BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU forward Tasmin Mitchell will put his name in for consideration for the 2009 NBA draft, but will not hire an agent so he may retain the option to remain at LSU.
Mitchell averaged 16.3 points and 7.2 rebounds this season, helping the Tigers (27-8) win the Southeastern Conference regular season title and advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
“I’m in a good situation where I will have time to decide to stay in the draft or come back for my senior season at LSU,” Mitchell, a native of Denham Springs, La., said in statement released Wednesday by LSU. “I will continue to attend class. … School is still the first option. I want to finish the semester strong.”
LSU coach Trent Johnson said he was backing Mitchell’s decision “100 percent.”
“It is a great situation for him that can only be positive no matter how it plays out,” Johnson said. “We are going to do everything possible from our end to help him be able to perform at an elite level for the NBA teams that take a look at him.”
Mitchell was a freshman starter on LSU’s 2006 Final Four team, but missed most of the 2007-08 season with a fractured left shin. This season, he had eight double doubles, one of them a 41-point, 11-rebound performance at Mississippi State in February, making him the first LSU player since 1995 to score more than 40 points in a game.
Players who do not hire an agent have until 10 days prior to the June 25 NBA draft to remove themselves from consideration and remain eligible to stay with their college teams.
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