By David Fierro
Fittingly, Donovan Mitchell Jr. took and made the first shot at the brand new, state-of-the-art Donovan Mitchell Family Athletic Center.
The large crowd cheered loudly as Mitchell’s shot from the foul line swished through the hoop at the conclusion of the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Greenwich Country Day School on Oct. 27 – a ceremony introducing and displaying the Donovan Mitchell Family Athletic Center. Mitchell, an NBA star player, who is a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, attended Greenwich Country Day School and graduated from GCDS in 2012.
He made a promise to provide funding for brand new NCAA-sized basketball court at his former school, Greenwich Country Day and soon games will be played at the Donovan Mitchell Family Athletic Center, which will also be known as The DON – which stands for Determination Over Negativity. It will be fully open to the GCDS school community in mid-November.
“I am forever grateful to everyone, especially my teachers, coaches, and family who helped me get to where I am,” said Mitchell, who was visibly emotional as he mentioned many people by name, including his family members and teachers/administrators. “From day one, before basketball was the plan, everyone in this community was always checking up on me. They told me what I needed to hear, not what I wanted to hear, and helped me to continually improve. They did it for no reason other than they cared about me.”
The special ceremony at GCDS began with Head of School Adam Rohdie and Director of Athletics Tim Helstein unveiling Mitchell’s retired GCDS No. 45 jersey, which will hang permanently in The DON. That’s the number he wore while excelling on the basketball court for the Tigers.
“Donovan left his mark here at GCDS not because he was a terrific athlete, which of course, he was in multiple sports – including baseball and soccer,” Rohdie said. “He left his mark on GCDS not because he was a great musician, playing the drums and singing and dancing in the school musical. Donovan made his mark on the school because the kind of young man he was then and is today.”
“Don is a terrific friend to everyone,” Rohdie continued. “He’s never stuck up, he never thinks he’s better than anyone else.”
Rohdie noted how Mitchell still looks out for the Greenwich Country Day School community.
“Even after he became an NBA All-Star, Donovan would return to his alma mater, where he always had time for the kids,” Rohdie said. “Where he would run up and down with our varsity basketball team, where he would always check in with his old teachers.”
“At Country Day, we have a belief and a concept called Tiger Pride,” Rohdie continued. “Each letter has a characteristic that we hold important. Don has always been the embodiment of Tiger Pride. And as we are about to open this amazing new facility. It’s not only going to be the best place to play and watch basketball in Connecticut it’s going to serve as an all-school meeting place. The Don will be the Grand Central Station of GCDS and we could not be more thankful.”
Mr. Rohdie told the audience that in addition to the building of The DON, Mr. Mitchell and his family’s philanthropy supports increased access to education through GCDS student scholarships and professional development through the Faculty Support Fund. Donovan’s mother, Nicole, was a Pre-K teacher at the school for 13 years and currently sits on the school’s board of trustees, and his sister, Jordan, Class of 2017, is an alumna.
“Thank you for making the Mitchell Family athletic center a reality,” Rohdie said to the Mitchell family. “Not only has the family made this building a reality, the have established a fund which supports great teaching at the school. Nicole has been a beloved teacher in our preschool for more than a decade and she wanted to make sure they created a way to celebrate and elevate the faculty at Greenwich Country Day. Nicole, Donovan and Jordan wanted to make sure the Country Day experience was available to all students.”
Helstein described the pride he felt in looking at the brand new Donovan Mitchell Family Athletic Center.
“I can’t believe that this is our gym,” Helstein said. “The size and beauty of it is beyond belief. The teams that play in this gym will have a love-hate relationship with it. They’re going to love the atmosphere, the grandeur, the size. They’re going to hate, the atmosphere, the grandeur and yes, the size,” he added, as the crowd laughed.
Indeed, the basketball atmosphere at The Don should no doubt, be electric this winter.
“I can’t wait to see this stands packed for hoops night, for playoff games and even Donovan’s camp,” Helstein noted. “These walls will be the home of even more championship banners, record holders and maybe, just maybe, a few more NBA stars. It’s truly a dream come true.”
“Now it’s time for new memories,” he continued. “It’s time for more banners, a whole lot more blocks, steals, assists, swishes and dunks. So, it’s my pleasure to say welcome home Tigers, welcome to the ‘Don.’
Brianna McDermott, a senior and captain of the GCDS varsity girls basketball team is a Mitchell Family Scholar. McDermott is the first person to have her name on the banner of the new gym. She scored her 1,000th career point last season and the banner, displaying her impressive accomplishment hangs prominently in the gym. She is thrilled that she will play her final basketball season at GCDS this winter.
“About four years ago, Donovan Mitchell and the Donovan Mitchell Scholars Foundation changed my life,” McDermott said. “Through the Mitchell Family’s scholarship, I was given a chance to attend this school and I had little clue that it would open as many doors as it did. When I first received the news that I had been selected as a recipient of this scholarship, I was unaware of just how transformative my experience at GCDS would be. Not only as a student and basketball player, but as a person. Of course, I knew that GCDS would offer me an incredible education, but nothing compares to the relationships I’ve built.”
“As I enter my final year at GCDS and reflect on the past three, it’s abundantly clear that the people make the place,” she added. “What truly makes it beautiful is the people within its walls. I see opening up this gym as a fresh start. A new space that will allow myself, my teammates and my peers to work hard and play the game we love. There’s no doubt in my mind that the new atmosphere will be unmatched. It is truly a privilege to be the first girls team to play in the Don and set the tone for what the GCDS athletic program represents.”
A 6-foot-3 point guard/shooting guard, Mitchell is currently averaging 24.4 points per game for the Cleveland Cavaliers through seven games. During the 2023-2024 season, he averaged 26.6 points per game. For his career, which began with the Utah Jazz in 2017, Mitchell is 24.8 points a game.
Mitchell was drafted by the Utah Jazz in the First Round of the 2017 NBA Draft and is a five-time NBA All-Star. He was traded by the Jazz to the Cavaliers in 2022 and he played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals, earning First Team All-Conference Honors in the ACC.
