Rebounding Machine Tre Mitchell doing whatever it takes in leading UK

With 20 points and 14 rebounds against Missouri, Tre Mitchell recorded his third double-double in Kentucky‘s last four games and his fourth straight double-digit rebounding game. The three double-doubles are Mitchell’s only three this year. Last season, he had two in 34 games at West Virginia. As a sophomore at Texas, one.

Take a look at Mitchell’s rebounding tear over the last four games. He averaged six rebounds in UK’s 10 prior games.

		MIN	FG	FG%	ORB	DRB	REB	PTS
Missouri	W 90-77	40	6-11	0.545	2	12	14	20
@ Florida	W 87-85	35	5-12	0.417	1	9	10	12
Illinois State	W 96-70	29	2-4	0.500	1	10	11	8
@ Louisville	W 95-76	30	7-13	0.538	2	10	12	18

So, why the sudden spike in boards? Well, John Calipari challenged his team to rebound better at the turn of the new year, telling his players, “If you’re not going to rebound, I’m not going to play you.” Mitchell listened.

But he is also rebounding out of necessity because Kentucky has been without Adou Thiero, the team’s second-leading rebounder, who missed the last three outings with “general soreness.” Mitchell took on a lot of Thiero’s minutes, playing all but 22 seconds in Kentucky’s Tuesday night victory against Missouri.

Calipari admitted afterward, “I’m probably playing Tre more than he needs to, but all of a sudden, you guys are asking me about his double-doubles because he is playing more minutes.”

Mitchell doesn’t mind. “Whatever the team needs me to do,” he said. “I take full advantage of my rest days and I’m with (Geoff Staton, the senior athletic trainer) a lot. A LOT, to say the least.”

When the motor runs

“It’s his motor,” John Calipari explained in his postgame press conference. “When his motor runs, he is a double-double.”

Calipari has helped fuel Mitchell’s rebounding motor since Mitchell transferred to Lexington for his final year of college basketball. Mitchell has been receptive to Calipari’s coaching from the beginning, even if it means playing with a higher motor and crashing the glass.

“That’s something that’s gonna benefit me in my career in the long run,” said Mitchell. “That’s something that people are looking for in a player and Cal has emphasized that to me from day one, so, when a Hall of Fame coach tells you to do something, you listen to him.”

The admiration goes two ways because Calipari loves coaching Mitchell. He said so Tuesday night while raving about Mitchell’s MVP performance against Missouri and the importance of the fifth-year senior to Kentucky’s young team.

“These guys rely on him. And they do Antonio, too; but they rely on him. He can play four and five, and he can shoot the three, and he can put it on the floor. What he proved today is he can rebound in traffic when there are all kinds of guys whacking at the ball, and he did it and then he made free throws. He was really good today.”

Freshman point guard DJ Wagner added, “He brings a lot, he is a big factor for this team. Like you said, he had a great game today. He’s one of the leaders on our team, one of the older guys, so you know he knows what to expect with certain games, just how to be more patient and how to be calmer, so he definitely brings a lot to the table.”

Hear more from Mitchell, Wagner, and Rob Dillingham in the postgame player interviews, then get ready for more rebounding from Mitchell in the future. He is “going to keep going after it.”