Mitchell Officially Becomes a Terp

Another basketball star is headed for the Atlantic Coast Conference. 

On Thursday, Charles "Chuck" Mitchell signed his national letter-of-intent with the University of Maryland. 

Mitchell, a 6-foot-8 power forward and center, to the Terrapins shortly after the Wildcats' season ended in the first round of the Georgia Class AAAAA state tournament. He averaged 17 points and 12 rebounds as a senior for the Wildcats.

This week, he became the fourth member of Maryland coach Mark Turgeon's 2012 signing class, adding to a strong Terps' frontline. Said Mitchell upon his signing: "I love the fan support and the whole history of Maryland basketball. I wanted to come to a school that supports basketball and where the team is important to the fans." 

Mitchell was one of the few remaining unsigned forwards in the Southeast, rated as high as No. 12 nationally by Rivals.com among high school senior centers. 

He was recruited heavily by a number of Southern programs, including Florida, Tennessee and Memphis, as well as Seton Hall and Cincinnati.

Turgeon told The Washington Post that Mitchell's upbringing was just as important a factor in recruiting him as his game: 

“His mom did a lot of things right while raising Charles to be a respectful kid and extremely hard worker."

Said Wheeler coach Doug Lipscomb: "He's been a blessing to have around. We're going to miss him. If you think about Wheeler basketball the last four or five years, you think Chuck's been in high school a long time. He's been on varsity a long time."

Former Wheeler standout Richard Howell in N.C. State's appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament last month. Another former Wildcat, DeQuan Jones, closed out his career at Miami this season.