little things. "Little increments of his im-
provement will make a differ- ence. He needs to continue to develop." Atkins said he's seen a differ-
ence in Mitchell this season. "He's gotten a lot more ag-
gressive — defensively and offensively," Atkins said. "We didn't really see that from him last year. And he's got the green light now to do what he wants to do." One area where Mitchell feels
he has already improved is at the free throw line. After shooting
just 50.9 percent from the stripe last season, Mitchell estimates that he's been shooting some- where between the high 80s and mid-90s from the line during practice. "I really put in a lot of time
this summer, and I think it's starting to pay off," he said. Last season, Mitchell led the
Cavaliers in rebounding seven times. One of his best games came in the ACC Tournament when he had 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in Vir- ginia's quarterfinal loss to North Carolina State.
No doubt, there are a few
schools that wish they had come a little harder after Mitchell dur- ing the recruiting process. "I [didn't] look at it as want-
ing to prove anybody wrong," Mitchell said, "but I feel like I have and will continue to." Mitchell is just happy to have
found a home at Virginia. "Just to think that Joe and I
were the only two guys to make it — me especially, not knowing if I would ever have a chance to play here," he said. "It's amazing to this day and I just thank God for it." ◆
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