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of 2010, he did so as the least- hyped member of Virginia head coach Tony Bennett's inaugural six-member recruiting class. KT Harrell, James Johnson, Will Regan and Billy Baron were all considered better prospects by the recruiting services Rivals and Scout. Today, all those players are W gone — and Mitchell and fel- low third-year Joe Harris are the only members of the class still at UVa. "I was thinking about that the other day — wondering how those guys are doing," Mitchell said, "and just thinking about me and Joe and how far we've come as people and as basketball players." There is little doubt about that. In just two seasons, Mitchell has quickly evolved into one of Virginia's best defensive players. At 6-8, 230 pounds, the Char- lotte, N.C., native is capable of guarding just about every posi- tion on the floor and has been the perfect fit for the defensive- minded Bennett. But this season the challenge for Mitchell is to contribute more on the offensive end of the court. With first-team All-ACC performer Mike Scott now a BY WHITELAW REID HEN AKIL Mitchell ar- r i v e d o n Grounds in the summer member of the Atlanta Hawks, the onus is on Mitchell and other Cavaliers to pick up some of the scoring slack. Mitchell knocked down a very respectable 50.5 percent of shots as a second-year, but most of his attempts came from inside the paint. In Bennett's offensive sys- tem, having big guys who can knock down jumpers, a la Scott, is a key. With Virginia's other big men, Darion Atkins and Mike Tobey, not known for their outside shooting, Mitchell needs to pro- nique and simple shooting fun- damentals with Mitchell. Bennett's neighbor, a hand doctor, has also given Mitchell a number of prosthetics to practice with. One of the devices keeps his elbow locked in. Another makes sure that his wrist stays locked. Another helps him mea- sure the arc on his shot. The results have been good so far. On the team's summer exhi- bition tour to Europe, Mitchell averaged 13.4 points and 10.0 rebounds in five games. "It looks a lot better, it feels a "Little increments of his improvement will make a difference. He needs to continue to develop." HEAD COACH TONY BENNETT ON MITCHELL vide a perimeter presence. In high school, Mitchell was know more for his jumper than his inside play. However, he didn't attempt a single three- pointer last season. "I don't know what happened between high school and col- lege," said Mitchell, shaking his head. "I used to only shoot [out- side shots] in high school. If you watch my tapes, it's all threes and mid-range jumpers." This past summer, Mitchell worked tirelessly on his jumper. He's had a pretty good tutor in Bennett — the NCAA's career three-point percentage leader. Bennett has worked on tech- lot better and my confidence is a lot better," said Mitchell, refer- ring to his jumper. "Last year it just wasn't there." On the trip to Europe, Mitch- ell created havoc with his athleti- cism, which led to lots of easy points in transition. "Akil had a nice summer trip for us and showed a little bit more production," Bennett said. "Akil just has to be Akil. At the end of the season, he started playing some good basketball where he was productive with offensive rebounds and finishing plays, and he has worked hard to develop some more [consis- tency] on his shot, more moves,