UMass Basketball: In-depth look at sophomore star center Tre Mitchell
By Bryan Mauro
Marcus Camby and Cady Lalanne have meaning to UMass Basketball fans everywhere. Tre Mitchell is another player in Amherst currently who hopes to put his name next in history.
The Atlantic 10 has consistently been one of the better mid-major conferences in the country each year. Last season the Dayton Flyers had a season for the ages and like everyone, it was cut short. Dayton was set to represent the league and was likely going to be a one seed. The Flyers also helped the league gain media attention when their star Obi Toppin secured the National Player of the Year.
One of the leagues up and coming teams has another player who is on the verge of a breakout. It may be near the level of Toppin, which is expected because Toppin was one of the games elite players. However, for this player, he is on pace to be the catalyst for a turnaround that could very well lead the team to an NCAA tournament bid.
The Massachusetts Minutemen or UMass for short have had no success since coach John Calipari left Amherst. Under coach Cal, UMass made the NCAA tournament five seasons in a row, and in those five years, they had a three Sweet 16s, two Elite Eights and one Final Four appearance. That run started with the 1992-1993 season and the fan base has been longing for any consistent winner since then.
Current head coach Matt McCall has a roster this season that can make some noise in the league especially given that a few of the league’s more dominant teams may not be as good as they have in years past. This year’s prospects have never been higher for a UMass team looking to get back into the National Spotlight and they are hoping to ride the coattails of their star big man Tre Mitchell. Mitchell has the talent to cement his name among many of the UMass greats, as well as put his name into the history books within the A10 conference.