"I'll be missing two weeks of school, which is sad, but I'll return in July 31."
Skipping studies should worry most parents but not Michelle Jones and Haisley Mitchell, of Flaxmere.
Their son has a distinctively proud footprint academically.
The former Peterhead School pupil was runner-up to the dux at Hastings Intermediate School in Year 8 and runner-up to the top academic performer in Year 9 at HBHS.
In Year 10, Jones-Mitchell became the top student.
Michelle says her son loved reading from the age of 3 and to this day loans novels from libraries during school holidays.
"He's so good. He always does his homework on time and is prepared," says the Hastings bank officer of a son who enjoys his down time on an iPad or TV.
If Jones-Mitchell doesn't land an American scholarship he will attend Otago University in a bid to become a psychiatrist.
His ability to make sound judgements is best reflected in joining the Paul Henare and Paora Winitana basketball academy in his first year of making the Bay age-group cull but bowing out "with other commitments".
"It was a great experience but I had basketball, New Zealand team and school work obviously," says the Year 11 pupil who also was in the NZ U16s last year and over the years enjoyed competing as a high/long jumper and sprinter.
He says Henare, who is now Tall Black and Southland Sharks coach, taught him myriad skills and bolstered his technical nous.
"I was named in the Hawks' training squad this year but I had to withdraw with exams and Las Vegas."
Jones-Mitchell, who stands at 1.87m and is in the HBHS senior team, has attended five basketball training camps with Kenny McFadden's academy in Wellington after it caught his eye on Facebook.
"It's my first trip to the US. It's exciting and I'm looking forward to it. It should be cool," he says after McFadden named him in a squad of 13 a fortnight ago to travel.
Putting defence down to his "primary focus", Jones-Mitchell fancies himself as a guard who "can do a lot of scoring".
He does his core training with his father, a Heinz-Watties supervisor, at the Flaxmere Rock gym, embracing conditioning, weights, ball skills and shooting.
Jones-Mitchell and his father factor in a gut-busting workout at Napier Hill, up and down the stairs.
"Dad's been my main coach for a few years but he's given me huge individual support."
His father's family has always "been heavy on basketball".
Former Tall Black, IMS Payroll Hawk and Australian National Basketball League shooting guard Everard Bartlett, now based and playing across the ditch, is his first cousin.
Jones-Mitchell's interest in basketball perked up as a 5-year-old when his parents bought him a plastic toy hoop, complete with stand to sharpen his shooting in the backyard.
He didn't lack encouragement or inspiration at home.
"My dad's been saying it ever since I've been training with him that I can do something in basketball," Jones-Mitchell says of when he took training seriously from the age of 8.
