Donovan Mitchell was quick to hug Grayson Allen right after he was selected by the Utah Jazz, but the last time these two met, it definitely wasn’t amicable. When Donovan Mitchell was still playing at Louisville, he and Grayson Allen got tied up going for a lose ball. Grayson Allen wrapped up his arm in one of his patented “hustle” plays. Donovan wasn’t too thrilled. Back in college Donovan Mitchell slapped Grayson Allen on the head. Now, they're teammates on the Utah Jazz. pic.twitter.com/wie4PR0Lsl — CBS Sports (@CBSSports) June 22, 2018 Now they’re teammates. Grayson Allen definitely has some Joe Ingles in him. Could be his young protege.<doc-sep>Grayson Allen played his college ball with the Duke Blue Devils, while Donovan Mitchell played for the Louisville Cardinals so the two had many battles during their college days. Now that the two are going to be teaming with the Utah Jazz, it was a good chance for Allen to relive some of the battles that went down. “We had had a bunch of good battles against each other when he was at Louisville. He’s a great competitor, so it was always fun going up against each other, and I’m excited to be on the same team now,” Allen told ESPN. Allen picked up a reputation of being a dirty player with the Blue Devils and seemed to go the extra mile to get under the opponent’s skin. Between his Sophmore and Junior seasons he was accused of tripping three different teams, and it caused him to be suspended, and losing his captain status. During a game in 2017, Mitchell was actually hit by Allen in the face, but that wasn’t brought up at all on Thursday, although it probably will be at a later date. Allen said after the draft that he watched the Utah Jazz play a lot and noticed how well they moved the ball. “I watch the Jazz play a lot, they move the ball very well,” he said. “Donovan obviously had a great rookie year, so I’m excited. I know I’m going to learn a lot from him and his short experience from one year, and from coach Snyder, and I’m just really happy.”<doc-sep>Donovan Mitchell is known for doing and saying the right thing from the moment he set foot in Salt Lake City. He consistently brushed off Rookie of the Year questions to talk about getting the Utah Jazz in the playoffs and being a better player on both ends of the court. And he’s put in the time to insert himself into the community and connect with fans. Now, even as Jazz fans are still questioning the logic of selecting Duke’s Grayson Allen with the 21st overall pick, Allen’s former rival has apparently long since abandoned his doubts. Grayson Allen + Donovan Mitchell = Sweet music to Jazz fans. pic.twitter.com/Q48Nmp3Xh5 — ESPN (@espn) June 22, 2018 This very warm welcome may not change the minds of fans about the pick (unless, by being in Mitchell’s presence, Allen grew two inches, became a better ball handler, defender, and decided he won’t play dirty anymore), but it’s nice to see the former Blue Devil getting an early start with locker-room chemistry. As the draft moved on and many of the guys Jazz fans hoped the front office was targeting went off the board, it began to feel like a selection of Allen was imminent. Unfortunately, not too many people were excited about it. Utah’s Lt. Govenor, obviously an invested fan, sent out this shortly before the inevitable happened. Please don’t take Grayson Allen. Please don’t take Grayson Allen. Please don’t take Grayson Allen. Please don’t take Grayson Allen. Please don’t take Grayson Allen. Please don’t take Grayson Allen. Please don’t take Grayson Allen. Please don’t take Grayson Allen. — Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) June 22, 2018 It should also be noted that the staff here at SLC Dunk were not exactly the biggest fans of the selection. Our staff is ecstatic about drafting Grayson Allen. pic.twitter.com/IKHRE9DZyw — SLC Dunk (@slcdunk) June 22, 2018 A lot of the rest of Jazz Twitter reacted the same way. To put it simply, Allen wasn’t the popular pick. But he’s the guy we have and he seems ready to win over the hearts of Jazz Nation. The front office obviously like Allen’s game in college and did their due diligence. Allen reportedly impressed them and the coaching staff in his workout and there were some around the league that felt Allen was an underrated prospect. I asked several execs, pre-draft, to pick this year's Donovan Mitchell, i.e., guy who'd go mid-1st round but be an unexpected star. One asst GM said Grayson Allen: "Like Mitchell, he’s got a live body. Tough as nails. Can really shoot." Lightning strikes twice in the Wasatch? — Ric Bucher (@RicBucher) June 22, 2018 And if nothing else, at least he took time out of his day to speak with Gail Miller over the phone. That’s a good sign at least. Here is @GraysonJAllen getting welcomed to the @utahjazz by Gail, Dennis, and Quin. Grayson, you’re joining a great team and organization. Welcome! pic.twitter.com/6tnI7hh05X — Steve Starks (@StevenStarks) June 22, 2018 So what did Mr. Allen have to say about coming to Utah? Overall, he was very praiseworthy of the Jazz organization and of Mitchell. If you want to know exactly what he had to say, there’s a video of an interview between Allen and the media on UtahJazz.com. Also, Donovan got burned by Rudy Gobert on Twitter.