By Patrick M. Fisher
LSU Sports Information
BATON ROUGE — Coming off a freshman season in which he played a key role in guiding LSU to the Final Four for the first time in 20 years, Tasmin Mitchell continues to improve and become one of the Tigers top players.
However, every new season brings about new challenges. This season Mitchell has had to make the transition from down low in the post to outside on the perimeter as a guard, but Mitchell hasn’t been deterred by the change thanks to his versatility of being able to perform at a high level everywhere on the court.
“He’s gone from a post player to a perimeter player and I think he’s made the transition quite well,” head coach John Brady said in a recent interview. “He still has some things to learn and he knows that, but he has the kind of attitude to do whatever it takes to get better.”
With one year under his belt already, Mitchell has taken up the role as one of the main leaders on the team and someone who Brady looks to every game to lead the Tigers to victory.
“For our team to be the kind of team that we want it to be, Tasmin Mitchell has got to be a consistent 15-16 point per game guy,” said Brady. “He certainly gives us what our team needs from an offensive standpoint to be successful.”
Although Mitchell has not been a 15-16 point per game guy for the Tigers, he has been a consistent performer as he has been able to average 13.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg and 1.9 apg during his sophomore season. Furthermore, he has shown glimpses as a player who can take over in big games, such as when he posted a career high 23 points vs. the University of Texas Longhorns in early December at Houston’s Toyota Center.
In addition, one thing can’t be noted as a statistic on paper that coaches always harp about is the heart and passion that Mitchell plays with every time he steps on the court.
“Nobody wants to do it more than he does and nobody is as disappointed when it doesn’t go the way it should than he is,” said Brady. “He’s great to coach, his attitude is great. He just needs to keep working to find consistency in his offensive game and I’m going to do everything I can to help him do that.”
The coaching staff knows that they don’t have to worry or question Mitchell’s work ethic as he tries to find more consistency in his offensive game. He constantly works hard every time he touches the court and can often be found shooting before and after practice to take his game to the next level as an elite player.
The Denham Springs product has learned a great deal since arriving on campus 19 months ago, all of which has added to his success on the court and in the classroom.
“I’ve learned how to manage my time,” Mitchell responded when he was asked as to how he has adjusted to life at LSU as a student-athlete. “Time is a major factor in going to school and playing ball. Time is everything. You have to have right timing…time to sleep, time to study, it’s all about timing.”
Mitchell would go onto talk about what a great opportunity the Final Four was last season and how it has taught him to stay humble.
“We were just one of the teams, I wouldn’t call it luck, but we were very talented. It just really taught us to stay humble.”
In case Mitchell ever forgets any of the valuable information he has gathered, he has plenty of people to fall back on since he lives so close to home and gets to play in front of the people he has grown up with.
“My teammates, friends, brothers and my mom are right down the street and my family is right around the corner. To play in front of them is love.”