Mitch Solomon’s Massive Senior Night Was Four Years in the Making

So, Mitch Solomon.

He comes to Oklahoma State as a four-star recruit out of Bixby. Pretty lightly recruited considering his stellar high school production, but committed to Travis Ford with high expectations of being a dynamic stretch big for the Cowboys.

Then out of necessity due to depth issues and a lack of thorough recruitment, Solomon ultimately winds up spending most of his career out of position and in the dog house of OSU fans.

Until now, that is.

It’s finally time everyone — myself included — have come to appreciate the body of work and impact of Mitchell Solomon.

On Saturday night, Solomon may have had his most complete game of his career. He had 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and on Senior Night, he left Eddie Sutton Court to chants of “MVP! MVP!” as the culmination of four years of hard work came alive in one moment.

“It’s really special to be respected like that at a school that values the things that they value, to be appreciated like I was today was very special,” said Solomon.

?ICYMI?@BIGMITCH_41 BROUGHT THE HOUSE DOWN TODAY ???#SCTop10 #LetsWork #okstate pic.twitter.com/43BC7tF560

— Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) March 3, 2018

It wasn’t Solomon’s best stat line of his career in any sense, but his presence was felt in a way I haven’t seen before. While confidence has never been his strong suit, he played with a sense of urgency, swagger and aggression against the Jayhawks that even Thomas Dziagwa envied (probably.)

I don’t mean to overstate it, but he was attacking Udoka Azubuike like he was a stick figure guarding a nerf hoop! One of the best all-around big men in the Big 12!

“Kids like him, things like that happen for. He deserves that,” said Mike Boynton. “He’s earned it with the way he’s worked, the way he’s conducted himself as a student athlete here, the way he’s representing this program. So it all came together on senior day. People remember how you finish; this day will be remembered for a really long time.”

Solomon’s value may never be fully appreciated until after he leaves. One of those “don’t know what you have until it’s gone” type of players. But Saturday’s showing proved that he’s the real MVP of this team, stats be damned, and that it’s time we all start appreciating him as such.