<doc-sep>Lance King/Getty Images After a storied four-year career as a Duke Blue Devil, Grayson Allen found a new home when he was selected by the Utah Jazz with the 21st overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft Thursday. New teammate Donovan Mitchell was already excited: Allen told Mitchell he's ready to get to work: Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman ranked the 22-year-old guard as the No. 37 overall prospect in the draft in April. Allen went through highs and lows in college. Outside Durham, North Carolina, he is known for his propensity to trip opponents and his outbursts. On the other hand, the former Duke star told CBS Sports' Bill Reiter that teams love his "fire and emotion:" Those negative incidents at times overshadowed an impressive college career. Allen helped the Blue Devils win the national championship as a freshman and earned All-ACC first team and All-American honors as a sophomore. He finished his career 12th on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,996 career points, and he was just one of five Duke players to record at least 1,900 points, 400 assists and 400 rebounds. As a senior, the 6'5", 205-pound guard helped his team reach the Elite Eight by averaging 15.5 points per game with 41.8-percent shooting (including 37.0 percent from beyond the arc), 4.6 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. His best offensive season came during his sophomore year, when he averaged 21.6 points while shooting 46.6 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from three-point range. Video Play Button Videos you might like In today's NBA, a team can never have too much shooting. That's exactly what Allen—who shot 43.0 percent from the field, 38.0 percent from downtown and 83.4 percent from the free-throw line in his career—brings to the table. "His game has evolved," an NBA scout told Bleacher Report's C.J. Moore in January. "In high school, he was basically just an athlete. Now he's kind of entered pro basketball as a shooter. His game has continued to grow over the course of a long time." Teams also want to know if a player can handle pressure and adversity. In Allen, Utah got a player who has been through it all. He played in a national championship game and entered opposing arenas time and time again as the most hated player in the country. Another scout told Moore: "He's a guy I'd want in the playoffs. That's the thing you have to ask yourself: 'Is this a guy I want to go to war with when teams are strategizing for seven games in the playoffs?' That's where I am with Grayson. I think Grayson would step up come playoff time, and even if he's your eighth guy off the bench, he could be that random guy that scores 20 points for you in a playoff game." Allen has the shooting stroke to make an impact. Now, he has the opportunity to prove his haters wrong and show he belongs in the NBA.<doc-sep>
While Grayson Allen was talking to ESPN after the Jazz picked him at No. 21 in the 2018 NBA draft, Donovan Mitchell approached the new rookie to welcome him to the team with a huge hug. Oh, how things have changed within the past year. In January of 2017, Allen got smacked in the face by Mitchell during Louisville’s upset of Duke. Now, Mitchell is coming off an impressive rookie season and warmly welcoming Allen to Utah. After the hug, Mitchell said of Allen, “We can do so many things, you saw this season. Adding a guy like him, elite scorer, great guy, great defender, who plays unselfish, we got a good one in him and we’re excited.” Then, when Allen was asked about his relationship with Mitchell following their battles in the ACC in college, the former Duke guard had this to say: “It’s good. We’ve had a bunch of good battles against each other when he was at Louisville. He’s a great competitor, so it was always fun going up against each other. I’m excited to be on the same team now.” "Adding a guy like him, elite scorer, great guy, great defender who plays unselfish—man, we got a good one in him and we're excited." – @spidadmitchell on Grayson pic.twitter.com/zUfuqKbqdu — Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) June 22, 2018 Mitchell is ready to get to work with the rookie. Mitchell was also on NBA TV during the draft where he talked about his first season in the league and offered advice to the draftees. He said that it’s important to take time to enjoy this process, but to know that this is the easy part and vets are going to be going after you every night once the season starts.