"Just a great person, great player, great work ethic, and competitor," said the school's head basketball coach Tim Kennedy. "I used to play overseas. I tried to box him out and he was able to go and get a rebound over me in a way I haven't seen since playing overseas, and this kid was a sophomore and I was like ok this is special."
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Gordon help lead Kennedy's Monarchs to years of success. Mitty won multiple CCS championships and two state titles while Gordon was a student.
"We were a good program, but he helped us achieve greater success," Kennedy said. "He was a great player to coach."
Those who knew him when he was young had a strong feeling he would turn into an NBA player.
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"From the moment he stepped on campus he was unbelievable and his presence was always unselfish," said Chris Jackson, a family friend and Mitty basketball coach. ""When he was 9 years old, he was playing up, he was playing 12 and under AAU and was one of the biggest guys out there and was playing point guard."
The 6 foot 8 inch forward graduated Mitty in 2013. He went on to play for the University of Arizona and a year later he was drafted fourth overall. Now he's tasked with helping the Denver Nuggets win their first NBA championship, something the team has never done before. But if you ask those close to him, he is ready for this challenge.
"He doesn't back away from the moment," Kennedy said. "It is part of him being such a strong competitor. A lot of it has to do with his mental toughness, and the way he prepares. I think that gives him the confidence. He is ready to roll."
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