After an offseason full of shortcomings from a roster construction standpoint, next season’s Kentucky men’s basketball team is finally becoming clear.
Soon after fifth-year guard Antonio Reeves opted to return to UK for a second season, the Wildcats have moved to add another fifth-year player with plenty of college basketball experience at a key position of need.
Tre Mitchell — a 6-9 forward with past college basketball stops at Massachusetts, Texas and West Virginia — committed to Kentucky on Monday afternoon out of the NCAA transfer portal.
Mitchell marks UK’s first addition from the portal this offseason, after previous failures by the Wildcats to lure top talent from via transfer to Lexington.
Mitchell chose Kentucky after taking a weekend visit to the UK program, which came shortly after he officially entered the portal as a graduate transfer from West Virginia.
His commitment to the Wildcats came via a social media announcement, part of which was a message written by Mitchell and addressed to the West Virginia program and its fans.
Kentucky head coach John Calipari also quickly commented on Mitchell’s commitment to the Wildcats in a tweet.
“Tre is from Pittsburgh and I’ve known him for years. This was a unique situation, but as soon as he put his name in the portal, he was a player I knew we needed to pursue,” Calipari wrote. “He brings leadership, experience, size and versatility and is a great fit for what we want to do. I know this is a win for us and I believe this will be a win for him too. We are excited to have him as a part of our program.”
Switching colleges for a fourth time, and doing so late in the offseason, wasn’t initially the plan for Mitchell.
He entered the portal as part of the fallout after former West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins recently resigned following an arrest for allegedly driving under the influence.
Mitchell’s availability in the portal was quickly pounced upon by Calipari and company: Kentucky’s frontcourt lacks depth and college experience, something Mitchell should provide plenty of.
According to college basketball statistician Evan Miyakawa’s rankings, Mitchell is the 27th-best player to have entered the transfer portal this offseason (out of more than 1,650 players).
Mitchell has been a consistent college basketball performer
Originally from Pittsburgh, Mitchell spent the first two seasons of his college career at Massachusetts.
A four-star prospect in the recruiting class of 2019 when he signed with UMass, Mitchell averaged 17.7 points and 7.2 rebounds as a freshman during the 2019-20 season and was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year.
As a sophomore, Mitchell averaged 18.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 13 contests. He also averaged at least one block and steal each per game during his two seasons with the Atlantic 10 school.
After transferring to Texas during the 2021 offseason, Mitchell played in 24 games, averaging 8.7 points and 4.0 rebounds during his lone season with the Longhorns.
Last season after transferring to West Virginia, Mitchell played in all 34 games for the Mountaineers and averaged nearly 12 points and six rebounds while shooting a career-low 47% from the field. He led WVU in defensive rebounds (142).
These statistics spell out a steady pattern of consistent production from Mitchell at the college level, including in high-major college basketball.
They also show just how much college basketball Mitchell has played: 102 total college basketball games, with 92 starts. For his career, Mitchell has scored 1,398 points and grabbed 597 rebounds.
Mitchell will also bring a versatility to the Kentucky frontcourt that hasn’t existed in recent seasons.
He’s a career 34.7% three-point shooter, which admittedly isn’t great but does show an ability to make and take shots from the outside. Mitchell has also made 76.3% of his free throws during his college career.
What does UK’s frontcourt look like for next season?
With the addition of Mitchell, Kentucky men’s basketball now has three frontcourt scholarship players for next season: Aaron Bradshaw, Ugonna Onyenso and Mitchell.
Bradshaw, one of the highest-ranked freshmen in the 2023 recruiting class, suffered a fracture in his foot during the McDonald’s All-American Game in March and is currently sidelined from action.
During an Instagram Live last week, Bradshaw said he hopes to return from the injury in three to six weeks.
It was previously reported by NBA insider Shams Charania that Bradshaw could miss the start of the 2023-24 season for UK, but also that the Kentucky program is “optimistic on full recovery” for Bradshaw.
What’s certain is Bradshaw won’t be playing next month when Kentucky participates in the GLOBL JAM in Canada.
Beginning July 12, Kentucky will participate in the Toronto basketball showcase, a four-team event featuring squads from the United States, Canada, Germany and Africa.
With Bradshaw out of action for the GLOBL JAM — and potentially longer — UK is now down to only two active big men on its roster.
In addition to Mitchell, the other big man is Onyenso, a sophomore who was sparingly used last season after reclassifying and joining the Wildcats a year ahead of schedule.
Onyenso — who was initially a candidate to redshirt last season before a knee injury suffered by Oscar Tshiebwe meant early playing time — was in the transfer portal himself this offseason, before opting to return to Kentucky.
In total, Onyenso played only 110 minutes over 16 games during his freshman year, averaging 2.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots per game. Despite those meager statistics, he showed significant potential after arriving on the UK campus late in the summer.
Calipari has made no secret of just how bullish he is on Onyenso’s chances of having a breakout sophomore campaign.
“At the end of the day, my guess is he’ll be — if not the best — one of the best big guys in the country next year,” Calipari said in March.
There’s also the strong chance Kentucky will add another big man this offseason in similar fashion to Onyenso’s arrival last year.
Current class of 2024 center Somto Cyril from the Overtime Elite pro basketball league is a strong candidate to not only commit to Kentucky later this summer, but to reclassify and move into the 2023 recruiting class.
Should this play out, it would give UK a stunning eight freshmen on its 2023-24 roster.
Cyril visited Kentucky earlier this month, and the Herald-Leader spoke to him in February about his interest in the UK program.
“I feel like offensively I just need to be able to make plays for my teammates on the ball, I know I can do that off the ball,” Cyril said when asked to describe the strengths and weaknesses of his game. “Defensively, I get the job done. I stop people from scoring, I block shots, I get rebounds, I just try my best to get stops. That’s about it.”
KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER OUTLOOK
Here’s a current breakdown of the scholarship players joining and leaving the Cats from last season.
Incoming players: Aaron Bradshaw (freshman center), Jordan Burks (freshman small forward), Robert Dillingham (freshman guard), Justin Edwards (freshman small forward), Joey Hart (freshman shooting guard), Tre Mitchell (fifth-year forward), Reed Sheppard (freshman guard), DJ Wagner (freshman guard).
Returning players: Brennan Canada (fifth-year guard), Ugonna Onyenso (sophomore forward), Antonio Reeves (fifth-year guard), Adou Thiero (sophomore guard).
Outgoing players: Daimion Collins (forward, transferred to LSU), CJ Fredrick (guard, transferred to Cincinnati), Chris Livingston (forward, NBA Draft), Jacob Toppin (forward, NBA Draft), Oscar Tshiebwe (forward, NBA Draft), Cason Wallace (guard, NBA Draft), Lance Ware (forward, transferred to Villanova), Sahvir Wheeler (guard, transferred to Washington).
