Tre Mitchell to return vs. Arkansas? "If he goes a couple of practices, we'll see"

John Calipari was optimistic regarding Tre Mitchell‘s timeline for return following Kentucky’s buzzer-beating win at Mississippi State. He couldn’t give a specific game or date, but he said the fifth-year senior’s week of practice would determine whether he’d be able to suit up vs. Arkansas on Saturday.

“I think so,” Calipari said when asked if Mitchell was nearing a return. “He’ll practice a couple of days and let’s see where he is.”

24 hours later, the Kentucky head coach had a similar tone during his call-in radio show, adding some context regarding his approach to bringing him back up to game speed.

“We gotta see if Tre is gonna be able to play. If he goes a couple of practices, we’ll see,” Calipari said. “Again, that time off, how much can you really play him? And how do you start playing him? But we’ll see in practice.”

He compared Mitchell’s status to DJ Wagner, who dealt with his own extended absence dealing with a lingering ankle injury. Even when the freshman guard was ready, he wasn’t ready. Coming back on Feb. 10 vs. Gonzaga, he’s just now starting to find his groove two-plus weeks later, Wagner having his first double-digit scoring effort since going for 18 vs. Georgia on Jan. 20.

That’s something to keep in mind even when Mitchell plays again. Just because he’s technically available won’t necessarily mean he’s back to 100% dealing with back and shoulder injuries.

“For us, what’s been special with him playing is it gives you another three-point shooter,” Calipari said of Mitchell. “But again, DJ was shooting 40 percent, took two and a half weeks off, didn’t touch a ball, and he was not making any shots. And now Tre was probably 37, 38 percent, and took this time off. We’ll have to see.”

Mitchell last played 21 minutes vs. Ole Miss on Feb. 13, his first game back following a two-game absence dealing with his back issue. Since then, he’s missed Kentucky’s win at Auburn, loss at LSU, win vs. Alabama and win at Mississippi State.

The Cats have stolen some wins with the 6-9 forward off the floor, but how many more can they afford? Hopefully we don’t have to find out and Mitchell makes his return sooner rather than later.