OSHKOSH — Oshkosh North basketball star Xzavion Mitchell is following in the path of his idol, former Spartan and now Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton. Last week Mitchell committed to the Iowa State Cyclones where Haliburton starred.
“He was hyped for it,” Mitchell said of Haliburton. “He posted on twitter and stuff about it. That’s my guy, I grew up watching him in elementary school.”
Mitchell has averaged 20 points or more per game since his freshman season. However this year he was playing at a totally different level, averaging 25 points and 8 boards per game – both career bests.
“My work ethic jumped way higher from my sophomore to junior year,” the Oshkosh North star. “That sophomore summer I had was my biggest summer ever of my life.”
That helped him be named first-team AP all-state and also caught the eye of Cyclones head coach TJ Otzelberger who has deep Wisconsin roots. Mitchell was also an AAU teammate with Cyclones freshman Milan Momcilovic.
“The things that (Otzelberger) sacrificed — he was calling during (the NCAA Tournament) and he was coming down during school and during my study hall coming to talk to me,” Mitchell said. “Stuff like that I think is really special for my development. Just having a coach I know I can trust and just being able to understand that I got a guy that’s going to have my back.”
As he was being recruited, Otzelberger's staff had a PowerPoint presentation for how exactly Mitchell would fit their team and how they could bring his game to the next level.
“He continues to let me know that I'm going to be able to fit right in with my style of play and what I can do and he also showed me the blueprint of what I can do in my future and how they can develop me and get me better which also important because you know I'm trying to get to the NBA which is the goal,” he said.
But before he heads down to Ames to get closer to that NBA goal, the job isn’t done at Oshkosh North. He hopes to bring home a state title just like Haliburton did.
“I'm going to continue to work my butt off and figure out what I need to get better out and help make sure this team has a farther run in the playoffs and hopefully go to the state championship,” said Mitchell.
