Never Forget The Struggle, Never Forget To Fight

Martice Mitchell - Bloom High School - Class of 2020 - University of Minnesota Commit

Martice Mitchell and his family have gone through their share of rough patches on the south side of Chicago. Although the city means a lot to Mitchell and it’ll always be in his DNA, he welcomes the chance to start fresh in a new city and build long-lasting relationships. Yet with those new relationships comes those he leaves behind. Although his brother will be making the journey with him to Minneapolis, his mother and sister will continue to live in his hometown.

Mitchell’s mother, Lateesha Banner, is a Customer Support Representative for Comcast, one of the United States’ largest telecommunications companies. Yet she’s much more than that.  She’s a single mom to Martice, his sixteen-year-old brother, Martez, and his two-year-old sister, Masara.  “It was really just me, my mom and my little brother,” says Mitchell, “and my mom did everything she could to move us out of the inner city.” Right before Martice entered high school, she was finally able to make that move, finding a new home in the south suburbs.  Yet as time progressed, their new neighborhood became more unstable and Martice knows their struggle isn’t over.

Part of his struggle came early on in his childhood. “I didn’t talk much, kept to myself, and was skinny and not tall yet, so I got picked on,” he says. That’s when basketball came into play.  Ever since Lateesha moved her family out of the inner city, Martice’s main improvement outside of school has been on the court.  Although he’s had a basketball in his hands since he was four, he didn’t participate in an organized league until he was nine. Lateesha signed him up for one, he says “because she knew he loved the game.”  Her goal is to give them every opportunity she didn’t have.  “My mom always proved people wrong,” says Mitchell, “when people said I wouldn’t do anything with my life, she put everything she had into my passion for basketball.”

When he wasn’t pursuing that passion, he was exploring others.  The first was music.  He recalls his first interaction with drumming, recounting his walks by the expressway near 63rd and Peoria, saying “I used to see kids with buckets and sticks and thought, I could do that.” With practice and breaking out of his comfort zone, he joined his school band.  His second passion was drawing. That hit closer to home. Martice’s father had an artistic ability he admired and inherited. He used that to express himself through hand sketches throughout his middle school and high school career.

With the integration of band and basketball, he found his way out of that uncomfortable part of his childhood, but found value in the struggle. It allowed him to become more observant. He now understands the value of loyalty and has gained an intuitive ability of reading people. Since moving, he’s earned the loyalty of teammates, Christian Shumate and Keshawn Williams. He and Keshawn bonded during their time playing at AAU and he and Christian “have almost identical personalities and interests.”  

It’s his teammates who he’s built the closest relationships with across the last four years. Although many players recount games first when describing their memories with their teammates, Mitchell starts talking about practice (Allen Iverson’s opinion on it notwithstanding). “Practice is always crazy,” he acknowledges, “it’s always fun and never boring. Sometimes there were disagreements and more physicality from our competitiveness, but we’d go at each other hard every day in practice.” It’s why despite needing to gain additional weight he knows he’s got the work ethic to go up against stronger players in the paint.

Mitchell’s trainer, Aubrey Dennard, has helped him sharpen that work ethic even further. He’s now following an individual-based strength and conditioning program. He’s cut down the trips to Uncle Remus’ Fried Chicken in exchange for a protein packed diet - although he still can’t turn down his mother’s widely-loved macaroni.  He now watches game tape on Kevin Durant for his use of length, Kevin Garnett for his aggressiveness, Jayson Tatum for his crossover moves, Michael Jordan for his fade-aways, and Marvin Bagley for his activity level.  

Mitchell describes Dennard as “one of the only people who [he talks] to.” Dennard, Martice recalls, told him to “choose whatever college is best for you and trust your gut feeling.” For Martice, he knew his gut was leading him to Minnesota. It was there he felt valued and would be in a position to earn playing time. 

It’s because of Denard that Mitchell’s learned arguably his greatest resource in improving himself as a person and on the court - meditation. Whether it’s the night before a game, an hour before a game, or after a loss, meditation helps him focus. “Like LeBron says, you have to envision yourself achieving what you want to achieve. I just sometimes use meditation music and close my eyes when I do it,” he explains. He now keeps that goal in his sights and won’t break out of that focus until the game starts. 

