Have you ever met someone that made you glad to meet that person?
That’s how I felt about Barry Mitchell, a former basketball standout at First Colonial High and Norfolk State.
We met Nov. 22 at the Union Mission, which provides shelter, food and clothing to hundreds of men, women and children daily.
We were there, along with other members of the Old School Legends Hall of Fame, to donate turkeys and ham. The Old School Legends Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding basketball players, coaches and contributors from Hampton Roads and Richmond.
As we talked, he told me about his son, Ajay, who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Afterward, we exchanged numbers and I told him I would call him after the football season to write a story on his son.
Sadly, I won’t get a chance to interview Mitchell for that story. He died on Dec. 17. He was 60.
One day after his father’s death, Ajay scored 16 points with seven rebounds, five assists and two steals to help lead the Thunder over the Los Angeles Clippers.
It was a performance his father would have been proud of.
John Speller, founder of the Old School Legends, called me last Thursday to tell me about Mitchell’s death.
“I was eating breakfast when I got that call,” Speller said. “And I just lost my appetite.”
Speller, who also was at the Union Mission that day, said he and Mitchell go way back.
“I played against Barry in college in the CIAA. He played at Norfolk State and I played at Elizabeth City State,” said Speller, who was selected All-Tidewater in 1982. “So I’ve been knowing him for awhile from the playing at Woodstock Park, Bayville Park and Princess Anne Park.”
Speller also knew about Mitchell’s son.
“He always talked about his son. He always talked about Ajay,” he said. “And I told him that Ajay played just like him. He’s a hard competitor. And Barry was getting ready to go see his son play.”
He said he still can’t believe Mitchell is gone.
“Barry has always been a very nice person, and a good athlete. He’s a nice humble person,” he said. “I’m going to miss him.”
So is Sean Bell.
He had just seen Mitchell at Norfolk State’s homecoming in October, and then again last month at the Union Mission.
Last week, he saw Mitchell’s name show up on Facebook, but didn’t think anything about it.
“I never got a chance to read the caption because my day was so busy,” said Bell, who played with Alonzo Mourning at Indian River High and was selected All-Tidewater in 1989. “Then one of my buddies called me and said, ‘Did you see what happened to Barry?’ I said, ‘No.’ And then he told me he passed away.
“He and I were just laughing and joking at homecoming. We were all just laughing, and standing around and joking,” he said. “We had taken pictures together. And I told my buddy, ‘You got to be kidding me because we were just laughing and joking six weeks ago.’ “
Bell remembers going to NSU’s Echols Hall to see Mitchell play, calling him a “tremendous competitor.”
“That was my introduction to who Barry was. It was my first time in Echols Hall, and it was packed. It was a crazy crowd, and the game was really good,” he said. “Barry was the ultimate garbage man for that team. He gobbled up everything. And then to see how aggressive and tenacious he was on the court, and then to see how totally opposite he was off the court. It was really interesting how he could flip that switch on.”
In high school, Mitchell was selected first-team All-Tidewater and all-state in 1983.
At Norfolk State, he was a three-time All-Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association selection. He finished with 1,631 points, 928 rebounds, 502 assists and 235 steals — which rank in the top 10 in program history.
He wasn’t drafted in the NBA, but played professionally from 1987 to 2013, including in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), World Basketball League (WBL) and overseas in Belgium. He earned CBA Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year in 1992. He also was a two-time WBL Most Valuable Player and was named to the all-defensive team three times.
Daryl Christian remembers Mitchell’s exploits on the basketball court.
Christian faced Mitchell both in high school and college.
“The year (Norfolk State) went 29-2, we were the only team that beat them,” said Christian, who played at Kellam High and Virginia Union. “I always threw that in his face. He would just laugh and say, ‘You got lucky.’ “
Christian, who was a two-time All-Tidewater player, is still in shock after hearing about Mitchell’s death.
“I was in route to work, and someone called me and told me,” he said. “I was in just disbelief. I had just saw him and talked to me.”
Not believing the news, he called someone else to confirm it.
“Then when I got the confirmation, I just couldn’t believe it,” he said.
The last time he saw Mitchell in person was that day at the Union Mission.
He and Mitchell had spoken because Mitchell said he was going to come by Bayside Middle, where Christian is the girls basketball coach.
“He told me he was going to come by and see if he could help me,” said Christian, still in disbelief. “He was just a humble guy. He was just an all-around good person. It’s sad. We lost a good one. I’m going to miss him.”
Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com
