Tre Mitchell says he brings experience to Kentucky roster

Kentucky forward Tre Mitchell is one of the oldest players on head coach John Calipari’s roster this season. Four years of collegiate exposure under his belt brings a mature perspective this team wouldn’t otherwise have.

“I bring experience, for sure,” Mitchell said. “This team has a lot of young dudes, but they’re talented. If they come to a point where they struggle or they don’t understand something, I’m right there waiting to give them an answer to their question. Whatever they need.

“I bring a little size, too. Some versatility. I think I can benefit the team in many different ways — I like to look at myself as a do anything you need kind of guy. With these guys and this talent, we have a lot of dudes that can do a lot of different things. … I think you’re going to see a lot of different lineups this season because we have the depth to do it.”

Mitchell, a college basketball journeyman, brings experience and leadership to an incredibly young Kentucky squad. During his senior season at WVU in ’22-23, Mitchell averaged 11.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 30.0 minutes per game. He started in 32 of the 34 games he appeared in, shooting 47.0 percent overall, 36.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 78.9 percent from the free-throw line.

He joins a star-studded incoming group of talent featuring three Five-Star Plus+ recruits Justin Edwards, Aaron Bradshaw and DJ Wagner Jr., as well as four stars Robert Dillingham, Jordan Burks and Reed Sheppard. All are incoming freshmen, while Mitchell is the only transfer.

The class landed Kentucky head coach John Calipari another No. 1 overall recruiting class, per the On3 team rankings. Once the roster filled itself out, which didn’t happen overnight, fans are excited to see how this Wildcats team will perform together. After all, Big Blue Nation is pleading for a national title after an 11-year drought.

With only a few weeks of time to build chemistry with the rest of his team, Mitchell and the rest of the Wildcats are scheduled to head to Toronto for the 2023 GLOBL JAM.

Kentucky will get things started with action on Wednesday, July 12 against Team Germany at 1:30 p.m. ET. After that, they’ll play Canada the following day and Team Africa on July 15 after a day off. The championship game will be held on July 16 at 8 p.m. ET.