Over the years, Texas has had its fair share of one-and-dones in college basketball and arguably the greatest, not only for Texas but all of college basketball, Kevin Durant. More recently, former Longhorns Myles Turner, Mo Bamba and Greg Brown III have taken the same route, playing one season at Texas before entering their names into the NBA draft.

This has been a growing issue for the NCAA as the biggest names in college basketball are only around for one season. Allowing NIL deals was a way to combat this, but players still want to get to the NBA as soon as they can.

Once again, Texas finds itself with a possible one-and-done in freshman Dillon Mitchell.

Mitchell, a 6-foot-8-inch forward, was the No. 8 overall recruit in 247sports’ 2022 player rankings. He played his high school ball at Montverde Academy, where many current NBA players like Cade Cunningham and Joel Embiid also graduated from.

The Tampa product is incredibly athletic and has shown that with his putback dunks, alley-oops and ability to crash the boards. He is also one of the team’s best defenders and can guard all positions.

Despite this, Mitchell is only averaging 20 minutes per game in Big 12 competitions. For reference, graduate guard Marcus Carr averages a little over 35 minutes per game against Big 12 opponents. On average, Carr plays the most minutes out of any Texas player. 

Mitchell’s limited minutes are not an indicator of his skillset. There are simply too many older contributors on Texas’ roster, which makes it hard for younger guys like Mitchell to get as many minutes. He’s averaging 5.9 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game, but the Longhorns haven’t needed anything more from him.

Before the college basketball season started, Mitchell was projected to go 16th overall in Bleacher Report’s 2023 NBA mock draft. However, in its most recent mock draft, Mitchell is projected to be the 47th overall pick. Due to his limited playing time, NBA scouts just haven’t seen enough to justify a first round grade for him.

If Mitchell wants the best for himself,  staying at Texas for one more year could be wise.

The first plus of suiting up in the burnt orange and white for another season is to help bolster his draft stock again. Apart from bragging rights, the higher a player is drafted, the more they get in their signing bonus and rookie deal. The difference between a lottery pick and a second-rounder is millions of dollars. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, Paolo Banchero, signed a four-year contract worth over $50,000,000. Andrew Nembhard, the first pick of the second round and the 31st overall pick, signed his contract for less than $10,000,000. 

Not to mention, if Mitchell stays, he can still make money from Texas’ lucrative NIL opportunities. He is currently signed with CAA, one of the best sports agencies, to represent him.

Second, Mitchell could be more of a focal point and receive more minutes once senior forward Timmy Allen and graduate student forward Brock Cunningham move on. Allen and Cunningham fill the same role as Mitchell, so the current freshman could expect similar levels of production with their departure.

With Allen and Cunningham elsewhere, Mitchell would be able to showcase his abilities in a bigger role instead of facing the possibility of a diminished role on an NBA roster like Brown III has had so far in his career. Brown III has logged just 5.8 minutes per game in 16 games for the Portland Trail Blazers in his second year in the NBA.

Although there are arguments to be made for both scenarios, ultimately, it is Mitchell’s decision and he will do what is best for himself and his future.