La Salle High's Mitchell makes oral commitment to Rider

Even sight unseen, Eddie Mitchell had a strong notion about where he wanted to play his college basketball.

Not words unheard, though.

"I had some good talks with coach [Kevin] Baggett," Mitchell said. "I liked the way he presented the program and the school. And when I talked with some of the players, they were always saying that they liked how things were done and that the coaches keep their word."

Thus, Mitchell, a just-under-6-foot, 175-pound senior point guard at La Salle High, has made an oral commitment to Rider; Baggett is the associate head coach under Tommy Dempsey.

No official visit was made, but Mitchell toured the campus and spoke with assorted important folks Monday.

"I had an idea [about committing] in my mind even before heading up there," he said. "It just seemed like everything about it made for the best fit."

Mitchell said he received 13 offers and that the two that pushed Rider were Niagara and Wagner.

"Niagara was too far," he noted. "Wagner was OK, but I wanted Rider. It's only about 45 minutes from my house [Mt. Airy] and my family will be able to come support me. It was important to get this done before my senior year, so there wouldn't be any stress."

Rider lately has become well stocked with city leagues guys. Mike Ringgold (Roman Catholic), Novar Gadson (John Bartram) and Brandon Penn (Paul Robeson) are veterans, Danny Stewart (Ss. Neumann-Goretti) will play this season as a freshman, and Jeff Jones (Monsignor Bonner) will be eligible in 2011-12 after a sit-out year (transfer from Virginia).

"All the guys like the way the offense is played," Mitchell said. "You know how school-ball offense can be compared to [the quicker tempo of] AAU ball. Rider likes to let their guys play. You can go up and down. It's freelance, but in a controled way."

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