As his teammates and coaches were all in Brooklyn preparing for their upcoming game against Kentucky, Mickey Mitchell sat alone in his dorm room.
Then, he got a phone call. One that he had been waiting on for quite some time.
"Woke up and got a call saying we’re cleared, we’re good," Mitchell recalled Tuesday night after he made his collegiate debut during Ohio State's 64-44 win over Mercer. "Hearing those words, it took me until we were warming up against Kentucky to realize that I’m actually allowed to play. I’m down here, I’m allowed to play. It was crazy, it was awesome to hear.”
Mitchell called his mom right after, then FaceTimed with the rest of his family. He got on the phone with his teammates and coaches next. Basically, he just had to tell any and everyone the news.
That phone call was such a relief because of what Mitchell — a freshman forward for the Buckeyes with a unique skill set and a critical part of their highly-touted 2015 recruiting class — went through in recent weeks.
On Nov. 3, Ohio State released a statement saying Mitchell had "not been cleared to compete by the NCAA Eligibility Center." He was allowed to practice with the team, but could not participate in games. There was no explanation given as to why and the school couldn't comment on the situation and neither could Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta.
So, Mitchell sat and watched. He sat behind Ohio State's bench during home games and watched his teammates struggle to start the season. He stayed on campus as the Buckeyes traveled to Miami to play Memphis and to Storrs, Connecticut, to play the Huskies.
There was not a lot of information available to him and, frankly, he started to get a little worried.
“Obviously no one wants to sit out, but I took it as a blessing," he said. "It gave me time to reevaluate not just my on-the-court stuff but my attitude off the court, how I talk to my teammates, how I talk to my coaches and I think I’ve matured a lot just from the summer even to now. Just sitting out and thinking about, ‘How can I mature. I’ve got this time off so I’m going to make the best of it.'"
Mitchell did just that, working as a scout team performer in practice, trying to help out his teammates any way that he could while he wasn't allowed to play in games.
"There is no way I could have gotten through all those months not being able to play without them being by my side every single day in practice, encouraging me, telling me, ‘You’re time is going to come,’" Mitchell said. "It was great.”
Mitchell was cleared to play prior to Ohio State's upset win over Kentucky. He traveled to Brooklyn separately to join his teammates for that game, but did not see any action in the Buckeyes' 74-67 stunning victory. Matta said afterward it wouldn't have been fair to throw Mitchell into that situation having no game experience.
So, he made his debut Tuesday night against the Bears. He entered for the first time with 1 minute, 57 seconds remaining in the first half and on his very first possession drew a charge.
Mitchell wound up playing eight minutes in the game. He took just one shot — it was a miss — but finished with three rebounds and one steal. Mitchell noted it was his first game since his senior year of high school, so it's going to take a bit of time to shake the rust off.
“I’m just getting adjusted to college basketball that was my first couple of minutes," he said. "You can’t expect me to come out there and look like Magic Johnson, I’m not that good.”
But after what Mitchell had been through the last couple months, the constant waiting around for an answer that he was never quite sure would actually come, he was just happy to have a chance to shake that rust off.
And now, he could really help an Ohio State team looking to turn its season around.
“I was so happy we could get Mickey in tonight," Matta said. "Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to be involved with us, but just from the standpoint of he’s got a sixth sense about him in terms of how to play the game. ... He brings something to the team that we don’t have right now.”
