ASU Basketball: Who will emerge as the team’s leaders?
By Trevor Booth
Mickey Mitchell
The 2018 season was full of highs and lows for Mickey Mitchell.
The 6-foot-7 transfer from Ohio State became eligible to play during the team’s Dec. 10 win at Kansas, and right away, it looked like he’d be a key contributor for the remainder of the season.
Mitchell’s stifling on-ball defense and surprising athleticism quickly earned him the nickname “Sticky Mickey,” and at the end of the non-conference season, he earned his way into the starting lineup.
But from there on, there were some disappointments.
Mitchell didn’t seem to have a clear fit in last year’s rotation, as he posed as an undersized four-man during conference play while being unable to use his strengths as a point-forward and ball handler.
With the Sun Devils facing variations of zone defense for the majority of Pac-12 play, Mitchell’s offensive impact was often limited to short corner touches and inconsistent jump shot attempts.
However, with this year’s team being dominated by bigs and athletic wings, Hurley expects Mitchell’s fit to be a lot better with the new roster.
“Mickey really showed glimpses of what he could do,” Hurley said. “Just his tenacity, how tough he played. He fought through a lot of injury late in the year which we didn’t talk a lot about as the season ended. Just want to get him injury free but he’s a great passer and with our team this year, I could see him in scenarios where he’s some point forward, initiating offense because of his ability to pass. I would suspect, Mickey’s got a great work ethic and I’m sure he’s going to continue to make advancements.”
We’ve already seen Mitchell’s dedication to improvement with his body change from when he played at Ohio State. Now, it’s a matter of keeping others in check and continuing to find a fit that will help him earn respect from his teammates and coaches.
Kimani Lawrence
Like Mitchell, Kimani Lawrence didn’t get his opportunity to play until later in the season. But it wasn’t for the same reason.
Lawrence suffered a stress fracture in his left foot shortly after the team’s three preseason scrimmages last year, sidelining him until the team opened up conference play against Arizona. But even when he returned, he wasn’t the same player.
Lawrence often looked tentative while on the court last year, being unsure of what his foot was capable of doing and how it’d react to certain movements. For a while, it appeared that he’d be cut short of providing any significant footprint on his freshman year.
His impact picked up toward the end of the season, including a week in which he averaged 7.5 points and 4 rebounds against the Los Angeles schools. However, he told me that he’s even more excited to show what he can do with better health.
“When we play pickup, I’m not nervous at all,” Lawrence said. “I’m trusting myself more, trusting my foot, trusting all the things I worked on when it was just me in the gym. And everything’s coming together.”
When asked about how he wanted to be remembered when he left the program, he gave an answer that fully embodied Hurley’s goals for his players.
“Just winning,” said Lawrence about what he’ll want to be remembered for. “Just turning the program around. Before I got here, I know it wasn’t the best place. There’s a lot of doubt, [but] I’m just working on turning it and making this a basketball school.”
Lawrence doesn’t appear to be the most vocal athlete on the team, but if his explosiveness returns with skill improvement, don’t be surprised if he’s one of the players that leads by example.