Tre Mitchell transfers to Kentucky: What can the experienced forward bring to UK’s frontcourt?

Kentucky men’s basketball has added an eighth newcomer to its 2023-24 roster, and this time it’s not a freshman.

Tre Mitchell — a 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward who previously played college basketball at Massachusetts, Texas and West Virginia — committed to UK on Monday afternoon out of the NCAA transfer portal, marking Kentucky’s first portal addition of the offseason.

Mitchell was a recent addition to the portal as a graduate transfer out of West Virginia. He made the decision to find a fourth (and final) playing stop after the recent resignation of former WVU head coach Bob Huggins, and after taking a weekend visit to Kentucky.

He’s the first grad transfer to join UK since Kellan Grady two seasons ago.

Mitchell’s surprise inclusion in the portal was viewed as a prime opportunity by the Wildcats to add a veteran frontcourt player, two attributes that have been sorely lacking on the 2023-24 Kentucky roster.

But with Mitchell now in place, just how valuable will his presence be for UK next season?

He’s a player with 102 games of college basketball experience (92 starts) and the ability to score in a variety of ways. Mitchell also led the Mountaineers — an NCAA Tournament team last season — in defensive rebounds a season ago.

“Tre is from Pittsburgh and I’ve known him for years. This was a unique situation, but as soon as he put his name in the portal, he was a player I knew we needed to pursue,” UK head coach John Calipari wrote in a tweet shortly after Mitchell committed to the Cats.

“He brings leadership, experience, size and versatility and is a great fit for what we want to do. I know this is a win for us and I believe this will be a win for him, too. We are excited to have him as a part of our program.”

Between his proven production at the college level, as well as the lack of depth currently found at the “four” and “five” spots for Calipari’s team, it’s fair to say Mitchell’s addition shapes up to be a cornerstone moment for whatever the Wildcats are to accomplish next season.

Tre Mitchell is more than just a post scorer, rebounder

In recent seasons, Kentucky basketball fans have become accustomed to the heliocentric presence of Oscar Tshiebwe in the frontcourt.

Never much of a threat to shoot from the mid-range, let alone three-point land, Tshiebwe’s bread and butter was traditional post scoring.

Tshiebwe wasn’t surrounded by versatile college bigs, either:

In the last two seasons combined, UK frontcourt players (Keion Brooks Jr., Brennan Canada, Daimion Collins, Bryce Hopkins, Chris Livingston, Ugonna Onyenso, Zan Payne, Oscar Tshiebwe, Jacob Toppin and Lance Ware) shot a combined 53-for-190 (27.9%) from three-point range.

The vast majority of these makes came from Livingston and Toppin last season. Both players went 18-for-59 (30.5%) from deep.

Mitchell won’t provide lights out three-point shooting, but the 6-9 Pittsburgh native does offer significant floor spacing potential.

He’s a career 34.7% three-point shooter, and last season Mitchell went 36-for-99 (36.4%) on three-point attempts.

A look at Mitchell’s highlights shows both a player with the ability to score from distance, but also someone who can receive the ball outside of the block and maneuver his way into the paint.

Another departure from Tshiebwe and other recent Kentucky bigs is Mitchell’s passing ability. Mitchell boasted an 11.9% assist rate last season, according to KenPom.

Assist rate is defined as the number of assists divided by the number of field goals made by a player’s teammates while the player is on the court.

An obvious counter to this, again per KenPom, is that Mitchell had a 20.4% turnover rate during his one season at West Virginia.

Turnover rate is defined as the percentage of personal possessions used on turnovers.

For comparison, last season Tshiebwe had an assist rate of 9.4% and a turnover rate of 14.8%, although players who rarely dribble or pass will naturally have a lower turnover rate.

But, Mitchell’s offensive versatility — such as his ability to be an effective cutter and transition scorer — supplies significant value to him as a portal player.

According to college basketball statistician Evan Miyakawa’s rankings, Mitchell is the 27th-best player to have entered the transfer portal this offseason (out of more than 1,650 players).

Where does Mitchell fit into Kentucky’s lineup next season?

With the addition of Mitchell, Kentucky right now has 12 players that could legitimately contend for playing time.

One of those players — highly touted freshman center Aaron Bradshaw — is currently sidelined as he recovers from a foot injury suffered at the McDonald’s All-American Game in late March.

Another player — fifth-year guard Brennan Canada — was only put on scholarship midway through last season and has sparingly appeared in games for the Cats. But, he’s an important practice player for the team and started last season’s Senior Night game.

That leaves 10 other players at Calipari’s disposal: Guards Robert Dillingham, Joey Hart, Antonio Reeves, Reed Sheppard and DJ Wagner, wings Jordan Burks, Justin Edwards and Adou Thiero, forward Tre Mitchell and center Ugonna Onyenso.

These ranks are expected to grow by one prior to the start of the preseason.

Class of 2024 center Somto Cyril — who played on the same team as Dillingham in the Overtime Elite basketball league — is still expected to reclassify to the 2023 recruiting class and enroll at Kentucky. Cyril is currently in the process of finishing up coursework that would allow him to make the jump to college basketball a year ahead of schedule.

So how does Mitchell fit into a projected Kentucky basketball lineup next season?

If Calipari decides to go with a two-guard lineup — for example Wagner at point guard and Reeves at shooting guard — that leaves space for Edwards at the “three”, Mitchell at the “four” and one of Bradshaw, Cyril or Onyenso at the “five.”

Should Calipari opt for a three-guard lineup — say with Wagner at point guard, Dillingham at shooting guard and Reeves at the “three” — then things would become a bit more complicated. Edwards would likely slot in at the “four” with one of UK’s frontcourt options at the “five.”

In this setup, the player at the “five” spot wouldn’t necessarily have to be a three-level scorer given the shooting ability already on the floor, but this scenario would also accentuate Mitchell’s value as a rebounder: He’s grabbed 597 rebounds in his college career.

Of course, Kentucky’s lineup combinations next season — as they are for most basketball teams — will be dictated primarily by availability.

But with all of this said, Mitchell is making the conscious decision to spend his final college basketball season in Lexington, and a player with his track record of production will likely be expecting to start, and with good reason.

Kentucky’s first competitive games with what currently exists for a 2023-24 roster are also coming up soon.

The Wildcats begin play in the international GLOBL JAM event July 12 in Canada.

KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER OUTLOOK

Here’s a current breakdown of the scholarship players joining and leaving the Cats from last season.

Incoming players: Aaron Bradshaw (freshman center), Jordan Burks (freshman small forward), Robert Dillingham (freshman guard), Justin Edwards (freshman small forward), Joey Hart (freshman shooting guard), Tre Mitchell (fifth-year forward), Reed Sheppard (freshman guard), DJ Wagner (freshman guard).

Returning players: Brennan Canada (fifth-year guard), Ugonna Onyenso (sophomore forward), Antonio Reeves (fifth-year guard), Adou Thiero (sophomore guard).

Outgoing players: Daimion Collins (forward, transferred to LSU), CJ Fredrick (guard, transferred to Cincinnati), Chris Livingston (forward, NBA Draft), Jacob Toppin (forward, NBA Draft), Oscar Tshiebwe (forward, NBA Draft), Cason Wallace (guard, NBA Draft), Lance Ware (forward, transferred to Villanova), Sahvir Wheeler (guard, transferred to Washington).