Mike Mitchell

Who is Mike Mitchell?

Michael Eric "Mike" Mitchell is a retired American professional basketball player.

From 1992 to 1994 he played with the Australian NBL's Gold Coast Rollers, and with the Brisbane Bullets from 1995 to 1996. In 1997 he signed with the North Melbourne Giants. In the following years, he played professionally in Germany, France and Ireland. He also briefly played for the Ireland national basketball team. In 2008, Mitchell was named an assistant coach with the Women's National Basketball Association's Chicago Sky. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach at the University of California, Riverside, and the head coach for the Ramona High School boys' basketball team.

On May 31, 1992, during his NBL career, Mitchell suffered an horrific injury when he smashed his right arm in anger against a wire-reinforced glass panel of a locker-room door after Gold Coast narrowly lost to the Illawarra Hawks in Illawarra, New South Wales. With his arm almost severed, Mitchell was found slumped on the floor in a pool of blood by Rollers teammate Ron Radliff. Doubt was initially cast over whether Mitchell, who was averaging 28.5 points per game, would ever play again, but eventually he recovered.