Transfer portal talk: West Virginia transfer to visit Kentucky basketball this weekend

It looked like John Calipari and the Kentucky men’s basketball program might have been out of chances to land an experienced player from the NCAA transfer portal this offseason.

But things change fast in college basketball.

After the resignation of former West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins following an arrest last week for allegedly driving under the influence, a key player from the Mountaineers has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

Tre Mitchell — a 6-9 forward with four years of college basketball experience — will be visiting the Kentucky men’s basketball program this weekend, according to 247Sports national basketball analyst Travis Branham.

Mitchell’s entry into the portal, and his surprising availability so late in the offseason, means UK will have a final chance to add a veteran player at a position of need to its 2023-24 roster.

Tre Mitchell now seeking fourth college

Mitchell’s college basketball career has already featured three college stops, with a fourth one seemingly on the way.

Originally from Pittsburgh, Mitchell spent the first two seasons of his college career at Massachusetts. A four-star prospect in the recruiting class of 2019 when he signed with UMass, Mitchell put up noteworthy numbers during his time with the Minutemen.

He averaged 17.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a freshman during the 2019-20 season, and he was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year.

As a sophomore, Mitchell averaged 18.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 13 contests.

Additionally, Mitchell averaged at least one block and steal each per game during his two seasons with the Atlantic 10 school.

Then came Mitchell’s first transfer to Texas in the 2021 offseason. In his lone season with the Longhorns, Mitchell played in 24 games with averages of 8.7 points and 4.0 rebounds.

Next was Mitchell’s move within the Big 12 from Texas to West Virginia: Last season with the Mountaineers, Mitchell played in all 34 games and averaged nearly 12 points and six rebounds per game while shooting a career-low 47% from the field.

Following Huggins’ resignation from WVU, plenty of people connected the dots to a potential exodus of WVU players, with Mitchell officially hitting the transfer portal Friday.

With a Kentucky visit arranged so quickly, it’s clear the Cats are moving quick to try and land Mitchell for next season, and potentially still with time for Mitchell to be with UK for next month’s “GLOBL JAM.”

Beginning July 12, Kentucky will participate in the Toronto basketball showcase, a four-team event featuring squads from the United States, Canada, Germany and Africa.

The event was viewed as a key offseason opportunity to build reps and find team chemistry with a new group of players, something Kentucky surely needs given the youth and lack of continuity on its roster.

What would Tre Mitchell bring to Kentucky?

For starters, Mitchell would fill a position of extreme need for the Wildcats.

Kentucky’s frontcourt already lacked depth for next season, and that was before reports surfaced that freshman center Aaron Bradshaw has a fracture in his foot that could sideline him through the start of the regular season.

Even with Bradshaw in the fold, UK’s only other current frontcourt player is sophomore Ugonna Onyenso.

The Cats are still expected to pick up a commitment and reclassification from Somto Cyril out of the Overtime Elite pro league later this summer, but Cyril would still be joining Kentucky a year early and later in the offseason than most college newcomers.

Kentucky’s primary targets in the transfer portal this offseason — also known as the players UK has missed out on — have been experienced frontcourt players, and Mitchell fits that mold with 102 total college basketball games (92 starts) to his name.

Additionally, Mitchell has versatility: He’s a career 34.7% three-point shooter, which isn’t great but does show an ability to make and take shots from the outside. Mitchel has made 76.3% of his free throws during his college career as well.

While not an addition that would dramatically vault UK in preseason projections, Mitchell is a reliable player at a position where Kentucky needs those players the most.

And between a potential Mitchell addition and this week’s news that fifth-year guard Antonio Reeves is returning to Lexington for a second season, the Wildcats are getting a whole lot more experience to counter-balance the seven incoming freshmen.

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), 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).