Kornacki: Mitchell, Ristovski Form Sisterly Bond at Michigan
2/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 18, 2016
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Kelsey Mitchell and Madison Ristovski had no idea when they first met seven years ago that they would become "sisters" for life, while their families also bonded. They were young high school stars at the time, shooting free throws in a gym and talking about driver's education training.
When both chose Michigan, they felt that college would go on forever. That's how the experience seems for freshmen. However, after four years of rooming and playing together, they will play their final scheduled home game Saturday (Feb. 20) against Penn State at Crisler Center.
"Can we stretch it out?" Mitchell asked with a smile.
Her eyes twinkled at the thought.
Ristovski added, "I can think back to every single game and moments, the trips, the places and the teammates I've had. It's been an incredible four years. When people say that college is the best four years of your life, I say, 'Well, if you play college basketball, you would say that it's even better.'
"Senior Day is coming, and I'm freaking out about it. I'm excited but very sad to eventually be leaving. But Kelsey and I will keep the relationships we have here forever. All of a sudden, the seasons just went by, though. I'm counting the games that are left."
There are road games at Northwestern and Rutgers, then the Big Ten Tournament during the first week in March, and a likely postseason bid. That will be it.
"You can't take any moment for granted," said Mitchell, "and every time I get on the court I try to do all I can because I know it's coming down the stretch. It's such a privilege to play for such a great university. I feel really blessed to wear the block M on my jersey."
Ristovski was a "guest player" a few times on Mitchell's Adidas Top Ten AAU team, and the friendship grew from there.
"Our dads are friends," said Ristovski, "and so we saw each other in open gyms and pickup games. Our dads met through going to our basketball games. I remember my dad saying (to Kelsey's), 'I've got a kid and you've got a kid, let's link them up so they can play together.' "
Loren and Svetlana "Sally" Ristovski grew close to Kelsey, just as Ollie and Cynthia Mitchell did with Madison. They watched the girls play against one another when Ristovski was at Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett and Mitchell at Inkster High.
"We played our senior year," said Mitchell. "My team was fairly good, and Madison's was okay."
They glanced at each other and laughed.
"But we still won by 20!" Ristovski noted.
Mitchell said, "But it was only the third game of the season."
Ristovski countered, "It was February!"
Mitchell helped lead Inkster to the Class A state championship as a junior and the state semifinals as a senior, when she finished third in Michigan Miss Basketball voting after averaging 17.3 points, 14.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and an incredible 8.1 blocks per game.
Ristovski was rated the No. 1 player in the state in their senior season of 2012, garnering the Michigan Miss Basketball award as well as being named a Parade Magazine All-American, Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year and Class C Player of the Year. She finished seventh in state scoring history with 2,412 points, scoring 51 in one game, and being named all-state, team captain and team MVP four times. University Liggett was the Class C state tournament runner-up in her last two seasons.
The first to commit to the Wolverines was Ristovski, after her sophomore season, and Mitchell said she became the last recruit in that class by deciding before her senior year. They didn't make recruiting visits at the same time but did attend a Michigan football game together.
Then Michigan associate head coach Dawn Plitzuweit, currently the head coach at Northern Kentucky, called Ristovski and said, "You'll never guess who just committed. It's Kelsey Mitchell."
Ristovski recalled uttering, "Oh, my gosh!"
Both were recruited by former head coach Kevin Borseth but have played their entire four seasons for Kim Barnes Arico.
"After I committed to Michigan," said Mitchell, "we exchanged phone numbers and realized that we wanted to live together because we had to be in the dorms the first two years. We said, 'We might as well live together because we know each other the best.' "
Ristovski added, "We got along really well that first year, but we were still shy. But we got to know each other better and hit it off really well."
Now they share an off-campus apartment a short drive from Crisler.
"I've never met anyone as loyal as Kelsey," said Ristovski. "She's a true friend, through and through. I've never heard her speak ill of me or any of my teammates and is a person you always want to be around. She's such a positive person and is just so funny."
Mitchell said, "Madison has always been there for me, no matter what the situation, even with my surgeries. There were times I just broke down, and she was always there to talk about it. And I'm not the type to open up just to anyone. I'm able to tell her what's on my mind and what's going on in my life. It's rare to find someone like that."
Ristovski hasn't missed a game at Michigan, playing in 128 games, but Mitchell hadn't played regularly until this year.
