Mitchell declares for draft

• By GARY LANEY
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Apr 9, 2009 - Page: 1C

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Tasmin Mitchell will test the NBA waters after all.

The junior forward for LSU announced Wednesday that he will put his name in for consideration for the NBA draft, which will be held June 25. The All-Southeastern Conference forward did not hire an agent, meaning it’s possible he could return to LSU for his senior season.

“I just want to thank God for allowing me to be put in this situation,” Mitchell said in a statement. “I’ve had the chance to sit down with Coach (Trent Johnson) and my family, and I have decided that based on the information presented I will test the waters. This (the NBA) has always been a dream of mine. 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.

“I want to thank all the fans and my friends and ask them to support me.”

An Internet draft site reported Mitchell would come out Monday. On Tuesday, Mitchell said he was still weighing his options. On Wednesday, he made his choice known.

College underclassmen are allowed to make themselves eligible for the draft, then return to school once in their college career. In those cases, the player must not hire an agent, and if he decides to return to school, he must pull his name from the draft pool 10 days before the draft, meaning June 15.

Most media draft projections do not include Mitchell, a 6-foot-7, 235-pound forward who played the “four,” or power forward, as a junior.

By declaring early for the draft, Mitchell allows himself to be contacted by, and work out for, NBA teams and get advice on his draft status.

“We will support him 100 percent here at LSU and I know his family will do the same,” Johnson said. “It is a great situation for him that can only be positive no matter how it plays out.”

Although he will be allowed to work out for pro scouts, Mitchell said school is still a priority.

“I will continue to attend class,” he said in the statement. “School is still the first option. I want to finish the semester strong.”

Johnson said Mitchell needs to finish four classes to graduate.

Mitchell was a blue chip prospect at Denham Springs High and grew up playing summer ball, then at LSU, with Glen Davis and Tyrus Thomas, both current NBA players. Mitchell started his first two seasons as a small forward for LSU, including his freshman year in 2006 when the Davis- and Thomas-led Tigers won an SEC title and reached the Final Four.