PORTSMOUTH (WAVY) – 58 players had the honor of being selected in the NBA Draft this week.

At first glance, it looked like players from Hampton Roads were left out.

But there was a player with local ties that was picked. UC Santa Barbara guard Ajay Mitchell was selected by the Knicks with the 38th overall pick and then traded to Oklahoma City.

His father Barry Mitchell was a standout player at First Colonial High School and then at Norfolk State where helped lead the Spartans to two CIAA Tournament titles.

Barry played in the CBA and then in Belgium where he settled down and that’s where his son Ajay was born and raised.

Ajay played professionally in Belgium when he was 16 and played in France where he was a teammate and friend of Spurs sensation Victor Wembanyama.

Ajay wanted to play college ball in the United States. Old Dominion coaches thought he was too short, but like his dad, he had a late growth spurt and is now 6-foot-5.

Ajay stuck with the school that first recruited him, UC-Santa Barbara where he helped lead the Gauchos to two NCAA Tournament appearances.

After an impressive college career, he left Santa Barbara after his junior year to enter the draft and is now a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“To see him go through this process and accomplish his dreams, it’s almost as if I’ve done it,” Barry Mitchell said. “I’m really proud of him and I think he’s going to do good things.”

One of the best players in UC-Santa Barbara history, Mitchell was a former Big West player of the year and in his junior season averaged 25 points per game, but according to his dad, there’s another part of his game that shines as well.

“They (OKC) are getting a very intelligent, defensive minded point guard,” Barry said. “He’s an excellent offensive player with a real high skill level but defense if what’s going to get him on the court.”

The next step for Ajay Mitchell, go out and impress at the NBA Summer League which gets underway next month.