San Diego State’s Malachi Flynn has turned pro.
Now fellow junior Matt Mitchell could, too.
The 6-foot-6 wing from Riverside submitted paperwork to provisionally enter the NBA Draft as an underclassman a few hours before the deadline Sunday but, unlike Flynn, he iwill not hire an agent to leave open the option of returning to SDSU for his final year of collegiate eligibility. He has until June 3 to withdraw his name.
“The NBA is a lifelong dream of mine,” Mitchell tweeted, “and I am going to do everything in my power to pursue this goal. If this does not end up being the right time to begin my professional career, I am excited about the opportunity to return for my senior season and what our Aztec team can accomplish in 2020-21.”
Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher welcomed the move, even encouraged it.
“I think it’s a good idea because they let you do it,” Dutcher said. “There’s no penalty for it. If he can get a workout or two, I think it would be good for him to kind of gauge where they see his game, what areas he’s good in and what areas he think he could better by playing another year. Or maybe they think he’s good enough now.
“It’s an inexact science at every level, whether it’s high school, college or the pros. When given the opportunity, why not see what they think of you?”
What happens between now and June 3 will largely inform his decision, and as things stand now it might be what doesn’t happen. The NBA season remains suspended, including the pre-draft process that annually ramps up in late April.
That means no group or individual workouts with NBA teams, no in-person interviews and likely no draft combine in Chicago in late May. Instead, coaches and scouting departments have used the down time to watch college game film of prospects. Any interviews would be via computer or phone.
The two-round draft is scheduled for June 25, although there has been speculation it could be moved later in the summer, allowing for some workouts. But that would be long after the NCAA deadline for underclassmen to return.
On the surface, then, it would appear Mitchell declaring for the draft is more fishing expedition than permanent relocation. He requested evaluation from the NBA’s Undergraduate Advisory Committee, a group of general managers who provide feedback about draft prospects; most, according to one source, said he is not currently on their draft boards. (Flynn said one GM forecast him a late first-round pick, and the others were all somewhere in the second round.)
“If he can’t work out for anybody, I think it will be harder for him to make the move,” Dutcher said. “But I might be wrong. If he gets a couple workouts, and Matt goes in there and look better than the guys they have ahead of him, then anything is possible. You never say never in this business.”
Mitchell started his first two seasons at SDSU, then came off the bench for the first half of 2019-20 before moving into the starting lineup after Nathan Mensah was sidelined in late December. He averaged 12.2 points while shooting 39.3% behind the 3-point arc, both second on the team. He also showed marked improvement in his defense, rebounding and general hustle after losing 20 pounds over the summer.
He was a first team all-conference selection by the coaches, and second team by the media. The Kenpom metric ranked him the Mountain West’s fourth-best player, after Flynn, Nevada’s Jalen Harris and Utah State’s Sam Merrill.
His best, and certainly most memorable, game came against Utah State on Feb. 1, when he had 24 of his 28 points in the second half as fellow Inland Empire product Kawhi Leonard watched from the baseline at Viejas Arena. But what was a superb January and February was tempered by a so-so conference tournament, as he scored just four points on 1 of 7 shooting in the 59-56 loss against Utah State in the final.
To retain eligibility, underclassmen can simply not sign with an agent or sign with one of about two dozen certified by the NCAA. The penalty for hiring an impermissible agent is stiff, as BYU forward Yoeli Childs learned last year with a nine-game suspension to start the season.
As of Sunday morning, the list of underclassmen entering the draft was approaching 150. Mitchell becomes the fifth player from the Mountain West, joining Flynn, Harris, Boise State’s Derrick Alston Jr. and Fresno State freshman Niven Hart. Only Flynn has definitively said he won’t return to college.
The deadline to declare is Sunday at 8:59 p.m. PDT.
Last year, 175 underclassmen did and were split almost evenly between those who stayed in (86) and those who returned to college (89). Of the 86, 41 were taken in the 60-pick draft — among them SDSU sophomore forward Jalen McDaniels by the Charlotte Hornets at No. 52.
Junior wing Jordan Schakel also requested draft feedback from the NBA but apparently will not declare.
“I think Jordan wanted to have a chance to go through the process,” Dutcher said. “I think he just looks at the nature of how things are right now and figures there aren’t going to be a lot of workouts available, if any.”
The Aztecs currently have two available scholarships for next season (one from Flynn, one after sophomore forward Joel Mensah entered the transfer portal). Should Mitchell stay in the draft, that would give them three.
However, the transfer market may be turned upside down next month if the NCAA Division I Council approves a proposal to grant players a free, one-time transfer without having to sit out a season. There were erroneous reports last week that the council was postponing transfer discussion until January, but the head of the committee behind it has refuted that — saying the vote could go forward as planned on May 20.
If it passes and is implemented for next season, hundreds of players are expected to enter the transfer portal practically overnight. A school like SDSU, with a history of success with players looking for a change of scenery, would presumably be a popular destination.
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