As the NCAA announced additional sanctions handed down to the Louisville basketball program on Thursday morning, which stemmed from the staff hooking up recruits with prostitutes while they were on campus from 2010 to 2014, former Cardinals guard Donovan Mitchell was going through a pre-draft workout with the Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The NCAA informed Louisville it must vacate its 2013 NCAA Championship, more than 100 wins over the four-year period, and that it would be without four scholarships over the next four years. Moreover, head coach Rick Pitino is suspended for the first five ACC games this upcoming season, and they must return all money received from the NCAA Tournament between 2012-15.
It was news to Mitchell, who opted to forego his final two years in Louisville and enter his name into the 2017 NBA Draft. He averaged 15.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists during his sophomore campaign. And he was as impressive in his post-workout interview as he was on the floor.
“I just heard. I feel for coach P, I feel for the team,” he said. “I haven’t talked to any of the guys yet but coach P is a great guy, a great coach, and I hate to see it happen.
“But I will say this: With that happening, I kind of look at it as like the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick incident in the NFL. They came back and won the (NFL) Championship. I expect to see that fight out of this team. We got a lot of guys that are really, really hungry, so I’m really excited to see how these guys react and respond to that.
Mitchell, who’s just 20, is projected to be selected in the middle of the first round.
Watch his full comments: