Tre Mitchell started Kentucky's bench celebrations as a positive distraction

Kentucky’s celebrations on the bench have become almost as entertaining as the Wildcats’ high-powered offense. From the “too little” hand signs to kicking imaginary field goals to firing off a fake bazooka, Kentucky’s shenanigans on the sidelines have become must-watch TV.

Fifth-year forward Tre Mitchell was the one who kick-started the movement. While recovering from back and shoulder injuries over the last month, the regular starter suddenly found himself cheering from the bench. He used it as an opportunity to stay involved with everyone else. Mitchell talks with his teammates ahead of time to plan out what celebrations will be used for the upcoming game.

What started as an excuse to heckle the opposing fanbase has developed into an organized and calculated event.

“We kinda made it fun, just playing around with things like that. It’s been fun,” Senior forward Brennan Canada said on Tuesday. “I think it started maybe on the road. People were talking and we were like okay we’ll just start celebrating or whatever. Kinda get under their skin or whatever. We started it and stuck with it. We’re trying to come up with some new celebrations so we’ll get that figured out.”

Celebrating the success of each other is always a good sign of chemistry, but that’s not the real reason why Mitchell took the lead on bringing more festivities to the Kentucky bench. With so many talented freshmen on the roster, Mitchell believes the celebrations create a positive distraction that everyone else can buy into.

“We have such a loaded roster you never know who’s gonna be on the court. If you start a bench culture like that, it takes guys out of their own mind and more into the game,” Mitchell said. “Sometimes you might get subbed quick and then it’s easy to come on the bench and think about what you did wrong or why Coach subbed you.

“But if you’re busy kicking field goals, then you’re not worried about it. You’re worried about cheering on your teammates and then Coach looks down the bench and sees you have good energy and he’s more likely to throw you back in the game because he knows you’re ready.“

While sidelined with injuries, Tre Mitchell became the leader of Kentucky's "bench mob" and the pre-planned celebrations.

But it's not just about having fun. It's also a mind game Mitchell plays to help keep his teammates ready when their name is called. pic.twitter.com/E8DQYbxjIN

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) March 5, 2024

It’s not a bad strategy. It’s proving to be successful too. Not only is this Kentucky team known as a group that can score points in a hurry, but off the court, they’re known as a tight-knit group. We get a glimpse of that just by watching the bench.

Jordan Burks is always jumping around even though his minutes are limited. Aaron Bradshaw has seen his minutes fluctuate, but continues to be supportive on the bench for his teammates. When Antonio Reeves was on the bench down the stretch against Arkansas, he was up cheering just as loudly as the rest. Bench celebrations keep the walk-ons involved too.

Being active on the sidelines serves everyone from the starters down to those sitting on the end of the bench.

“It gets dudes out of their own mind and more into the game,” Mitchell continued. “If you’re there celebrating your teammates, you don’t have time to think about anything else. You’re almost more worried about the celebrations than you are about what you did in the game. It’s — I don’t want to say an easy way to trick people, but it’s an easy way to just get guys more involved. And then when you make a play like that and you’re able to look over the bench and you see everyone cheering you on, doing a celebration, that gives you more confidence when you’re on the court as well.“

Reed Freaking Sheppard.

I don't know what this is but we're doing it. pic.twitter.com/yNZKtMxSJU

— Tyler Thompson (@MrsTylerKSR) February 28, 2024

What started by accident down in Auburn a few weeks ago has turned into a game-by-game tradition. As Mitchell tells it, the “too little” hand signal turned into someone (Kareem Watkins first, he says) stomping on his hand, which turned into kicking fake field goals, and now into more advanced celebrations. Mitchell teased that Brennan Canada is going to get involved next, but wouldn’t spill any details.

They’ve got a few more ideas in the bank ready to roll out over what’s left of the season. Stay tuned…