Did we ever really hear what happened to Mitchell?
- Thread starter SWEc/o95
- Start date
Don't know how it happened but supposedly happened day before in practice. What I do know is someone dropped the ball on keeping Scheyer updated. If he truly injured it the day before, Scheyer should have known that he was questionable to play and to prepare the team for that. It shouldn't have been a few minutes before the game started that the coaching staff found out he was a no go and Dariq suddenly had to change his mindset that he was going to start.
Did someone drop the ball or was it just that they had decided to see how Mitchell would be on game day and, after he went through warm ups, they realized he could not go and told Jon as much?
That was what I understood. I believe they even said they were keeping an eye on it during the game to see if it would loosen up.
That could possibly be it but Dariq seemed really surprised when he was asked about it. Maybe he meant to say something different such as,"The coaching staff told me yesterday that I could possibly start because of Mark". Maybe that's what he meant to say? Maybe it came out the wrong way out of his mouth.
When I saw that, my whole aura changed. My
Confidence went pooof. Lol There is a reason this team was as good as it was WHEN HEALTHY. Duke simply
Could not afford injuries to Proctor, Roach, Whitehead, Filipowski, Mitchell and Lively. That core, when healthy is hard to beat. Yes, I believe a healthy Mitchell changes the whole complexion of that game. I truly believe it.
Confidence went pooof. Lol There is a reason this team was as good as it was WHEN HEALTHY. Duke simply
Could not afford injuries to Proctor, Roach, Whitehead, Filipowski, Mitchell and Lively. That core, when healthy is hard to beat. Yes, I believe a healthy Mitchell changes the whole complexion of that game. I truly believe it.
Was like the 2019 Sweet 16 game when it was announced right before tipoff that Cam Reddish wouldn't be able to play, yet you saw him in the shootaround. I don't recall ever hearing what that issue was. That kind of news knocks you back a little bit as a team before the game even starts.
It surely hurt Duke's depth badly. In a physical game (understatement) Duke seemed to wear down in the second half. Not much to say though, luck whether good or bad is always part of the tournament.
It is, look at Kansas. A team with what? 17-18 Quad 1 wins or whatever they have yet they lose their Coach with a health issue, were probably on the cusp of getting him back but could not survive Arkansas and lost by 1. They had a team very capable of going 6-0 in this thing, imagine how they felt though they still have a recent title to comfort themselves.
Right and they told him as soon as the decision had been made. There is no way he did not know that Mitchell was hurt. It happened at practice a day earlier, which makes it very different from Cam Reddish
It was the perfect storm of shit to hit us right before game time and then the game itself. I think we beat Tenn if he's able to go. But it is what it is.
I'm so surprised the staff was able to keep it under wraps the whole time until literally it was almost game time. I bet on sports all the time (never for or against any time I root for) but it's nothing worse than getting a last minute scratch after you placed your bet. The NBA does this crap all the time.
Whitehead should have been mentally prepared to start. His comments sounded like he was surprised, but I may just be misreading it. He started before didnt he? It's not like starting Schutt all of a sudden.
I agree totally. This whole find out moments before tipoff deal was crazy. Jon himself admitted the moments leading up to tipoff were "HECTIC" when asked about Mark's injury.
It's the 2nd time in 4 years Jon has been involved in such a scenario. As an asst to K in '19 he saw Cam Reddish pull out just before tip in the VA Tech Sweet 16 game (leg injury). Both times on GameDay right up to opening tap, Reddish and Mitchell were listed as starters.
I know K was furious with Cam for a fact, for telling him so LATE. We barely slid by VA Tech, then K did not start Reddish vs Michigan State. He started O'Connell in his place, and inserted Cam after the first three minutes.
OFC
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Hard to overcome something like that. This team could ill afford to lose anyone, and we lost one of the most undervalued guys from the team. I hope that fuels Mark and all the other returning guys for next season. Flip had as good of a weekend as you could have last weekend in Greensboro and followed it up with his poorest showing in a long while. I'd love to see him come back with a purpose.
I hate to say this, but Mark's decision not to give it a go Saturday (at least 1 minute of game action as moral support to his struggling teammates), makes me think he's headed on to The League.
OFC
We don't know how hurt he was so I wont speculate. But all this talk about how much we missed him could improve his draft stock.
Trust me Chris, we're the only ones talking about it. Hell, the ESPN article about the game mentions him only to say he wouldn't have made a difference. He's not showing up on any draft boards either.
In the case of Whitehead or Lively, I would've agreed, but not with Mark. But you could be right. I just know that I reached out to my guy this weekend and finally heard back today. Let me say this, and take it with a grain of salt, but I would be VERY shocked if we lose all three of Mark, Flip, and Proctor. As I have said in the past, I am getting like 3rd or 4th hand info here. But he's only ever steered me wrong once, and that was with Keels last year, and I don't blame him on that one. It seems he wasn't the only one hearing Keels was back until he wasn't. Again, take it for what you will.
Watching Keels being interviewed at the combine it seemed like he was gone. But you never really know.
I saw a tweet from an orthopedic doctor who noted that what happened with Mitchell is something he has seen several times. A player tweaks a knee or gets hit on the knee and it seems okay. But then 24 hours later, the pain is such that he can hardly walk on it. That appears to be just what happened with Mitchell. They thought it was going to be okay from the day/night before and then just before game time it flared up such that he could not go.
I don't think that's something to be critical of Duke or their medical staff. Medical science is advanced but often uncertain and different human bodies respond differently to injuries.
I don't think that's something to be critical of Duke or their medical staff. Medical science is advanced but often uncertain and different human bodies respond differently to injuries.
