MILWAUKEE – Stevie Mitchell and his brother, Kyran, happen to be following their respective dreams in the same city and on the same campus.
Stevie, the all-time leading scorer in Wilson basketball history, is a senior at Marquette and in his third season as a starter for the 15th-ranked Golden Eagles.
Kyran, who carved a basketball niche for himself at Berks Catholic and Washington & Jefferson, is a first-year student at Marquette Law School.
It’s not a coincidence.
Kyran’s dream is to become a sports agent and to represent his younger brother one day.
“That would be pretty cool,” Kyran said. “I have to handle my end of the bargain, which is why I want to do well in law school. I want to know that he’s in good hands.”
The Mitchell brothers haven’t been enrolled in the same school since their days at Wilson West Middle School. They live in apartments on opposite ends of Marquette’s campus, about a 15-minute walk from each other.
They see each other only now and then because of their hectic schedules, but it’s comforting for both of them and their parents that they can see each other within minutes.
Their mother, Steph, calls it “almost a miracle, a blessing.”
“It’s really cool just to have him here,” Stevie said. “I get to spend time with him and have meals with him. He hangs out with my teammates. It’s been really convenient. Seeing him every now and then is better than seeing him a few times a year.”
On Friday night, Stevie scored 18 points, including two free throws with six seconds left, as Marquette improved to 4-0 with a 78-74 victory at Maryland.
Along with Kam Jones and David Joplin, he’s one of three returning starters from the team that went 27-10 last season, lost the Big East tournament final to national champion Connecticut and reached the NCAA Sweet 16.
Since they arrived in 2021 along with head coach Shaka Smart, the Golden Eagles have gone 79-30 with three NCAA Tournament appearances and a Big East tournament title two years ago.
“Our goal is to grow as much as we can,” Stevie said. “When adversity hits, we want to be able to make each other better so we can overcome whatever obstacle is in our way. It’s important to continue to have the mindset that we’re working toward something.
“As long as everybody’s focused on getting a Marquette score, a Marquette stop and a Marquette win, we’ll be in a really good position because we have a lot of talented guys.”
The 6-3 Mitchell worked in the offseason to improve his 3-point shooting, which dipped to 26.5% last season. He wants to be a scoring threat anywhere on the floor. He scored 17 points in a victory over Central Michigan earlier this month and is averaging 11.8 points per game.
He’s an outstanding defensive player who led Marquette in steals last season.
“I’ve improved my defense a lot since high school,” he said. “I’m still looking to improve it. I try to get my hands on the ball and disrupt what the offense is doing. My coaches and my teammates appreciate that. I have fun flying around and making plays that not many people can make.”
Off the court, Stevie has high marks in the classroom with majors in finance and information systems. He’s been named to the Big East All-Academic Team three times and was a third-team Academic All-American last year.
“I’ve been trying to do as much as possible,” he said. “I had an internship this summer. That was a cool experience. I’m trying to grow as a person so I’ll be ready wherever life takes me.”
His brother hopes it’s a professional basketball career and that he can be his agent.
Kyran became interested in that field when the Mitchell family visited one of his father’s best friends in the Los Angeles area several years ago. Ronald Brothers is a sports attorney who works for IAM Sports & Entertainment, which represents athletes and entertainers.
Kyran, who was then in middle school, got lost in Brothers’ home.
“His house was really big,” Kyran said. “I thought, ‘I can be a part of sports and make a lot of money. That wouldn’t be bad.’
“My goal always was to play D1 (NCAA Division I). But then when it wasn’t panning out, I thought, ‘Well, I can do this and still be around the sport.’ ”
He was a starter at Berks Catholic who averaged a little more than eight points a game as a senior before he blossomed at Washington & Jefferson. He was a two-time all-conference first-team pick who scored 1,016 points and led the Presidents to a conference title and the NCAA Division III Tournament as a junior.
Kyran used his extra year of eligibility from the NCAA’s COVID waiver to play last season at Division III Elmhurst in suburban Chicago. He played in every game as a reserve but he seldom saw more than 15 minutes of action.
“I enjoyed W&J a lot,” he said. “It was really fun. I was glad about the relationships I made and the success we had on the court. Elmhurst was kind of a step back in terms of basketball, but I made a lot of cool friends. I try to have a very wide perspective on the situation.”
Kyran was ready for his playing career to end because his body hurt and because he was eager to begin law school. At Marquette, he’s building relationships with Stevie’s teammates because he can attend home games and practices when he has time.
He’s already helped negotiate a NIL deal for Stevie with Stryv 365, a non-profit agency in Milwaukee that works with children in underserved areas of the city. Former Bucks star Jrue Holiday, who’s now with the Boston Celtics, and his wife are involved with the organization.
“They represent everything that Stevie’s about,” Steph Mitchell said. “They do a lot to help inner-city kids or any kids who are less fortunate.
“I think Stevie feels a tremendous amount of gratitude that his brother chose to go to Marquette. He knows his brother is going to be looking out to help him do the best possible things he can do.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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