"If I get an offer from Carolina, I'm going": Former Louisville star Donovan Mitchell reflects on holding out for UNC until Rick Pitino came calling

Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell has established himself as one of the best players in the NBA since he was drafted in 2017. Mitchell made a name for himself while playing for the Louisville Cardinals under coach Rick Pitino (2015-2017).

During Tuesday's segment of the "New Heights" podcast with Travis and Jason Kelce, Mitchell revealed that his dream team was the North Carolina Tar Heels until he visited Pitino's Cardinals.

"For college? Carolina. Until I committed to Louisville, I was waiting until I got an offer," Donovan Mitchell said. "I was putting schools to the side. I was like, 'If I get an offer from Carolina I'm going.' I don't care if I sit, I don't care if I walk-on, I don't care if I play, I'm going to Carolina. This is what I'm doing and then I visited Louisville. Well, I was like, 'F**k all that, I'm going here.'

"But Carolina was the school. Never got the call. One of my career highs at that time was Ray Williams saying, 'Man, I made a mistake in the handshake line.' And when he told me that, that was the coolest thing to me, I didn't really care. I may not be there but I got the respect."

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Donovan Mitchell credits Rick Pitino for competitiveness

Donovan Mitchell was a bench option for coach Rick Pitino during his freshman year at Louisville averaging 7.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 19.1 minutes per game.

During a segment of the "Knuckleheads" podcast, Mitchell revealed how Pitino ignited the competitive spirit in him.

"He has a way of unlocking something that is there, that you don't know," Donovan Mitchell said. "He unlocked a dog, a fire in me. I already had a fire, but now you're tapped into it. You're playing angry. Like crazy. Like, Coach P is crazy. Now it's like, you're playing angry. Not like angry, but -- I don't know how to describe it. He unleashes the dog inside of you.

"Like, everybody in front of me is not better than me. Like, he created that competitive nature, him and a bunch of the assistant coaches that were there. Everybody. That's how they recruit ... He definitely created that hunger and fire that was there, and took it to another level."

Donovan Mitchell leveled up during his sophomore year as a starter and averaged 15.6 points on 46.3% shooting from the floor and 35.4% shooting from beyond the arc, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists before declaring for the 2017 NBA Draft where he was picked No. 13 overall by the Utah Jazz.