In his one season with the St. John’s basketball team Dillon Mitchell registered 111 assists, and he might have to get credit for one more.
Mitchell provided some help to the Red Storm coaching staff in its recruitment of Syracuse forward Donnie Freeman, the highest profile player to commit to the Johnnies in the transfer portal so far this offseason.
During his recruitment, which looked like it was heavily leaning towards Kentucky at one point, Dillon Mitchell sent Freeman a text message vouching for the Red Storm and Pitino and it didn’t take much more convincing.
Shortly after, the 6-foot-9 forward committed to St. John’s.
“I think it’ll be great for him,” Mitchell told Storm The Paint at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago on Wednesday.
After Donnie Freeman made his decision public, Mitchell sent a message to Rick Pitino showing his excitement about the addition to the roster. Mitchell said Pitino replied by asking him if he looked the move.
“I love him as long as he listens to Rick Pitino,” was his response.
Despite battling injuries, Freeman had two productive seasons at Syracuse after posting 16.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists per game this year on 47.4-percent shooting.
“Donnie’s versatile,” Mitchell explained. “He’s lengthy, he’s athletic, he can shoot it as well.”
“He’s got a big-time offensive game and the way Coach P’s offensive system is, it’s kind of free and it’s kind of like an NBA system, defensively and offensively a little bit, just the pace he likes to play at, so Donnie would be really good there.”
The hope is that St. John’s can play Donnie Freeman at small forward and power forward as the team looked to build a frontcourt that rivals the size of Michigan, the National Champions from this season.
St. John’s is still hunting for an impact center this offseason after complimenting the addition of Freeman with international guard Quinn Ellis and wings Babacar Sane and Djordije Jovanovic.
“Johnnie fans will be happy with him for sure,” Mitchell added.
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