Tre Mitchell didn't let injury frustrations consume him: 'It was kind of a blessing in disguise.'

Unfortunately, we can’t delete injuries from sports, no matter how much we want to. The physical and mental drain it can have on an individual isn’t envious to anyone. Recovery, especially for high-level college athletes, is never an easy road to travel. Even when the body is feeling 100 percent healthy again, it’s not as simple as riding a bike — it takes some extra time to get back into pre-injury form.

Tre Mitchell is battling through that right now. Kentucky’s fifth-year forward has missed six games this season due to multiple injuries. He was sidelined twice in early February due to a back injury that had been lingering for most of the schedule. The former West Virginia transfer then returned against Ole Miss on Feb. 13, but barely made it to the second half before a left shoulder injury sent him to the bench once again. He sat out four straight games after that.

Mitchell finally made his long-awaited return over the weekend against Arkansas. He came off the pine for the first time all season, finishing with two points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal, and two turnovers in 16 minutes of action. The shooting struggles were notable — 0-5 from the field including an 0-3 mark from deep.

Even he’ll admit it: he needs more time to ramp back up into the same impactful player he was before the injuries took over, particularly with his conditioning.

“As expected, you’ve got to get back into the flow of things,” Mitchell said on Tuesday. “Not being able to be out there with them and be there possession-by-possession. I gotta get my game shape back even though I ran as much as I could in the time off. Nothing really simulates a game. It’s very difficult to get that but just get back into the flow of it and stay in the gym and I’m sure everything will come around exactly when it should.”

It’s that last line that sticks out: Everything will come around exactly when it should. That’s the approach Mitchell has zeroed in on while going through his recovery. There were points when giving up would have been much easier than trudging forward. But Mitchell is always searching for positives — something he can take away to reassure him that this is how life is supposed to be.

And while it might not be how he envisioned it, this is the plan set forth for him. How he handles the adversity will decide the next step.

“It’s not what you want as a player or expect, just having to sit out the first couple games was painful enough just to watch from the sideline,” Mitchell explained. “And then to come back in and get hurt within like 20-something minutes of play again, frustration kicks in and a lot of things get thrown at you there. But it was almost like, when the second one happened with my shoulder, it was just like every part of me wanted to break down and cry, but there was a part of my mind that was just like there’s gotta be a positive to this. There’s a reason why it happened.

“Maybe my back needed a little more time, maybe that’s what it was.”

Tre Mitchell talked today about dealing with his injuries this season. Despite missing games, he's been finding good within the bad.

"Every part of me wanted to break down and cry, but there was a part of my mind that was just like there's gotta be a positive for this." pic.twitter.com/GaLpGBnzQP

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) March 5, 2024

More rest for his back was surely beneficial. But maybe his injuries were “meant to be” for other reasons. Perspective comes from the eyes of the beholder. Mitchell found plenty of ways to turn his situation into something positive, even if wasn’t always a smooth ride along the way.

“From the sideline, it gave me an opportunity to really examine my team and how they think when they’re moving out there in different situations, what they’re comfortable in versus what they’re not, how they adjust on the fly,” Mitchell added. “It also gave me a better perspective of the coaches and how they see the game from the sideline and that helped me when I’m back out there and I’m able to almost make those corrections before the coaches have to. It was kind of a blessing in disguise.“

Another obvious blessing — this one *not* in disguise — is Kentucky getting a veteran leader back on the floor just in time for the postseason. Across his first 19 games of the season, Mitchell averaged 13.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 blocks in 34 minutes per outing while shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from deep. He did all that while nursing the nagging back injury.

However, once the back issue got to the point where he couldn’t play up to his standard, his numbers cratered. They didn’t get any better once he returned from the shoulder injury against Arkansas. Over his last four games, Mitchell averaged three points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 25 minutes per contest on 17.4 percent overall shooting while missing all 12 of his shots from distance.

And yet, throughout the struggles on and off the court, Mitchell is confident he’ll round back into form. He’s willing to give everything he has for this team heading into the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. Kentucky is going to need the Mitchell from early in the season to reemerge if a deep run postseason is going to be all the way on the table.

“For me, it’s just staying in the gym. Nobody ever got worse in the gym. I’m gonna stay in there and get my rhythm and get my feet back,” Mitchell said. “Even if I am out there hurting a little bit with my shoulder and the ball is loose, I’m gonna dive on the floor regardless, I’ll deal with the consequences afterward.

“I’m not out there to give you a percentage of what I’ve got regardless of how my body may feel. Everybody said they were worried about me diving on the floor that possession (against Arkansas). I’ve heard it a couple of times this week. But it’s just like, if I’m out there, I’m gonna give you everything I got.“

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