5/1/2020 football Edit

Catching up with ... Todd Mitchell

Tom Dienhart • BoilerUpload

GoldandBlack.com, Associate Editor

As a junior and senior, Todd Mitchell went 54-9 overall and 31-5 in the Big Ten playing with Troy Lewis and Everette Stephens.

Todd Mitchell was part of the “Three Amigos” triumvirate that also included Troy Lewis and Everette Stephens. And it’s a trio that always will endure and be loved at Purdue.

Mitchell still treasures his memories with his school and teammates. Why not? The 53-year-old Mitchell was part of one of the greatest eras in Purdue basketball history. He arrived on campus in the fall of 1984 from St. Francis High in Toledo. By the time he left in 1988, Mitchell had won two Big Ten titles and been to four NCAA tourneys—his final as a No. 1 seed. As a junior and senior, Mitchell went 54-9 overall and 31-5 in the Big Ten.

Mitchell's senior season of 1987-88 still resonates, as he helped the Boilermakers finish No. 3 in the final AP poll with a 29-4 record (16-2 Big Ten). It was one of the greatest seasons in school history.

The 6-7, 205-pound Mitchell is No. 13 in Purdue annals with 1,699 points (13.7 ppg), and he had 740 rebounds (5.9 rpg). Mitchell led the Boilermakers in rebounding each of this final three seasons in West Lafayette. He was a first-team All-Big Ten choice as a senior in 1987-88, when he averaged 15.7 points. Mitchell was second-team All-Big Ten as a sophomore and junior.

GoldandBlack.com caught up with Mitchell.

GoldandBlack.com: How often do you talk to Coach Keady?

Mitchell: We probably talk once or twice a month. We talk about life and we talk about the games a little bit. I gave him a bunch of flack during this year after Bruce Weber’s team (Kansas State) got in that big brouhaha with Kansas. I said: 'I thought you taught him better than that to control his people.'

GoldandBlack.com: How did you matriculate from Toledo to Purdue?

Mitchell: There were probably four schools in it right from the beginning. It was Minnesota, UCLA, Purdue and Western Michigan. Ohio State came into picture soon after that. All those schools were in it prior to me going to the Five Star camp the summer of my junior year. Once I went to Five Star, I was one of the top five players there. Then, everything completely changed. Then, everybody was in. But, Bruce spent a lot of time at my high school. (UCLA coach) Larry Farmer spent a lot of time there. And (former Purdue assistant) Paul Curtis spent a lot of time at my school, too. And (Minnesota assistant) Flip Saunders also was around a lot. He worked for Jim Dutcher. The visits that I did take were to Purdue, Minnesota and UCLA. And I also went to Pitt and Kentucky. But those two came in later. It came down to UCLA and Purdue.

GoldandBlack.com: Was it an easy choice?

Mitchell: Actually, I had committed initially to UCLA on my recruiting visit. I had a lot of family there. So, I felt kind of comfortable with UCLA. But then when I got home, my mother started in on me in regards to the distance. And I ended up de-committing from there and Purdue was the next on the list. My dad always liked Purdue. He and Coach Keady became friends. They were very much alike. Once I got to school, I figured out why he liked Coach Keady so much, because coach was pretty much like my dad: hard-nosed, old-school disciplinarian guy.

GoldandBlack.com: What else did you like about Purdue?

Mitchell: The year before, Purdue won the Big Ten after being picked last in the Big Ten. I saw a good opportunity for me to be able to play a little bit. (James) Bullock was gonna still be there and Mark Atkinson was there, but there wasn't a lot else there. So, I felt like that was a good opportunity for me to get some minutes.

GoldandBlack.com: Did you Troy Lewis and Everette Stephens commit around the same time?

Mitchell: I was in cahoots with Troy, because Troy and I happened to be on our visit to UCLA together at the same time. And we had a lot of time to talk. So after we got back from UCLA, he committed to Purdue first. Then he called me to say he knew I liked UCLA. I told him my mom was giving me a lot of flack about it. He said: Let’s do this (commit to Purdue).

GoldandBlack.com: How did you get Everette?

Mitchell: I didn’t know anything about Everette. Troy knew a little bit more about him than I did. And I think once Everette saw the two of us go, that kind of spring-boarded him in.

GoldandBlack.com: What’s your best memory from Purdue?

Mitchell: One of the things that really stood out was just the consistency and the closeness of that (1987-88) team. There was a lot of winning that went on. You really know what championship makeup is once you're in it. And I think that we were always close, we were always tight, we were always good friends—me Troy and Everette. We went into Hall of Fame together as the triplets at Purdue. Most of the time when you saw one of us, you saw all three of us. And I think from a coaching perspective, we were always prepared, a lot of times more prepared than other teams that were maybe more talented. I felt like Michigan probably was more talented. Iowa was very talented, DePaul was very talented with their team at that time. But we were always more prepared and won a lot of those games.

