Ben Woodside
July 23, 2020
Akil Mitchell
- Nationality: PAN/USA
- Date of Birth: 26/6/1992
- Place of Birth: Charlotte, North Carolina (USA)
- Position: PF
- Height (CM): 206
- Weight (KG): 113
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Virginia (2010–2014)
- NBL DEBUT: 7/10/16
- AGE AT DEBUT: 24
- LAST NBL GAME: 26/01/17
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 24
- NBL History: New Zealand 2017
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Akil Mitchell was born in Charlotte, North Carolina (USA) and attended the Charlotte Christian School in Charlotte, North Carolina.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Akil Mitchell made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 24 years of age. He scored eight points in his first game.
In July 2016, Mitchell played with the New York Knicks at the 2016 NBA Summer League where he was spotted by coaches from the New Zealand Breakers, who signed him to a one-year deal for the 2016/17 NBL season.
Following the Breakers’ 2016 grand final loss, chief executive Richard Clarke and coach Dean Vickerman parted ways with the organisation, with Paul Henare stepping up from assistant to take the reins as head coach, while Dillon Boucher took control of the front office as general manager.
Joining Dean Vickerman in departure was Cedric Jackson and Tai Wesley, both of whom moved across the Tasman and joined Melbourne United. While retaining Thomas Abercrombie, Corey Webster, Alex Pledger and Mika Vukona, the Breakers acquired the services of club legend Kirk Penney. With two vacant import spots, the Breakers signed Ben Woodside and Akil Mitchell. A strong New Zealand contingent also stepped up from development player roles this season, with Finn Delany, Shea Ili and Jordan Ngatai all being elevated onto the full-time roster.
An injury filled pre-season saw Shea Ili (back), Penney (calf) and Webster (hip and back) suffer injuries that would see them miss multiple games during the first half of the season. Even when Webster did return mid-season, he was never fully recovered and his production dropped from 19.6 ppg to 11.7 ppg as he battled to shake off a prolonged hip injury. After 20 games New Zealand had a total of eight wins and the ‘injury bug’ only got worse. Abercrombie (11.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Woodside (8.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.3 steals) both spent time missed games due to injury and then in January, during a loss to Cairns (81-94), Mitchell (9.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists) suffered a poke to the eye from Taipans centre Nnanna Egwu which caused his left eyeball to come out of its socket. He was rushed to hospital and although his vision was restored that night, he returned to the US to seek further specialist advice.
Webster made a valiant second return to the court before the end of the season, but under medical advisement, it was felt his injuries were too serious and he was shut down for the remainder of the season. New Zealand added import forward Paul Carter (9.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 0.9 assists) and shortly replaced a underperforming Woodside with David Stockton, the son of NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton. Stockton (8.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists) lasted only 10 games before he too succumbed to injury and was replaced by another import, Kevin Dillard.
The combo of Dillard (18.1 points, 4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.6 steals) and Penney (17.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists) helped salvage the remainder of the Breakers’ season. The duo propelled New Zealand to a four game winning streak and revived the Breakers playoff hopes, but after back-to-back losses in round 17, they dropped to fifth place (14–14) and their playoff hopes were shattered.
Mitchell averaged 9.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists across 25 games.
Abercrombie (11.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Woodside (8.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.3 steals) both spent time missed games due to injury and then in January, during a loss to Cairns (81-94), Mitchell (9.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists) suffered a poke to the eye from Taipans centre Nnanna Egwu which caused his left eyeball to come out of its socket. He was rushed to hospital and although his vision was restored that night, he returned to the US to seek further specialist advice.
Abercrombie (11.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Woodside (8.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.3 steals) both spent time missed games due to injury and then in January, during a loss to Cairns (81-94), Mitchell (9.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists) suffered a poke to the eye from Taipans centre Nnanna Egwu which caused his left eyeball to come out of its socket. He was rushed to hospital and although his vision was restored that night, he returned to the US to seek further specialist advice.
Akil Mitchell played one season in the NBL. He averaged 9.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 25 NBL games.
