Oklahoma State Releases Best 'Surprise Scholarship' Video For Player Who Works At Walmart

These "Surprise Scholarship" videos always get me, this one of Oklahoma State surprising Dee Mitchell, who works 40 hours a week at Walmart on top of practice and school, is a good one...

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But last fall, due to the pandemic, Mitchell thought his playing career was pretty much over. Two years removed from walking into Boynton's office to ask for a tryout, now he was walking in and saying he didn't think he could hoop anymore. The pandemic meant his mother lost her job, and if he was going to stay in school he had to find a job of his own to help pay bills for himself and his mom.

"I'm like, 'Dee, if you want to play basketball, you have a place here,'" Boynton said. "'If you want to stay, you don't have to quit.'"

So Mitchell took a job at Walmart working 40 hours per week for $12/hour as a produce stocker. He does this job on top of 15 hours worth of classes per week. Mitchell sticks with the team as much as he can, opting to get up for 6 a.m. workouts every day, before either his Walmart shift or his daily class schedule, to stay focused on basketball fitness. This past semester Mitchell, a sports and coaching science major, finished with five As and a B. His work schedule has been so busy, he's only been able to be at three of Oklahoma State's games so far this season.

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(Barstool Sports)