Tre Mitchell is "loving every second" of playing with Kentucky's 7-footers

For the first seven games of Kentucky’s season, Tre Mitchell was John Calipari’s lone big man. The 6-foot-9, 230-pound graduate student had already played over 100 games of college basketball at three different schools before arriving in Lexington, so he knows what it’s like to adapt. But this wasn’t exactly what he signed up for.

Calipari brought in a trio of seven-footers specifically so Mitchell could play his more natural position at the four. But with all three missing time early in the season for various reasons, there was no other option but to make Mitchell play the five. And to his credit, he played the role as best he could. Mitchell averaged 14.9 points, six rebounds, four assists, and 1.4 blocks per game on over 57 percent shooting in those first seven games.

But once Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Oyensno — two of Kentucky’s three seven-foot giants — finally returned to the floor, Mitchell’s role suddenly changed. Yes, he was back to playing the position he’s more comfortable with, but there was still an adjustment period. Prior to Thursday night, in the three games Mitchell played alongside Bradshaw, he averaged just 7.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, three assists, and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 41.2 percent overall.

He wasn’t playing poorly by any means, but something felt… off. That is until Kentucky stepped foot in the KFC Yum! Center and beat Louisville by 19 points.

Against the Cardinals, Mitchell played his best games in weeks, and maybe even his best as a Wildcat. He posted 18 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and 12th of his career. He only dished out one assist but recorded three blocks and two steals in 30 minutes of action. Mitchell shot 7-13 from the field and 4-7 from deep. His final two three-pointers came on back-to-back possessions late in the game, extending Kentucky’s 19-point advantage to 25.

Tre Mitchell vs. Louisville (12/21/2023)

🔷 7/13 FG
🔷 4/7 3PT
🔷 18 PTS
🔷 12 REB
🔷 3 BLK pic.twitter.com/ACyGFSp4ll

— Daniel Hager (@DanielHagerKSR) December 22, 2023

Mitchell just needed some time to figure out the best way to work alongside a seven-footer. Anyone who’s watched him play this season knows his basketball IQ is usually the highest of anyone on the floor. Eventually, he was going to figure out the formula. He cracked the code against Louisville.

“I love it. I absolutely love it,” Mitchell said postgame about playing next to a true center. “Not just because it slides me to the four but those dudes (Bradshaw and Onyenso) bring so much to the table for our team. They’re impacting shots, they’re changing trajectories of dudes driving to the rim. You have people getting that initial bump on someone that’s guarding them, and then you’ve got a 7-2, 7-5 wingspan coming out of nowhere, pinning it against the glass. It just adds another dynamic, but I’m loving every second of it.”

Adding a couple of seven-footers into the mix hasn’t changed Kentucky’s overall offensive philosophy, but it sure has helped the frontcourt on the glass and on defense. There’s rim protection now that Mitchell simply couldn’t provide. He’s a good enough shooter that he doesn’t clog the spacing. Mitchell can still do all of the things he was doing at the five earlier in the season, but without having to defend a seven-footer on the other end.

It’s no wonder he loves it.

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