Kentucky Basketball: 3 ways Tre Mitchell will help the Wildcats next season

Inside Outside Versatility

The term “stretch four” normally doesn’t appear in college basketball conversations. It is more often associated with big forwards in the NBA who shoot the ball well enough that their 3-point shooting has become a regular part of the team’s offensive attack. However, in recent years, more and more college big men have dared to handle the ball further from the basket. Drew Timme of the Gonzaga Bulldogs is a prime example of this.

While Tre Mitchell does not possess the elite footwork or the offensive arsenal that Timme brought to the table, he does have good hands and a shooter’s touch. As a member of the Texas Longhorns in 2022, Mitchell found himself on the outside of the team’s core group; he never got the touches he expected and was never able to establish his rhythm. However, 2023 was a bounce-back year for him as a member of the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Last season, Mitchell made a total of 304 field goal attempts. 99 of them were 3-pointers. Of the shots he took from behind the arc, Mitchell knocked down a respectable 36.4 percent of them. One can only imagine that Coach Calipari will take notice of this and allow Mitchell to occasionally step outside the paint to attempt the long ball. In Coach Cal’s offense, Mitchell will not be a volume shooter; even Anthony Davis was forced to adhere to a strict shot selection during his time in  Lexington. However, his skill set will certainly not go to waste while playing for a man who takes pride in showcasing his players’ abilities and helping them reach the pros.