 3-pointers and 69 percent from the free-throw line. As a point guard, those are not good numbers. The mechanics on his jump shot need to be fixed. Combined with his excellent work ethic, he should solve the issue. On the other hand, he is committed to running a team and trying to make his teammates better, as his assist-to-turnover ratio was almost 2-1, which is a good start. Defensively we'd like to see him concentrate on keeping his man out of the lane with greater resistance.
He is heading to Oak Hill for his senior season, which will provide outstanding competition on a daily basis in practice and games. More importantly, playing for a coach like Steve Smith -- who has had many NBA players and college All-Americans -- will likely aid him greatly in his progress. By being on the big stage all season, Mitchell will have more than ample opportunities to display his improvements and talents. He could easily see his way back into our rankings because he can do it and is willing to do whatever it takes.
Wake Forest is getting a very good player who over time will help their program continue to improve in the powerful ACC.