However, it’s during game time, where it may hold its greatest value. “If I make a mistake on the court, I go to the bench, think about what I did wrong and don’t stress about it. I focus on what I need to do to improve a situation and the work that needs to be put in,” he says. It’s how he’s found a way to block out any in-game nerves. “I follow the slogan “pressure busts pipes, but it makes diamonds too,” he says, “I’ll adjust to it just.” He knows eyes are on him for a reason.

There were plenty of eyes on him during the recruiting period.  He received his fair share of mid-major and high-major offers, but always had Oregon in the back of his mind as his dream school. The fit seemed perfect - from the playing style to the coaching staff to the potential playing time. But that was all before he visited Minneapolis.  He had two visits to the Gophers’ campus, one official with his mother, and one unofficial with Christian and Keshawn.  “Both visits were, great,” he recalls, “I felt like I was really loved on campus on the first and it was great having my friends’ approval after they scoped out anything I may have missed.”

Although he was happy to have them accompany him, it’s rare that Martice misses anything. He’s always focused on every detail in any activity he’s involved in, “something his mom says he’s done since he was a child.” That detail-oriented nature will be key once he steps his foot in a Minneapolis classroom. When he does, he’s decided he’ll be majoring in Psychology.  He’s prepared for the rigorous schedule. “I’m very organized,” he says, “I’ve got my whiteboard on my wall at all times and always have everything scheduled out.   His experience as a peer mediator and social leader in high school should allow for a smooth transition. Aside from his education, he’s looking forward to getting to know his new teammates, learning to understand each of their personalities, and putting those psychology lessons to use.

Until then, he reflects back on his journey and how lucky he’s been having coaches willing to dedicate time to his development.  The first was his middle school AAU Coach Antonio Jones.  “Coach Tony was the first person to give me a chance and see potential,” he says, and after that “Coach Julian Williams, helped me adjust my mindset from playing only for fun to also playing to get better.” 

Once he got to high school, Coach Dante Maddox and Coach Timel Moore took over. When it came time to decide where to spend the next four years, it was Coach Moore, Dennard, and his mother that Martice relied on after campus visits. They’re the ones that encouraged him to follow his heart. “A lot of other people were trying to tell me where to commit and it just didn’t feel right,” he recollects, “some were even close enough to me where they could’ve potentially gotten paid if I chose a certain school. I had to cut those people off.” 

“If you’re really my friend and care about me, you’ll stay with me because you know that I’m working towards my goals and I’ll stand by you as you do the same.”

These weren’t the only relationships he lost. He also had to sacrifice friendships.  “Most people like attention,” he says, “but with my schedule I sometimes can’t give them the time they want.” Instead, he maximizes his weekends. “If you’re really my friend and care about me, you’ll stay with me because you know that I’m working towards my goals and I’ll stand by you as you do the same,” he acknowledges. He now blocks out any negativity that comes his way. “I’ve put in work to get to the position I’m in, so I don’t pay attention to that,” he says, “if you have haters, you’re probably doing something right.”

For Martice, it was only his mother’s final approval that was critical. No matter what he decided, she said she would support him, but getting her final blessing is what sealed it. Without her sacrifice, none of this would be possible. It’s her and his family that he keeps close to him. So close, in fact, that he has two tattoos dedicated to them - the first being Masara’s name and the second saying “Never Forget The Struggle.” He plans on getting another reading “Just Us” to accompany them. He knows his family and small circle of trust will be there whether he plays basketball, becomes a psychologist, or follows his newfound passion and opens his own barbershop.  He knows they’ll see him for the open minded, down to earth, person he’s always been.

If you don’t believe him, listen to his mother who describes him as “very driven, humble, loyal, and family-oriented. He’s the type of person that no matter what the world thinks about him he’ll push forward. He’s his own biggest critic. He leaves every game already saying what he needs to work on.  He’s also modest. He kept getting the Stellar Award at school for character and service for helping other kids and he didn’t even tell me.” 

Why didn’t he tell her you ask? Well as Martice articulates it, “Because that’s how she raised me and I’ll never forget that.”