James Mitchell (born 15 January 1991) is an Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Cairns Marlins The Cairns Marlins are an Australian basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Marlins compete in the men's NBL1 North league and play their home games at Early Settler Stadium. The team is closely affiliated with the Cairns Taipans and C ...

of the

NBL1 North NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

. Between 2010 and 2016, he was based in his hometown of

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

playing for the Marlins in the

QBL QBL may refer to: *IND Queens Boulevard Line, line of the New York City Subway *NBL1 North, basketball league in Australia previously known as Queensland Basketball League (QBL) {{disambig ...

and the Taipans in the NBL. Between 2017 and 2019, he played three seasons for the

Rockhampton Rockets The Rockhampton Rockets are an Australian basketball team based in Rockhampton, Queensland. The Rockets compete in the Men's NBL1 North and play their home games at Adani Arena. The team is affiliated with Rockhampton Basketball Inc., the major ...

in the QBL and spent a season in England with the

Sheffield Sharks The Sheffield Sharks, currently known as "B.Braun Sheffield Sharks" for sponsorship reasons, are a professional basketball team from the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The Sharks play in the British Basketball League and play thei ...

. In 2021, he re-joined the Marlins.

Early life

Mitchell was born in

Kogarah, New South Wales Kogarah () is a suburb of Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kogarah is located 14 kilometres (9 miles) south-west of the Sydney central business district and is considered to be the centre of the St George area. L ...

and raised in the

suburb of Redlynch. When Mitchell was 11 years old, having just finished Year 6 at Redlynch State School, his parents – John and Salli Mitchell – were killed in a head-on collision near Proserpine, four days short of

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

on 21 December 2002. Salli was a tuckshop convenor at Redlynch State School and the coach of four junior basketball teams at Redlynch Basketball Club. John was a truck driver with

Boral Boral Limited is Australia's largest building and construction materials supplier, with market-leading positions in quarries, cement, concrete and asphalt. Boral is actively pursuing a decarbonisation strategy through recycling of demolition ma ...

in Cairns. They were driving south to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

to join James and his then 14-year-old sister Kate – who had flown down to join their grandparents for Christmas – when they lost their lives in a horrific collision, which also killed three people in the other car. A park was dedicated to the memory of Mitchell's parents in Redlynch, the Salli and John Mitchell Memorial Park. Despite an offer to move in with their grandparents in Sydney, James and Kate remained in Cairns and were cared for by older sister Sam.

Basketball career

Cairns Marlins and Taipans (2010–2013)

After winning a place in the Taipans Academy in 2009, Mitchell played for the

of the

Queensland Basketball League NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

in 2010 and won a development player contract with the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...

for the 2010/11 NBL season. By December 2010, he was studying physical education at

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cairn ...

in tandem with his Taipans duties, having made his NBL debut on 13 November 2010 against the

Gold Coast Blaze The Gold Coast Blaze were an Australian men's professional basketball team which competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). The Blaze competed in their inaugural season in 2007–08. The club was based on the Gold Coast and joined the ...

. Mitchell spent three seasons with the Taipans as a development player, playing in five games in 2010/11, four games in 2011/12, and one game in 2012/13. He also continued to play for the Marlins in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Post-Taipans stint (2015–2016)

After a knee injury ruled him out of the entire 2014 QBL season, an injury which sidelined him for about 18 months, Mitchell returned to the

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

and was appointed team captain. In

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, he captained the Marlins to their first QBL Championship since 2009. Mitchell was often regarded as the heart of the Marlins program; with Taipans development players coming and going over the years, Mitchell was always a consistent presence. However, when negotiating with the Marlins in March 2017 ahead of the 2017 season, Mitchell sought remuneration, having gone unpaid with the Marlins for his entire career. Following a breakdown between Mitchell and Cairns Basketball boss Mike Scott, Mitchell parted ways with the Marlins.

Rockhampton Rockets (2017–2019)

On 27 March 2017, Mitchell signed with the

for the 2017 QBL season. Mitchell, who was in the final stages of finishing his teaching degree at the time of signing with the Rockets, flew in and out to Rockhampton in the first part of the season before moving south. After a slow start to the 2017 season, the Rockets charged into the finals with an end-of-season run that saw them eliminate the top seed Brisbane Capitals in the quarter-finals before eventually succumbing to the Mackay Meteors in the semi-finals. On 17 November 2017, Mitchell re-signed with the Rockets for the 2018 season. He was named player of the week for round one. He appeared in all 19 games for the Rockets in 2018, averaging 14.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game. In November 2018, Mitchell re-signed with the Rockets for the 2019 season. In 19 games, he averaged 10.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game.

Sheffield Sharks (2017–2018)

On 22 November 2017, Mitchell signed with the

of the

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs howeve ...

for the rest of the 2017–18 season. In 11 games for Sheffield, he averaged 1.2 points and 1.4 rebounds per game.

Return to the Cairns Marlins (2021–present)

In 2021, Mitchell re-joined the Cairns Marlins for the inaugural

season. He helped the Marlins reach the best-of-three grand final series, where they were defeated 2–0 by the Mackay Meteors. Mitchell re-joined the Marlins for the 2022 NBL1 North season.

References

External links

James Mitchell
at sportstg.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, James 1991 births Living people Australian expatriate basketball people in England Australian men's basketball players Cairns Taipans players Sportspeople from Cairns Sheffield Sharks players Shooting guards Small forwards