Towering above most, at 6-feet-6 inches is Brice Mitchell, business marketing sophomore and freshman forward for the Grenadiers basketball team.
In the first time meeting him, he may seem a little shy. He doesn’t talk much to people he doesn’t know, which may make it hard to carry on a conversation. Bring a few of his friends around and Mitchell opens up. He is also very close with his family.
His athletic ability is shared with his father, who Mitchell considers to be the biggest influence on his life. His father played basketball for the University of Louisville and the University of California, Berkeley.When he isn’t participating in sports, Mitchell is a home-body. A self-proclaimed “momma’s boy,” Mitchell likes be around his family and go to church with them.
“My mom is a Sunday school teacher,” Mitchell said. “So church has always been a big part of my life.”
Mitchell said he has been an usher in his church since he was 6 years old and that getting baptized was something that changed him for life.
“I always wear my WWJD bracelet,” Mitchell said, “I had a navy blue one that I wore for a long time and it broke. I was so mad.”
Mitchell and his family have a lot in common, but they also share a dream for him to make something of his life. His father works for UPS and his mother is the marketing director at Kellogg’s.
“I want to succeed. I’ve seen my parents do it and I know what life could look like,” Mitchell said. “I just want to be successful.”
Being ranked fourth in the nation and currently in first place in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Grenadiers are enjoying plenty of success this season.
Mitchell said he likes to play in big games against good teams because it gets his adrenaline running and makes him play better.
“Brice has been a great surprise for the team this year. He has become a starter in his first year of college basketball,” Wiley Brown, men’s head basketball coach said. “On the court he has had to guard players much bigger and stronger than him. He is able to use his quickness and basketball IQ to his advantage.”
Aside from basketball Mitchell has other abilities. He is very musically inclined. He played the piano for ten years and has also played the trombone, cello and saxophone. He also has vocal ability which he uses to sing R&B and oldies. He takes his musical influence from artists like Trey Songz and Kanye West.
What this all boils down to is that Mitchell is just a guy going through school trying to make it big someday in the real world. He can play sports, play instruments and is active in his church.
By ASHLEY AGNEW
Staff Writer
aeagnew@indiana.edu