GoldandBlack.com: Do you stay in touch with Troy and Everette?

Mitchell: Oh, yeah, all the time. We talk all the time. Troy lives about two hours from me in Dayton, Ohio. Whenever I'm back in Lafayette, I see Everette. He still lives in Lafayette. So I get a chance to see him. We have a text thread, the three of us. Last year, we were a mess during the NCAA tournament. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over that. So close to the Final Four.

GoldandBlack.com: You guys were expected to make a Final Four run your senior year in 1987-88 but came up short. Is that still a painful memory?

Mitchell: I did a thing with the local paper here. And they asked me what was one of the lasting memories of my time at Purdue. And I said one of the most vivid memories that I have is walking into the locker room of the Silverdome (site of the Midwest regional in the 1988 tourney) and looking at Coach Keady sitting in the shower. The showers weren’t on, but he was just sitting there in his suit in the shower (after losing in the Sweet 16 to Kansas State). Because I think, at that time, he knew that was his best shot (to reach the Final Four). He didn’t know if he ever was going to get that kind of shot again. We were a No. 1 seed. We had a great road to get there. We had beaten Kansas State earlier in the year by 20. If we had won, we would have played Kansas the next round. They were a 10th or 11th seed. Danny (Manning) and the Miracles went on to win it. But I'd like to think that we would have had something to say about that. So, everything was in line. We couldn't finish the deal.

GoldandBlack.com: Do you think that team, the 1987-88 team--your senior year--was Keady’s best?

Mitchell: I think overall, we might have been his best team. I think there were some other really good teams there. Glenn's (Robinson) teams were good, but he was so dominant. It basically was him and Cuonzo Martin. Cuonzo was a good player. He wasn’t a great player. The three of us (Mitchell, Lewis, Stephens) were good, and we had Melvin McCants, who was a great player and played in the league. Kip Jones was a McDonald's All-American. Tony Jones was a good player. (Steve) Scheffler became MVP of the league his senior year.

GoldandBlack.com: I thought your junior year team in 1986-87 with Doug Lee was very good, too.

Mitchell: That team was real good. And I think we could have done something. I don't know what happened. We lost in the Carrier Dome to Florida with Vernon Maxwell and Dwayne Schintzius. We just couldn't shoot in that building.

GoldandBlack.com: Who was the best player you faced while at Purdue?

Mitchell: Ron Harper (of Miami, Ohio, which won at Purdue in Mitchell’s freshman year of 1984-85). Bank shot, falling down, and-one, dunks … incredible. He was the best. Sam Vincent, Scott Skiles, Roy Marble, Gary Grant, Roy Tarpley, Antonine Joubert, Steve Alford … we played against some players. But that guy was the most talented, creative guy I ever saw.

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Todd Mitchell enjoyed a lengthy career overseas after leaving Purdue.

GoldandBlack.com: Did you enjoy your professional career?

Mitchell: I was drafted in the second round, 43rd pick, by the Denver Nuggets. I thought I was gonna make that team, but I ended up getting let go the day of the first game. They were trying to trade Jay Vincent to open a spot for me but couldn’t. Back then, there were just 12 players on rosters, not 15 like today. So, I got released and ended up getting picked up by the Miami Heat. I spent a year there. And then I played in the summer league and I got an opportunity to play in Greece. It was for $180,000 net. Back then, the NBA minimum was $75,000 before taxes.

I ended up going there. And halfway through the year, they ended up offering me two more years. So, I ended up signing for two more years. After having some success, it’s very difficult to try to come back. I did come back a couple of times and try out for NBA teams but was the last guy cut again. I just got very disenchanted with that and just committed to playing in Europe. I got to see the world, made a good living. I ended up playing 11 years in Europe: Greece, Italy, France, Israel, Switzerland.

I would have continued past 11 years, but my last year I passed out in warmups. I found out I had two blood clots in my lungs. I spend 13 days in the hospital, doctors put me on a blood thinner said you're done with contact sports. That was it.

GoldandBlack.com: What have you been doing since leaving basketball?

Mitchell: I've been a manager of the Great Lakes region for a pharmaceutical company.called Ferring Pharmaceuticals. I've been with them probably nine years, but I've been in this business for probably 15-16 years. I started in sales and moved to the management side four years, five years ago.

GoldandBlack.com: How is your family?

Mitchell: I am married (for a second time). We have got three kids. One just graduated from UK last year, Torrie. She works with the (Los Angeles) Lakers in their media department. And we have 17-year-old Ashley. She’s going to be a senior in high school next year. We’ll see where she goes. And then we have a little guy (with second wife) who’s going to be 5 years old.

GoldandBlack.com: Are your parents still around?

Mitchell: No, they have passed. My dad passed in 2012. And my mom passed a year before that.

GoldandBlack.com: How often do you get back to Purdue?

Mitchell: I get back maybe once or twice a year. I try to manage my schedule around Purdue’s schedule.

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