The Minnesota Golden Gophers will be hosting a mid-major forward transfer next Monday. Canisius transfer Frank Mitchell will be making a trip to Minneapolis. The visit was first reported by Canada basketball expert Joe Moussa on X.
The 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward is originally out of Toronto, Ontario spent one year at Humber College in Toronto during the 2021-2022 basketball season before transferring to Canisius ahead of the 2022-2023 season.
After not appearing in any games in the 2022-23 season due to NCAA transfer rules, Mitchell was a All-MAAC Second team selection this season thanks to a stat line of 12.1 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. He also averaged 1.5 assists per game while totaling 29 blocks and 21 steals. His 11.6 rebounds per game ranked fourth in the country.
Mitchell notably had quality performances both against Pittsburgh and Syracuse this past season. In those two games, he combined for 24 points and 18 rebounds in 51 minutes of action.
In his 31 games played, Mitchell had 23 double-digit scoring efforts and 15 double-doubles.
Mitchell is a quality shooter from close to the basket but does struggle as that gap between him and the basket widens. He was 158-for-278 this season from the floor within the perimeter, a 56.8% shooting percentage, he also made 3-of-9 three-point attempts. The one place he did have struggles this season was the free throw line, making just 49-of-114 attempts, a 43% shooting percentage.
Mitchell originally entered the transfer portal on March 18, two days after Canisius parted ways with head coach Reggie Witherspoon following a 14-18 season which included an 8-12 record in MAAC play.
In his eight seasons with the program, the Golden Griffins finished with a winning record just three times and had finished below .500 in four of their last five seasons.
Notably on Thursday, the university announced the hiring of new head coach Jim Christian. According to Colton Pankiewicz of Canisius's The Griffin, the university's student newspaper and an intern at a local Buffalo news station, Mitchell was present at Christian's introductory press conference on Thursday.
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