Broward Hoops Legend Dismissed from Team

By Thomas Francis Thu., Apr. 2 2009 at 4:34 PM

Categories: Broward, Sports

University of Cincinnati

Alvin Mitchell

Alvin Mitchell, the Cardinal Gibbons High School star who rode national accolades to a scholarship at the University of Cincinnati, was dismissed from his team, Ohio papers are reporting. The Bearcats coach, Mick Cronin, has not said what led him to that decision -- just that Mitchell had broken team rules and become a "distraction."

The 6-foot-5 Mitchell, a sophomore, had acknowledged attitude problems that led to his being disciplined during a disappointing freshman season.

Basketball has always been the least challenging part of Mitchell's life. He had open heart surgery as a child to open a partially clogged aorta.

Mitchell's grades didn't match his brilliance on the court. Originally from Hallandale Beach, academic trouble followed Mitchell to Miami Pace, then to Boyd Anderson High in Lauderdale Lakes before he landed at the Catholic school on Fort Lauderdale's East Side. As a senior Mitchell averaged an astonished 33 points per game. A Miami Herald story from January 2007 tells of how Mitchell almost single-handedly beat Cardinal Gibbons rival St. Thomas Aquinas scoring 47 in what was just a two-point victory.