TOP AREA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES OF THE LAST 30 YEARS: SAM MITCHELL

By Mike Tupa

Aug. 25, 2025

BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT

During his nearly 30 years of covering area high school sports for either the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise or the Bartlesville Area Sports Report, Mike Tupa has enjoyed the opportunity to observe some incredible athletes.

This is an ongoing series highlighting each few days one of those athletes from the 1996-97 school year through the present. The list is not in chronological order. The athletes are presented in random sequence.

TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT

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SAM MITCHELL (Bartlesville)

Boys basketball (early-to-mid 2000s)

Perhaps the term “late bloomer” might come into play here.

Some short-sighted observers might opine “overnight success” in their referral to this remarkable athlete.

But Mitchell didn’t go to bed one night as a player scrambling to contribute more valuable minutes to blossoming into one of the state’s top players.

For one thing, as a junior he might have been a starter on most teams. But, he hadn’t yet reached full height and the Bruins were chock full of quality, experienced big men in 2003-04 — 6-foot-8 senior Jeremiah Hartsock (who play four years of D-I basketball), 6-foot-8 sophomore Noah Hartsock (who would play four years at BYU) and 6-foot-7 Doug Benjamin.

Mitchell dedicated himself in the offseason to working hard and preparing for his senior season — which would be his only chance to shine. Helping him develop his skills in the paint were assistant coach and post man whisperer Cecil Epperley.

The bottom line was this: Mitchell surged into his senior season (2004-05) with the Bruins as a lean and muscular 6-foot-9-plus force of energy on the court.

Mitchell ran the court like a guard or a small forward and dominated in the low post with a flexible presence that cast a Herculean shadow.

He became the perfect complement to Noah Hartsock, bolstered in the Bruins with perhaps the most powerful front line in the state.

In fact, several years later both Mitchell and Hartsock would later battle each other in Division I college basketball action.

Meanwhile, during the 2004-05 campaign, Mitchell and Hartsock helped spearhead a remarkable Bruin quintet that blasted to a 26-3 record and an appearance in the state championship game.

Rounding out the starting fivesome were Ben Rovenstine — a remarkable talent as well and the only true returning starter from the previous season — Ryan Waters and Jacob Brazda.

Bruins head coach Tim Bart established an ironman pattern for his five starters — they hardly ever came off the floor.

That made Mitchell’s resilience, toughness, strength and conditioning even more valuable.

The Bruins lost only two regular season games — both to state champions, Oklahoma Christian School (who’s lineup included future NBA superstar Blake Griffin and his NBA-bound older brother Taylor Griffin) and OKC Southeast High School.

Meanwhile, Bartlesville would hold 24 of its 28 season opponents to 50-or-fewer points.

A triple-overtime win against Jenks — in the final-ever game in the old Bruin Fieldhouse before it was retired as the varsity homecourt — highlighted the final stretch run.

In that historic game in the overstuffed gym — whose walls seemed to bulge outward from the sheer numbers of spectators and the flood of noise that vibrated through air like a seething typhoon and seemed to rattle the light fixtures in the ceiling — an unforgettable era of home court advantage ended for Bartlesville.

The Bruins would advance to the Class 6A tournament held at Oral Roberts University.

Mitchell and his teammates won the state quarterfinals against Moore, 48-45, after Mitchell’s adrenaline-loosening two-handed slam dunk.

In the semifinals, Bartlesville mulched Midwest City, 45-31.

Bartlesville’s final opponent was Edmond Santa Fe — with the 2005 state championship on the line.

It was a rugged matchup — Santa Fe’s lineup included two high-profile college prospects in Obi Muonelo and Ekpe Udoh, the latter of who would become a NBA stalwart.

Santa Fe edged the Bruins, 40-37, in a thriller that shook the rafters at the Mabee Center.

But Mitchell still had plenty of basketball left to play. The University of Tulsa recruited and signed him.

In his first three seasons at Tulsa Mitchell would make 98 career game appearances, including 31 starts and helped the Golden Hurricane win the CBI national championship in 2008.

During his sophomore season (2006-07) he averaged 4.5 points and 3.1 rebounds in 31 games. He tallied 15 points against UTEP, including 11-of-12 free throws.

Mitchell started in 18-straight games in his freshman year (2005-06).

In his four seasons he would play in 134 games, including 34 starts, average about 14.5 minutes of play, hit 51 percent of his field goals, pull down 233 offensive rebounds, block 70 shots and score nearly 680 points.

In what many Bruin fans would consider a highlight, during those years Tulsa hosted BYU, with Mitchell suiting up for Tulsa and Hartsock for BYU.

The reunion brought back a memory of the 2004-05 season when this part of gritty titans helped form the nucleus of one of the greatest teams in Bartlesville boys basketball history.

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This series has included the following athletes, who are listed in no particular order

-Jena’ Williams, Bartlesville

-Eric Rolfs, Bartlesville

-Chris Smith, Caney Valley

-Jill Bryan, Copan

-Barron Tanner Jr, Bartlesville

-Hailey Tucker, Bartlesville

-Jeremy Dunkle, Dewey

-Whitney Metcalf, Bartlesville

-Tim Hamilton, Bartlesville

-Danielle Koster, Bartlesville

-Carson LaRue, Dewey

-John Hamman, Wesleyan Christian

-Jamie Elam, Caney Valley

Sam Mitchell