ARIZONA STATE BASKETBALL

Report: ASU basketball adds Ohio State transfer Mickey Mitchell

Dec 7, 2016, 5:56 PM | Updated: 5:57 pm

Reinforcements aren’t coming anytime soon for an Arizona State team lacking in frontcourt production. At least they’ll be coming eventually.

Coach Bobby Hurley earned a commitment from Ohio State transfer forward Mickey Mitchell, Mitchell told Scout.com’s Evan Daniels on Wednesday, giving the Sun Devils hope their biggest roster holes will be filled in next season.

The 6-foot-7 forward out of Dallas was a 4-star prospect out of the 2015 class, according to Scout, and will have 2.5 years of eligibility remaining beginning Dec. 11 of the 2017-18 season.

Mitchell played sparingly for the Buckeyes as a freshman in 2015-16. He started seven games toward the end of the year and closed averaging 2.0 points and 2.8 rebounds on 35 percent shooting in 12.8 minutes per game.

This year, Arizona State’s 5-4 start to this season has come with its share of struggles, ones that have only been magnified by a roster ill-equipped in the frontcourt.

The Sun Devils became shorthanded with an ACL tear to 6-foot-9 freshman Vitaliy Shibel and academic ineligibility by 6-foot-8 freshman Romello White, both of whom were 4-star recruits.

On Tuesday against a Purdue team with 7-foot-2 center Isaac Haas and 6-foot-10 NBA prospect Caleb Swanigan in the frontcourt, Hurley started 6-foot-10 freshman Jethro Tshisumpa for the first time.

Tshisumpa (5.9 minutes per game) and 6-foot-8 freshman Ramon Villa (14.2) are the only true big men on the roster, but 6-foot-8 stretch forward Obinna Oleka has earned much of his playing time as an undersized center.

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