AUSTIN, Texas — One of the Longhorns basketball team's biggest X-factors will be returning to wear burnt orange in 2023.
After briefly testing the NBA Draft waters, forward Dillon Mitchell has opted to return for the 2023-24 season. Mitchell was widely projected to be a second round pick in this year's NBA Draft, which takes place later in June.
One of the nation's top 5-star recruits in 2022, Mitchell averaged 4.3 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game last season as a true freshman.
Mitchell's return is a welcome one for Rodney Terry's squad, as this offseason saw the team lose their three top scorers from the 2022-23 season, as well as losing commitments from two of the best high school players in the nation.
The Longhorns did add two notable transfers this offseason, Max Abmas from Oral Roberts and Kadin Shedrick from Virginia, the former of which is the NCAA's career scoring leader.
Mitchell's return now solidifies the Longhorns as one of the nation's top teams going into the 2023-24 campaign, with mountainous expectations following their Elite 8 birth last season.