When you watch Mitchell’s tape from his two seasons at Texas another thing that really pops off the charts is his versatility, the ability to guard multiple positions on the court. Mitchell stands 6’8″ with a 205-pound frame and has shown to be arguably one of the best defenders in the Big 12 over the last two seasons. I think it is all safe to say that Mitchell could arguably be that guy who comes in and immediately become a guy that steps in and replaces an elite defender like John Newman because of his ability to space the floor and sit down and guard any player on the court. Wes Miller and this staff have preached for the last few seasons about wanting to be physical, versatile and tough defending team just like the old Cincinnati teams back under Bob Huggins and Mick Cronin and this roster has the chance to be the best Cincinnati team on paper since the 2018-2019 season.
“I think Dillon really fits our style of play and everything e value here at Cincinnati,” Wes Miller said. “His versatility on both ends of the court, he can do some many different things. I think it is a really cool situation getting him here ahead of summer workouts, he is already a very great player.”
The addition of Mitchell to Cincinnati has the ability to put Cincinnati as a preseason Top 25 team heading into the 2024-2025 season. Now for Miller, landing his first five-star recruit in Mitchell who arguably becomes one of the highest ranked players to put on a Cincinnati uniform in recent years. However, for Miller, he wanted to make it known that Cincinnati will be targeting the best players available year in and out due to the rich history that Cincinnati has brought over the years.
“We see this as one of the great programs in all of college basketball,” Miller told reporters earlier Wednesday afternoon. “The best players should want to play here at Cincinnati. We are going to continue to go after guys that we think are the best players that fit what we value, and the things that this city and University value as well. We are not afraid to fail in recruiting, we have these guys that continue to say yes, despite having these options to leave year after year, so that is something that I am proud of for sure.”
Now with Mitchell in the fold, it brings a lot of excitement to Fifth Third Arena to pair alongside returners in Simas Lukosius, Dan Skillings, Jizzle James, Day-Day Thomas, Aziz Bandaogo and more. Now for Cincinnati, it is safe to say that the floor for this team is an NCAA Tournament due to the roster refiguration and rebuild that Wes Miller and staff have done. However, if they can get similar numbers from a guy like Dillon Mitchell or slightly better numbers compared to a season ago, it is safe to say the ceiling for this Cincinnati team has became much higher.
