Tre Mitchell, Adou Thiero "super excited" for Pittsburgh homecoming

It’s not just John Calipari coming home this week. Tre Mitchell and Adou Thiero are returning to their hometown of Pittsburgh for Kentucky’s opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, a moment especially sweet for Mitchell, a graduate student who has played for four different schools over his college career (UMass, Texas, West Virginia, and Kentucky).

“It means the world to be back home in my final year of college basketball,” Mitchell told KSR on Wednesday. “And on this team, and kind of being able to have people around me kind of see this moment come full circle for me to play at Kentucky.”

Thiero, who skyrocketed to stardom — and onto Kentucky’s radar — in his senior year at nearby Quaker Valley, agreed.

“I’m super excited to play at home,” the sophomore said. “I got people texting me who haven’t seen me play since I was a little kid telling me that they’re coming to the game. Just like what Tre said, just super happy to be home and be able to play here.”

Sitting in on Kentucky’s open practice in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, I can at least attest to Thiero’s contingent. The crowd for the Cats’ time on the court was small — most of the Big Blue Nation will roll in today — but included several of Theiro’s friends from home, including his Quaker Valley pals, who smiled proudly as he posed for pictures and signed autographs for fans.

“I couldn’t even give you an exact number,” Thiero said of how many friends and family will be in the stands. “I’ve got people coming from my school to the people who already graduated high school to teammates I played with AAU to people who just watched me in AAU. That’s a lot of people.”

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Mitchell is also expecting a large — and loud — cheering section at PPG Paints Arena tonight.

“Sheesh, family alone, I’d probably say if they are breathing and they are in Pennsylvania that they’re going to be here, you know. Even some family coming from the south. The Italian side is very large, and I’m sure I’ll be able to hear their voices over anybody that’s in there, but on top of that I think, like, any person that I’ve had some type of relationship or come into contact with throughout my time in Pittsburgh, through AAU, high school, whatever it may be, they’ve all told me that they’re going to be here.”

There will be a lot of pressure on Kentucky tonight. Even if you put aside the high stakes for the Cats in a make-or-break postseason, the hours leading up to tipoff will feel a little different for Thiero and Mitchell. Thiero admitted he doesn’t want to “lay an egg” in front of friends and family in his second postseason. Mitchell, in his final days as a college basketball player, was a bit more reflective.

“It’s an unbelievable blessing from above,” Mitchell said of his journey. “I’ve had an interesting path, to say the least. I’ve had my ups and downs, and I’ve been through adversity and just about everything’s been thrown at me. And although it’s not necessarily a desired path, but it is the path I believe I was meant to be on. And at the end of the day just for it to kind of just come full circle like this is just — it’s just proof in itself that this is the path that I was supposed to be on.”

I couldn’t let Mitchell and Thiero leave the podium without asking for a local’s advice on where to eat in Pittsburgh.

“I got one for your breakfast spot,” Mitchell said. “Pamela’s.”

“The one spot I always go to when I come back is Hook Fish & Chicken,” Thiero said.

If this ride continues, I’m looking forward to trying both.

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