LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- When you check the list of former University of Louisville basketball players who averaged double figures in the NBA, you'll find Junior Bridgeman, Jack Coleman, Darrell Griffith, Montrezl Harrell, Rodney McCray, Terry Rozier, Derek Smith and Wes Unseld.
That is the list.
Except for the guy on top: Donovan Mitchell, the former Cardinal who will draw the postseason spotlight locally this spring and summer with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Over seven NBA seasons, Mitchell has averaged 24.8 points. That's an eight-point advantage over Griffith, the No. 2 player on the list of former Cards.
And that's not the only link between Mitchell and Dr. Dunkenstein. Both started their pro careers in Salt Lake City with the Utah Jazz.
It's a solid franchise that adores its NBA franchise and players. But it's not the place to be if you want to become the face of the NBA, a goal Mitchell reaffirmed this week in an interview with Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
"I can sit here and tell you that I want to be one of the faces of the NBA — if not the face — but I've got to go out and do it," Mitchell told Fedor. (Link to Cleveland.com story).
"I don't think of it as pressure. That's the goal I set a long time ago."
That is not a bit surprising to anybody who watched Mitchell's powerful development during the 2016 and 2017 seasons at Louisville, especially his sophomore season when Mitchell made six 3-point field goals three times in a sizzling nine-game stretch.
Rick Pitino (left) and former Louisville guard Donovan Mitchell teamed up to throw out the first pitch at the Yankees-Mets game Tuesday night. AP Photo Frank Franklin II.
Unlike Griffith, who stayed in Utah from 1980 through his retirement in 1991, Mitchell exited Salt Lake City after five seasons. He's finishing his second year with the Cavaliers, who placed fourth in the Eastern Conference this season.
Mitchell and Rozier (currently out with a neck injury for Miami) are the only Cards participating in the NBA playoffs. The Cavs begin their opening series against the Orlando Magic at 1 p.m. Saturday.
As the series begins another question looms over Mitchell, an NBA all-star the last five seasons:
Will this be the summer when Mitchell finally makes his way to one of the NBA's prime franchises, a place where he can take the final step toward achieving his goal, becoming a face of the NBA?
Will this be the summer when he gets the opportunity to play for the team that he loved as a child, the New York Knicks?
That's the backstory story that has long been whispered around Mitchell, 27, who grew up in Connecticut, a fan of the Mets and Knicks.
This summer, the story will have legitimate juice. When the Cavaliers' season ends, Mitchell will have one guaranteed season remaining on his contract, which will pay him nearly $35 million in 2024-25.
That's often the time when NBA franchises deal their most valuable assets if they determine a contract extension cannot be negotiated.
At 26.6 points per game, Mitchell finished tied for ninth in the league in scoring this season while averaging 6.1 assists and 5.1 rebounds. He's a 37% 3-point shooter, an 87% free throw shooter and the guy you want with the ball in his hands at winning time. He's a former Slam Dunk champion who once scored 70 points in a game.
The one thing Mitchell does not have on his resume is postseason glory. In Utah, Mitchell was on a team that won a first-round series in 2018, his rookie season, and another first-round series in 2021.
In Cleveland, the Cavaliers were upset by the Knicks four games to one in the first round last season.
Mitchell's postseason record shows 18 wins and 27 defeat, losses in six of eight series. Mitchell has scored at least 20 points in 36 of those games and 30 or more in 20 of them.
It hasn't been enough.
"I think I've turned it eating at me into fuel," Mitchell told Fedor. "I think what I mean by that is, if it eats at you, it consumes you, and then it puts a lot more pressure on you.
"I think using it as fuel is kind of like, 'All right, this is what you're striving for.' I think it's really big how you talk to yourself in that regard. But I wouldn't have told you that two years ago."
Will it be enough against Orlando, which won 47 games this season, only one less than the Cavaliers?
The NBA wise guys will tell you that the matchup between Mitchell and Magic guard Jalen Suggs, is a significant edge for the Cavaliers, He'll have to deliver to bump Cleveland into Round 2.
Then the spotlight will crank up. The winner of the Cavaliers-Magic series will likely face playoff favorite Boston Celtics in Round Two.
This will be the chance for Donovan Mitchell to rewrite his post-season NBA story as he moves into the summer that will shape the rest of his dynamic career.
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