Wake Forest has landed its point guard of the future. Shelton Mitchell (Waxhaw, N.C./Cuthbertson), ranked No. 20 overall in the Class of 2014, made an early decision to commit to Jeff Bzdelik's Demon Deacons on Friday.
"I thought about doing it a month ago," Mitchell said. "They've always been my favorite but I kept it to myself. I gave it a month to make sure and then slept on it again last night. When I woke up I knew. I always wanted to go to school there."
Mitchell was born on the West Coast but he's been bred on Wake Forest basketball, in particular point guard Chris Paul.
Mitchell plays for the CP3 All-Stars, attended Paul's point guard camp and is set to follow in his footsteps. The same coach who recruited Paul, assistant Jeff Battle, was instrumental in locking down Mitchell.
Make no mistake about it, the traffic for Mitchell was steadily increasing and to score a pledge from one of the nation's true floor generals is a significant move for the Demon Deacons.
"They were the first (school) to come in," Mitchell said. "They told me when I was a freshman that I was their guy. I always was their guy."
Mitchell, who played in the state championship game last year, considers himself a member of the staff. A leader on the floor, he hopes his first assist comes before he steps on the court in Winston-Salem.
Mitchell said he keeps in contact with junior wing Kelly Oubre (Houston/Bush) and Gary Clark (Clayton, N.C./Clayton), a junior forward outside of Raleigh. No. 11 junior Leron Black (Memphis, Tenn./White Station), who just decommitted from Baylor this week, is another guy Mitchell intends to work over and said he keeps in regular contact.
"I'm working on whoever I can," Mitchell said. "I want to help bring in more guys."
As a sophomore, Mitchell averaged 23.4 points, 4.5 assists and 5.4 rebounds. This season, he's averaging 21 points and five assists. He's the highest rated recruit to commit to Bzdelik at Wake Forest.