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 24 | New Zealand | 14-14 (5) | 25 | 568.0 | 238 | 179 | 53 | 49 | 130 | 22 | 11 | 49 | 66 | 105 | 189 | 56% | 2 | 3 | 67% | 26 | 79 | 33% | 53% | 56% | 20 | Totals | 25 | 568 | 238 | 179 | 53 | 49 | 130 | 22 | 11 | 49 | 66 | 105 | 189 | 55.6% | 2 | 3 | 66.7% | 26 | 79 | 32.9% | 53% | 56% | 20 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 24 | New Zealand | 14-14 (5) | 25 | 22.7 | 9.5 | 7.2 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 5.2 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 7.6 | 56% | 0.1 | 0.1 | 67% | 1.0 | 3.2 | 33% | 53% | 56% | 20 | Total | 25 | 22.7 | 9.5 | 7.2 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 5.2 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 7.6 | 55.6% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 66.7% | 0.1 | 0.1 | 32.9% | 53% | 56% | 20 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 20 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
|---|
FIBA EXPERIENCE
In May 2016, Mitchell trialled for the Panama mens national basketball team ahead of the 2016 Centrobasket in June. He made the squad, and in six games for Panama, he averaged 5.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
NBA EXPERIENCE
After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, Mitchell joined the Houston Rockets for the 2014 NBA Summer League. On September 26, 2014, he signed with the Rockets, but was waived by the team soon after (23 Oct 14) and a week later, was acquired by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Rockets. In 49 games for the Vipers in 2014–15, he averaged 9.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
In July 2015, Mitchell joined the Brooklyn Nets for the 2015 NBA Summer League.
In July 2016, Mitchell played with the New York Knicks at the 2016 NBA Summer League.
On February 24, 2017, Mitchell was acquired by the Long Island Nets of the NBA Development League. In four games for Long Island, he averaged 8.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
On September 24, 2017, Mitchell signed with the Brooklyn Nets but was waived by the team two weeks later.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- France - Olympique Antibes (2015–2016), Boulazac Basket Dordogne (2018–2019) | Italy - Pallacanestro Trieste (2019–2020) | Israel - Hapoel Gilboa Galil (2020), Maccabi Rishon LeZion (2020–2021) | Turkey - Pınar Karşıyaka (2021) | Germany - Brose Bamberg (2021–2022) | Greece - AEK Athens (2022–2023) | Puerto Rico - Grises de Humacao (2023), Criollos de Caguas (2024) | China - Ningbo Rockets (2023)
On August 13, 2015, he signed with Olympique Antibes for the 2015/16 LNB Pro A season. In 34 games for Antibes, he averaged 9.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
On August 4, 2018, Mitchell signed with Boulazac Basket Dordogne of the French LNB Pro A.
On July 30, 2019, he signed with Pallacanestro Trieste of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). Mid-way through the season his time in Italy was cut short due to the 2019–20 season in Italy being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the basketball was able to continue, Mitchell signed with Hapoel Gilboa Galil on May 26, 2020, for the end of the season.
On August 16, 2020, he signed with Maccabi Rishon LeZion in Israel. Mitchell averaged 15.6 points, 8.8 rebounds (third in the Israeli Basketball Premier League), 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals (9th) per game, with a .599 field goal percentage (8th).
On July 14, 2021, he signed with Karşıyaka Basket of the Turkish Super League. Mitchell averaged 4.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game.
On November 25 of the same year, he signed with Brose Bamberg of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL).
On August 2, 2022, Mitchell signed with Greek club AEK Athens. In 22 domestic league games, he averaged 12.6 points, 8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists, playing around 26 minutes per contest. Additionally, he averaged 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists in the clubs Basketball Champions League campaign, where they reached the quarter-finals.
On April 29, 2023, he signed a contract with Grises de Humacao of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional in Puerto Rico.
On March 11, 2024, Mitchell signed with Criollos de Caguas of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional.
COLLEGE
Mitchell arrived at Virginia as a lightly-regarded recruit, choosing the Cavaliers over offers from Navy and George Washington. He had a inconsistent freshman season in 2010/11, but played more than expected after a injury to star Mike Scott. He joined Scott and classmate Joe Harris in the Cavaliers' starting lineup midway through the 2011/12 season as the trio led the team to a 22–10 record, and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance in five years.
As a junior the next year, Mitchell averaged 13.1 points and 80.9 rebounds per game, earning third-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honours. With more support as a senior, Mitchell's personal statistics declined, but the Cavaliers enjoyed one of their best seasons in years, recording a 30–7 record, winning both the regular-season and ACC Tournament championships and earning a top seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Mitchell was named to the ACC All-Defensive team and second-team All ACC Tournament.
AWARDS
- All-Champions League First Team (2023)
-
All-Champions League Defensive Team (2023)
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Greek League All-Star (2022)
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Third-team All-ACC (2013)
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ACC All-Defensive Team (2014)
Related
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