"She's someone who perseveres," Ristovski said of Mitchell. "She tore her ACL and broke her foot, and I remember her struggling in the dorm, just trying to go up and down the elevator, and she never once complained about it. She has such a positive mindset. She said that when it was all said and done, she was really going to make a name for herself.
"I admired that, and I always aspired to be like that."
Mitchell, a 6-0 forward, missed her entire freshman year with the knee injury. She played sparingly the last two seasons but finally hit stride this year. Mitchell had her first career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds Jan. 7 against No. 23 Iowa and came close with 13 points and nine rebounds at Minnesota and 14 points and seven rebounds against No. 7 Ohio State.
"I'm so proud of her and so happy for her," said Ristovski. "I knew she was a special player."
Ristovski, a 5-10 guard, had season highs of 15 points and six rebounds at Penn State on Jan. 17 and duplicated those numbers Wednesday (Feb. 17) at Maryland. She had career bests as a sophomore with 23 points against Eastern Michigan, 11 rebounds vs. Wisconsin, and nine assists against Virginia. Ristovski's scored 737 points with 120 treys (11th on U-M's career list) and set the school record for three-point accuracy by making 54 of 116 (.466) as a sophomore.
"I love how she's a leader on and off the court," Mitchell said of Ristovski, a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. "She always strives to do her best. I see her doing homework sometimes, and I'm laying back and watching TV. I think, 'I better start on this paper.' She's a great leader."
Kelsey is known for her humor.
"She is hysterical," said Barnes Arico. "She is the funniest person I have met in my entire life. You wouldn't know that in her talking to the media, but if you got her outside the media, check out 'Webster's Word of the Day' on Instagram."
Ristovski laughed and agreed.
"Kelsey is the funniest person I've met in my life," she said. "We used to make funny videos together in the dorm. Then we started putting them on Instagram."
For the "Webster's Word of the Day," they are challenged to take a word and use it in a sentence with an unusual, humorous twist.
"You have to twist the word in a different way," said Ristovski. "Kelsey had to act out a mom with (teammate) Siera Thompson in trouble. Kelsey had to use 'omelette,' and said, 'Ahm gonna let your daddy handle this.' "
They have the same favorite TV show.
"We always watch 'Family Feud,'" said Mitchell.
Ristovski laughed and added, "Steve Harvey's great (as the host). We can watch four or five episodes in a row. We supply our own answers to the questions."
Then there's the serious stuff, like splitting up cleaning duties at the apartment.
"It's unspoken," said Ristovski. "You know whose turn it is to clean."
Kelsey smiled and said, "Always, always. We just know."
That "unspoken" communication also applies to the basketball court.
"Me and Kelsey know each other so well that our body language connects," said Ristovski. "We know each other's strengths and weaknesses where we can help each other and win."
When asked for their favorite game here together, both said it came on March 24, 2014, when Mitchell scored her first varsity points on two free throws against Duquesne in a WNIT second-round game.
"After not playing for two years with injuries," said Ristovski, "Kelsey was finally suiting up to play. She made the shots, and everyone swarmed her. You could see the look in her face and her smile. She was so happy, and you could see how happy everyone was for her."
Mitchell added, "It was just a great feeling. It gives me chills just thinking about it. Everyone jumped on my back. It was an emotional time."
Their families, particularly their parents, have been there for the whole ride.
Ristovski has two sisters, Haleigh and Lola, who both play basketball at the University of Detroit-Mercy, and Mitchell has an older brother, Aaron.
Ristovski's family lives in Sterling Heights, and the Mitchells live a 15-minute drive away in Detroit. Madison's mother owned an ice cream store in Grosse Pointe that was closer still to where Kelsey lives.
"Kelsey's dad always came and still comes to the ice cream store," said Ristovski. "That's how our families started talking more and getting to know each other better."
Her mother sold Ashby's Sterling Ice Cream in September.
"Our friendship is beyond measures," said Mitchell. "I look at her as a sister and nothing less. We've lived together, we've got the same apartment, and we've just been close ever since we got here."
Ristovski asked Mitchell: "Are you going to be my friend later in life? Or is it just now?"
They both laughed, knowing the answer.
"I joke," said Ristovski, "but I think Kelsey's going to be in my wedding."
They roared with laughter about that.
Mitchell assured, "I'll definitely be there."
Through thick and thin, through all the years.
