Well this one hurts. There really isn’t much else a coaching staff can do when recruiting a player. Ed Cooley followed Donovan Mitchell around like a shadow beginning in April 2012. When Mitchell broke his wrist last spring the Providence staff still sat and watched Mitchell’s team play while he sat on the bench in street clothes. These guys were serious about Donovan Mitchell and they were the first. Unfortunately they weren’t the last. Mitchell’s huge July this year led to a lot of attention both from the national recruiting media and some blue blood programs.

In the end it’s hard to blame Mitchell for choosing Louisville. They have had a lot of team success including a national championship in 2012 and have a recent history of developing NYC guards. Maybe we all weren’t listening when Mitchell repeatedly talked about wanting a big school or maybe we just wanted to believe he would change his mind and choose the tight knit family atmosphere that Ed Cooley and his staff have worked hard to develop. He told Scout.com’s Evan Daniels “I’m needed here and I love it.” Well he certainly was needed in Friartown but will be heading to Louisville next fall.

Check out Donovan Mitchell’s Friar Crystal Ball page here.

Follow me on Twitter @pcbb1917

Donovan Mitchell initially said he would cut his list down further at the end of August from the 10 he tweeted out on July 31st.

He must have done a lot of thinking over the last few days because he has already cut the 10 down to 5.

https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/496096893995200512

Mitchell is scheduled to take an unofficial visit to Villanova on August 4th followed by an official visit to Louisville August 7th-8th.

Perhaps this can be seen as good news for Providence fans as maybe the September decision is still in the cards. The sentiment in Friartown is that the longer it takes for Mitchell to decide, the worse it is for Providence’s chances. After having blown up during July some blue bloods got involved but Kansas and Indiana didn’t make the cut which surprises me. Mitchell spoke highly of Norm Roberts (Kansas) and mentioned he wanted to visit Indiana.

Of the schools in the final 5, Mitchell has visited or will have visited all 5 by August 8th so maybe a decision is closer than it appears.

Check out Donovan Mitchell’s Friar Crystal Ball page here.

Follow me on Twitter @pcbb1917