As The Blueprint Combine series continued its tour across the country with the goal of providing a platform for talented prospects to get noticed, Xzavion Mitchell stood out amongst the crowd at the Chicago, Illinois event. A native of Wisconsin, Mitchell attends the Oshkosh North High School, which is the alma mater of current Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton. Coming off a stellar freshman season where he averaged 22 points per game, Mitchell is set to have an even bigger sophomore season as he looks to put himself on the national hoops map. A high IQ and versatile two-way prospect, Mitchell excels at making the right play and doing whatever is needed to win games. Look for the college offers to start coming in quickly as he moves up the ranks over the next 12 months.
As part of the Pro Insight Q&A series, Mitchell discusses receiving advice from Tyrese Haliburton, his goals for this season, his recruitment update, his off-court interests, and much more.
For the next installment of the Pro Insight Q&A series, we present 2025 prospect Xzavion Mitchell, from Oshkosh, Wisconsin:
Pro Insight: Talk about your basketball journey.
Xzavion Mitchell: My brother went to Oshkosh North basketball camp and I really looked up to him and he got me into playing basketball. I usually did most things he did, so he got me playing up. Also Tyrese Haliburton went to my school and he’s a really big influence for me, so I really look up to him, also. So that’s two of the reasons why I got into basketball.
PI: Has Tyrese shared any advice with you over the years?
XM: Yeah, just to keep working and always be in the gym. Don’t ever be too selfish and always move the ball. He always pops up in and out and we always have a good conversation about basketball and how school is going.
PI: What would you say are some of your strengths on the court?
XM: Attacking off the dribble, driving and kicking. I feel like I create a lotta space and defenders have to clog in on me. So when I’m driving I like to drive and kick a lot. If not, then it’s an easy look at the rim. There are still some things I need to work on like dribble pull-ups, contested jumpers, stuff like that. Off the ball I can hit as a shooter, but those are some things I need to work on a bit.
PI: Any aspects of your game that you feel are underrated?
XM: My defense. I feel like I can work on that still, but I want to be a two-way player and I’m becoming a two-way player. I feel like blocking shots and my athleticism really helps me with that. People don’t understand I can guard 1-5 and that’s my underrated aspect of the game. I love playing defense.
PI: Where do you think that mindset comes from?
XM: So at my school we run a 1-3-1 defense and I’m always at the top and running back and forth. I’ve played defense since I was a young age and have always been playing at the top of the defense. I’ve been looking up to these NBA guys and I feel like two-way players are better than one-way scoring and nobody playing defense. I feel like I can create more buckets off my defense, length, steals, blocks. I feel like that will help my team more than just me being an offensive asset and not being effective on the defensive end.
PI: Who are some players you model your game after?
XM: I love looking up to Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokoumpo. He’s one of my biggest influences honestly, I watch a lotta film on Giannis. I love Paul George and Andrew Wiggins games because they play both ways, they have a high motor and that’s something I need to work on and want to do.
PI: What are your goals for this season?
XM: I want to average a double-double with rebounds and points. Last year I averaged 22 points per game and I want to get at least three more points than that, so 25 points per game would be fine with me. I also want to average 4-5 steals per game with a couple blocks per game. Just help us win and go to state this year.
PI: What’s the latest with your recruitment?
XM: Right now, Tennessee wants me to come down for a visit. That’s all I know of for now.
PI: Any dream schools?
XM: North Carolina, for sure. I went there on an unofficial visit a few weeks ago and I really like their campus and academics. That’s really one of the schools I’d love to go to.
PI: Any unique hobbies or interests outside of basketball?
XM: I like to hang with my family. On my rest days I like to hang and catch up with my brother who is down at Pensacola State. I always like calling him. I usually don’t get off the court a lot since I’m always busy with AAU and school ball. I love being in the gym, but I love playing other sports as well. I love playing football, I could play if I really wanted to. That’s really it, there’s nothing much I do off the court since I’m always on the court.
PI: Are you playing other sports currently?
XM: It’s just basketball. I stopped playing football in 5th grade and stopped baseball in 8th grade.
PI: Any other athletes in the family aside from your brother?
XM: My Uncle won state in football, he was a QB and safety. And my Aunt won state in volleyball. That’s really all I know of in my family.
PI: Where does your height come from?
XM: My mom is like 5’8” and my dad is 6’0”. I have tall uncles, but was blessed from God that I got this amazing height and hopefully I keep growing.
PI: What do your parents do for work?
XM: It’s just me and my mom right now and she’s a school teacher at my school. So she always has to keep me in check with my grades and makes sure to have the other teachers keep me checked up and not causing trouble.
PI: What’s one hashtag you’d use to describe yourself?
XM: #Myself, because I like to be myself. I don’t care what other people think about me or what their opinions are of me. I like to be myself and show myself. I don’t change my personality for anybody and I don’t act differently in front of other people. I want to be myself all of the time.
PI: Ideally, five years from now, where do you see yourself?
XM: Even though I love basketball I would like to finish school. I want to finish school, get to the draft and be a lottery pick, win a national title, play for the USA Team for 17U, I would love to do that. Also to support my family financially. That’s all I want to do, that’s really my main goal.