February 28 – Virginia is up on Duke by 11, with just over 90 clicks on the clock. Joe Harris has the ball, looking to stick the dagger in the Blue Devils’ heart. Up around the three-point line, he’s got a taller Amile Jefferson guarding him, when teammate Akil Mitchell hurries out to deliver a solid screen left. Under the basket, Mason Plumlee is napping, he’s late to help and races at Harris as he makes his move towards the top of the key.
Mitchell is left alone and streaks to the basket, Harris delivers him the ball, two steps, followed by a monster jam. It was a fitting exclamation point to a fantastic win. Moments later, the pair would be jumping for joy with their teammates, along with the entire student section at center court.
The two juniors dominated the 3rd ranked Blue Devils that night. Harris would end up stealing most of the headlines the next morning. He scored a career high 36 points in a “anything you can do, I can do better” battle with Seth Curry. However, Mitchell’s production was just as important. He scored 19 points, owning the pick-n-roll, and dominating the paint against Duke’s Mason Plumlee (12 rebounds on the night).
The Cavaliers were the toast of the ACC, at least if you exclude the team from South Beach. After some early season struggles that saw loses to George Mason, Delaware, Old Dominion and Wake Forest, the Cavaliers were 20-8, 3rd in the ACC. They had locked down wins against both Duke and North Carolina, as well as North Carolina State, who was ranked at the time.
However, sometimes when you beat an opponent like Duke you feel like you just won a national title, but then forget to pay like a champion after ward. The Cavaliers would end up dropping three of their last four. Thanks to the poor end to the season and a weak non-conference schedule (#314 according to Ken Pom), the NCAA Tournament committee decided not to invite Virginia to their little party. Three games later, they would fall to Iowa in the N.I.T. quarterfinals.
Looking ahead to 2013-14, the Cavaliers are getting dropped into a lot of top-25 talk. Predictions vary, but most expect Virginia to have an outside shot at an ACC regular title, but more than likely finish between 3rd and 5th. Not bad for a team with no McDonald’s All-Americans. Of course, how far this team can rise will primarily fall onto the shoulders of their two stars, Joe Harris and Akil Mitchell.
Now who would have ever imagined that last sentence three and a half years ago?
Out of high school, both Harris and Mitchell were barely on the recruiting radar (two-three-star recruits, depending on who you believe). The major schools simply were not banging down their doors to offer them scholarships.
A late-bloomer, who didn’t actually play for a team until the 10th grade, Akil Mitchell transferred into Charlotte, the heart of Carolina basketball, to finish out his high school career. He was known as a unselfish, high-energy guy. Although a solid defender, the knock on Mitchell was that he was a tweener, too short and skinny for the power spots (he was about 6-6/205 back then) and not a talented enough shooter to be at the three spot.
While he had enough skills to get invited to all the local Carolina basketball camps and competitions, his name tended to get lost behind the more hyped stars like C.J. Leslie, Ian Miller, J.T. Terrell, Reggie Bullock and Melvin Tabb.
ESPN labeled him the 38th best small forward prospect, but he really was a unknown at that time. In fact, the only offers he got were from small schools like Mercer, Navy and Wright State. However, when first-year coach Tony Bennett took over the gig at Virginia, he made Mitchell an offer he couldn’t refuse…a chance to stay local and play in the ACC.
Of course staying local was what Joe Harris had in mind too when his high school career was coming to a close. At the time, he was known as a shooting guard with a great frame (6-5/190) and a lethal outside shot. While he had some lateral movement, he was primarily a catch and shoot guard, who needed others to find him standing in the right spots. He was good enough to win the 1A State Player of the year award twice and he was talented enough to be the 51st ranked shooting guard by ESPN, yet Harris was seen as just a mid-major player, receiving offers from Portland and San Diego. The exception was Washington State, who was coached by, you guessed it, Tony Bennett.
As we all know, Bennett left the west coach to go coach Virginia and one of his first offers was to the sharp shooter from Chelan, Washington. Despite the distance, Harris jumped at the opportunity to play in a premier basketball conference.
