Wichita State notes: Versatile Minnesotan worked on his basketball skills and didn’t rely on height

Steffon Mitchell is looking for the standard items in a university and basketball program. He will make his decision based on academics, his relationships with the coaches and the atmosphere within the team.

He also needs a coach with imagination.

Mitchell, a 6-foot-7 forward from Shakopee (Minn.) High, will visit Wichita State starting Oct. 22. Mitchell is described as the kind of player who plays across traditional roles and he sees WSU as a good fit.

“I like their style of offense,” he said. “I like how they get up and down the floor and have no labels on positions, so whoever gets it usually can bring the ball up the floor.”

Mitchell (220 pounds) averaged 24.3 points, nine rebounds and three assists last season. He made 59.6 percent of his shots on his way to scoring a school-record 754 points as a junior. He handles the ball and plays in the lane for Shakopee. Mitchell grew quickly and stood as one of the tallest on his team. His father, Juan Mitchell, told him the growth spurt would end and he needed to work on ball-handling and shooting for the day he didn’t tower over other players.

“I’m not really labeled as any position,” Steffon Mitchell said. “I just do what my coach and team needs me to do.”

One of WSU’s strongest selling points, his father said, is its reputation for developing talent through drills and hard work.

“Wichita State’s got a proven track record,” Juan Mitchell said. “He’s very versatile. They’re talking about much better he can become.”

Mitchell said he plans to make a decision soon after visiting Wichita State and he wants to sign during the period that begins Nov. 11. He is also considering Utah State and Central Michigan.

▪  Canadian Nikola Djogo is expected to check out WSU on an unofficial visit in mid-November when Athlete Institute visits Wichita to play in a showcase event for elite prep schools and post-graduate programs, coach Brandon Lesovsky said. Djogo, a 6-foot-7 forward, was scheduled to visit Notre Dame over the weekend.

▪  Wichita State will practice with Oklahoma State on Oct. 31 at Koch Arena. The practices are closed to the public and the media. WSU scrimmaged TCU last year and Baylor in 2013. Coach Gregg Marshall usually plays one exhibition game and one closed scrimmage.

No longer in halves — Women’s basketball will divide its game into four 10-minute quarters this season. For Wichita State coach Jody Adams, the change means conditioning is more important.

Teams are scheduled for media timeout at the five-minute mark of each quarter. Coaches also get four timeouts (three of 30 seconds and one 60 seconds) and can carry three into the second half. Previously, media timeouts were scheduled every four minutes in each 20-minute half.

“Now you’re asking your student-athletes to play longer without the first timeout,” she said. “Some of us will start a game and we don’t like how things are going, so you pop a timeout. That takes (away) that media timeout at the five-minute mark, and you’re looking at playing nine minutes straight.”

Adams expects teams to play more zone defense, both to save legs and to avoid fouls. Teams will reach the bonus, shooting two free throws (no more one-and-one), on the fifth foul of a quarter. An emphasis on limiting physical defense may also result in more fouls.

“They’re trying to keep the game moving, a little more free-flowing,” Adams said. “You’re really depending on your team to make adjustments on the fly, at a deadball. They’re going to have to make adjustments, because you’re not going to have a timeout.”

▪  Forward Kayla Williams (6-foot), of Memphis (Tenn.) Overton, recently gave the Shockers a non-binding commitment, according to multiple Twitter accounts out of Memphis.

Check them out — Wichita State’s fall baseball scrimmage series begins at 6 p.m. Thursday at Eck Stadium.

The best-of-5 series continues on Oct. 18 (6 p.m.), Oct. 20 (2:30 p.m.), Oct. 22 (6 p.m.) and Oct. 23 (6 p.m.). Admission to each scrimmage is can of food for the Kansas Food Bank. All games are seven innings.

At 7 p.m., Oct. 28, the Shockers will play a one-hour Halloween scrimmage with players dressed in costume, autographs and a costume contest.

WSU’s fall softball scrimmage series is Thursday and Friday (3 p.m. both days) at Wilkins Stadium.

Worth noting — Wichita State softball is starting the Cleat Crew, for children 12 and under. The fee is $25 and includes free admission to home games.… Ten WSU softball players earned All-America Scholar-Athlete honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association for the 2014-15 school year: McKenzie Adams, Brianne Bond, Erin Carney, Brittany Fortner, Hunter Hogan, Bailey Holt, Melanie Jaegers, Ashley Johnson, Cacy Williams and Ashlynne Neil.… MVC commissioner Doug Elgin begins a four-year term on the National Invitation Tournament committee, an eight-person group that selects and seeds the 32-team field.

This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 6:19 PM with the headline "Wichita State notes: Versatile Minnesotan worked on his basketball skills and didn’t rely on height."