Kentucky State University’s Athletics Department will rename the basketball court at Exum Center in honor of Coach Lucias Mitchell this Saturday, November 22, 2008 during the Kentucky State vs. Mid Continent’s Men’s Basketball game. Coach Lucias Mitchell is K-State’s all time winningest coach and led them to three straight NAIA titles.

Coach Lucias Mitchell, the all-time winningest basketball coach in Kentucky State University history, had the floor in the Exum Physical Education Building named in his honor at a special ceremony in Frankfort on October 4. Mitchell also was honored at the Thorobreds football game against Central State (Ohio) that evening.

After finishing just 10-15 in his first year as KSU’s coach, Mitchell, now 73, led his next three teams to the NAIA National Basketball Championship in 1970-71-72 as the Thorobreds compiled records of 29-3, 31-2 and 28-5. KSU became only the second team ever to win three straight NAIA titles; the other coach to do so is former KSU mentor John McLendon, who accomplished the feat at Tennessee State. All divisions included, only Mitchell, McLendon and UCLA’s John Wooden have ever won three national titles in a row.

After the three-year run by Mitchell’s teams, his 1972-73 team finished 28-6 but was upset in the first round of the NAIA National Tournament. The next year, 1973-74, KSU went 28-5 and had a 21-game winning streak broken in the semifinals of the NAIA Tournament before winning the third place game the next night. All totaled, the Thorobreds finished 144-21 in that five-year span, an .873 winning percentage.

Under Mitchell, KSU became the first NCAA Division II team ever to have back-to-back first-round NBA draft choices. Elmore (“Big E”) Smith, who was drafted in the first round by the Buffalo Braves, signed what was at the time the highest contract ever by an NBA player. The following year, 1972, Travis (“The Machine”) Grant was a first-round pick in both the NBA and the old ABA, where he played for the San Diego Conquistadores.

Mitchell won National Coach of the Year Awards in both 1970 and 1971. He had five KSU players drafted into the NBA and was the first ever black coach to be elected as an officer of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). He also was one of just four coaches selected to head up the first-ever Olympic Development Camp at Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1971.

Even though he coached only 15 years, he still ranks today as the sixth most winning coach in NCAA Division II, with 325 wins and just 103 losses, a .759 winning percentage that he compiled at Alabama State, Kentucky State, and Norfolk State.

–Reported by Mychael Mitchell

Travis Grant Speaks:
“You can gain a lot by going to those black institutions,” Grant said. “It’s not just the education you receive there, it’s more than that. It’s also about learning to grow up and learning values and respect. Leaders come out of there. I don’t think that you have to go to those colleges, but they have value that is worth preserving. I had to consider basketball in my decision, and John Chaney said, sometimes you pick your college because of the man. The person that is going to be coaching you is probably the most important thing.”

For Grant, Kentucky State’s coach, Lucias Mitchell, was the most important thing.
Mitchell had been in touch with Grant since the 10th grade, and Grant says he decided on Kentucky State mainly because of his desire to play for Mitchell. The decision paid off. Grant led the team in scoring in 1969, his freshman season. And after that, Mitchell and Grant led the Thorobreds to three consecutive NAIA Division I men’s basketball titles.

College basketball’s NCAA All-Division, All-Time Scorer: 4045 points

This entry was posted on Monday, November 17th, 2008 at 5:17 pm and is filed under Football, Kentucky State, NCAA News, SIAC News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.