Mark Mitchell, Dennis Gates and Trent Pierce reflect on the legacy Mitchell left at Mizzou.
COLUMBIA — Mark Mitchell went out with a bang in his final game at Mizzou Arena on Saturday afternoon. The team captain and senior forward shone under the bright spotlight of senior night, rising to the occasion to once again lead the Tigers in scoring in a back-and-forth game against No. 20 Arkansas.
Mitchell poured in a career-high 32 points on 11-for-20 shooting, bringing the Tigers back from down 15 to a near victory in overtime. During the stellar performance, he reached 1,000 career points with Missouri, becoming one of 49 to achieve the feat in program history, and one of eight to do so in just two seasons.
Arkansas head coach John Calipari, who’s coached a dozen NBA All-Stars during his lengthy coaching career, had high praise for Mitchell, whose versatility shines through.
“You say, don't let him go left. Well, then he goes right, and he scores, and he makes free throws and he’ll rebound,” Calipari said. “He's one of those guys in this league. He should be first team all-conference. I would say my guy should be player of the year, but that's because he's my guy.”
Mitchell came up clutch, time and time again when trying to finish off Mizzou’s comeback in the final minutes of regulation.
He sank two free-throws to tie the game up at 71 a piece with 1:22 remaining in regulation, then converted a big-time and-1 to give Missouri a 74-73 lead with 52.3 seconds remaining in the second half. He also made a pair of clutch free throws to bring the Tigers within two points with minutes remaining in overtime.
Despite a valiant effort, Mitchell and the Tigers’ didn’t do enough to bring home a victory, falling 88-84 to Arkansas to drop to 0-2 in the season series against their rivals.
The loss will stick with Mitchell, but he had duties to attend to immediately after: a senior night celebration honoring his time with the Tigers. Mitchell was understandably emotional and seen crying while embracing head coach Dennis Gates at midcourt.
“When things mean something to me I really take things in,” Mitchell said while fighting back tears in the postgame press conference. “People care for you. When communities care for you, it means a lot to me. So I'm really passionate about my former high school I went to. I still love Duke… when something means something to me, I just get emotional.”
Trent Pierce, who has now played alongside Mitchell at Mizzou for two seasons, appreciates Mitchell for the turnaround he helped bring to Mizzou. Mitchell transferred to the program the offseason following an 0-18 SEC season for the Tigers. He’s led them to consecutive 10-win conference seasons since his arrival.
“Mark and Crews, they both came here after a season that didn’t go our way,” Pierce said “They trust in Gates, they trust the coaching staff, and they helped turn it around for us. And so just being able to have guys like that to come to this program and believe in Mizzou, man, it means the world.”
As for Gates, he’ll most remember how Mitchell and the seniors made an impact off the court.
“I'm gonna remember their impact on — not the institution, not the game — their impact on each other,” Gates said. “One of the single most reasons (Pierce) has grown up is because of his bestie (Mitchell)... he was probably crying when he saw him cry, to be honest with you. And he probably held it in, but that's how close and impactful relationships are. These dudes will be in each other's wedding.”
Mitchell, Pierce and the rest of the team only have a limited number of games left playing alongside each other. The Tigers will begin the SEC Tournament on Thursday, and will seek a potential bid to the NCAA Tournament after, where each game is win or go home.
But even when the team goes home for the final time this season, they’ll stay connected despite not wearing the same jerseys again.
“The Jersey is the jersey, the stats are the stats,” Gates said, “But their relationship with each other is going to be lifelong.”