Mitchell, Adel impress at Derby Classic
A day after putting on a show in the Kentucky Derby Festival's Night of Future Stars, Donovan Mitchell made a sequel.
The University of Louisville basketball signee thundered in a dunk-contest-winning one-handed dunk off the backboard during halftime and wowed the Freedom Hall crowd with 21 points, six steals, two assists and two rebounds in Saturday's Kentucky Derby Festival Classic all-star game.
The 6-foot-3 guard from Connecticut by way of Brewster Academy in New Hampshire looked ready to make the jump to college basketball with his array of offensive moves, though he couldn't quite will his team back from a 16-point halftime deficit.
Indiana signee Thomas Bryant and the Purple Team held off Mitchell and the White Team with a 127-119 win in a wide-open, up-and-down and at times sloppy affair. Bryant, who had 19 points, was named his team MVP; Mitchell was the White Team's MVP.
Related:Mitchell stars in dunk contest
"Not a bad trip at all -- it was a great experience," Mitchell said. "I love being in this city, coming here playing with all the recruits, forming that great relationship and just going out and doing my best, showing the fans what we can do."
In the halftime dunk contest, while donning a dunking Cardinal Bird T-shirt, Mitchell wanted to catch a pass from the upper level of the arena and dunk it. When that attempt failed, he switched to a pass off the backboard for his first dunk.
For his second dunk, which won the contest, Mitchell turned his back to the basket, bounced the ball between his legs and off the backboard, then flushed it in with one hand.
But Mitchell wasn't the only Louisville signee to have an impressive night in front of his future hometown fans and teammates. U of L captain Mangok Mathiang watched the game with fellow Cardinals Jaylen Johnson, Anas Mahmoud, Matz Stockman and Dillon Avare, and they liked what they saw.
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Small forward Deng Adel, a 6-foot-7 wing from Australia, scored 20 points thanks to a second-half flourish of jump shots and one baseline dunk. He started slow, making just four of his first 12 shots over the opening three quarters, but Adel pumped in 11 fourth-quarter points.
He finished 8 of 17 from the field, with nine rebounds, four steals and two assists.
"There's a lot of excitement -- it's been exciting," Adel said as his post-game interview was interrupted by Johnson and Mathiang. "We had a lot of fun."
The other two Louisville-bound guys had quieter nights. Louisville native Ray Spalding, a 6-foot-9 forward, compiled just six points and six rebounds in 15 minutes. Ryan McMahon, an unheralded guard from Sarasota, Fla., who committed to Louisville in February, struggled a bit on offense.
The 6-foot guard was 1 of 8 shooting, with three points, two assists and a turnover.
Related:McMahon hopes to prove himself in Derby Classic
"I was a little nervous," McMahon said. "There were a lot of Cardinal fans in the building. I just wanted to do well for myself. Every time I step on the court, I want to do the best I can."
Spalding, though, was still impressed his future teammate, who arrived in Louisville with quite a bit of curiosity surrounding him.
"That was my first time really seeing him play," Spalding said. "I played with him, against him a little bit in practice. For a little guy like him, he's pretty smooth, crafty."
For Indiana fans, Saturday night offered one of the first viewings of Bryant, a 6-foot-10 center who pledged to play for the Hoosiers just last week.
Bryant started well, hitting three 3-pointers, and he totaled 19 points to go with six rebounds and two blocks. His future teammates, forwards Juwan Morgan and OG Anunoby, each added 12 points.