At the time, experts gave high marks for Tony Bennett’s first Virginia recruiting class. Of course it was important for Bennett to go get a bunch of “his guys.” since he basically runs the old Blocker Mover Motion offense created by Dick Bennett. It’s a complicated system that requires the right type of players. That player needs to be patient, with a high basketball IQ, willing to constantly give up your body for screen after screen after screen. Both Harris and Mitchell fit the mode, but at the time, they were the least regarded of Bennett’s 11th ranked class.
The stars were shooting guard K.T. Harrell, centers James Johnson and Will Regan, plus point guard Billy Baron. These four were the prized recruits that would turn Virginia back into a contender. All four were nationally ranked, all four were expected to make immediate impacts.
As we all know, that’s not how it played out.
Billy Baron was the first to go, leaving Virginia right after the end of the 2010-2011 season. He decided to go play for his dad at Rhode Island. Later that summer, Will Regan followed Baron out the door, ending up at Buffalo. Eventually K.T. Harrell, the star of the 2010 class, would leave 11 games into his sophomore season. Unhappy with his playing time, he bolted to Auburn. About a week later, James Johnson skipped out. After redshirting his freshman year, he too was unhappy with his playing time.
In less than two seasons, the four top players from the 2010 class were gone…everyone except Akil Mitchell and Joe Harris. For the Virginia faithful, this was not good news.
For Joe Harris, the transfer didn’t matter much to his development. He was able to leap frog those talent recruits and start 25 of the Cavaliers’ 31 games his freshman year. He did it by doing what he did best, hitting threes. Over 60-percent of his shots were from deep and he nailed over 41-percent of them.
For Mitchell though, the transfers actually helped him. Even if Tony Bennett didn’t want to play Akil Mitchell, he wasn’t going to have much of a choice thanks to a short-handed team. Coming off the bench his freshman year, Mitchell averaged about 2.4 PPG in 15 minutes of action. He would end up earning 15 starts during his sophomore campaign, while Harris continued to start from the outside.
Of course playing time alone does not turn a recruiting afterthought into a All-ACC player.
For Harris, it was eliminating the one-dimensional rap. He continued to work on his ball handling, using both hands to attack the basket. He begin to take less threes (47-percent in 2011-12, 44-percent last year), developing a solid mid-range jumper, working best off the pick-n-roll, especially when bigger, slower forwards switched onto him.
Mitchell, still an excellent defender, worked on his inside game. Not a true back to the basket type, he creates space with his shoulders and utilizes the head fake better than most. He’s never going to be a three-point threat (career 1-10 from deep), but he’s certainly stretched his shot out far enough to the point where defenders can no longer ignore him out there.
However, like Harris, he too has mastered the art of the pick-n-roll. He’s so quick getting back to the open spots, giving the passer a clean look, it gives him plenty of easy basket opportunities. He ended up fourth in the ACC in shooting percentage last year (.545 on the season).
However, the real heroes are the weight trainers at Virginia. The fact is, what really propelled both Harris and Mitchell are the 30-35 pounds of muscle each has added to their body while in college. For Mitchell, the stronger frame has allowed him to become a legit power forward, capable of banging inside with the real big boys. His wide body helps him get perfect rebounding position. Last year, he finished third in the ACC in rebounding (8.9 RPG).
For Harris, sure he’s still good at the three (4th in three-point percentage, 5th in three-pointers made last year), but the added weight has allowed him to take the ball strong to the hoop. He’s not afraid of contact now. The proof is in the 150 free throw attempts he took last year.
This strength was most evident in that victory over Duke. Mitchell man-handled the multitude of forwards thrown at him, as well as center Mason Plumlee. For Harris, the Blue Devils’ smaller guards could do nothing. For the night, the pair went to the free throw line 22 times, draining 19 of them.
Looking ahead, both Joe Harris and Akil Mitchell will be stars of the conference next year. Both should be competing for first-team All-ACC. For Mitchell, it’s about stretching out his range even further, while adding a move or two to his inside repertoire.
For Harris, it’s about conditioning. After beating Duke last year, he started to look worn out. During the Cavaliers 5-6 finish, he hit just 33-percent of his shots, never scoring more than 15 in a game.
They alone will not determine Virginia’s fate. The Cavaliers need to find a point guard, plus a true third scoring option, but if these two former afterthoughts can continue their development, the Cavaliers will be a dangerous team next year.
