Former Elizabeth Forward standout Tre Mitchell helps West Virginia win Backyard Brawl
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Early into his high school career, Tre Mitchell looked like he’d be the next elite prospect to come out of the greater Pittsburgh area.
As a sophomore at Elizabeth Forward, Mitchell averaged 20.1 points per game. But for the final two seasons of his preps career, Mitchell attended the Woodstock Academy in Connecticut, winning the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year honors as a senior in 2019.
By that time, Mitchell had become a four-star prospect, sought after by numerous high-major programs from the SEC, ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12.
Ultimately, he chose to stay in New England, committing to UMass and quickly earning the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year award as a freshman and first-team All-A10 honors as a sophomore.
Mitchell’s collegiate career has been emblematic of the possibilities open to players in the era of the NCAA’s relaxed rules regarding the transfer portal.
Following two years at UMass, Mitchell joined Chris Beard at Texas for a season last year.
Friday, he took the court at the Petersen Events Center as a graduate transfer forward for West Virginia, his third college stop in four years.
While basketball has taken Mitchell a long ways from Pittsburgh, his homecoming of sorts proved to be a happy one Friday, as the Mountaineers throttled Pitt, 81-56, to win the 189th Backyard Brawl on the hardwood between the two rivals.
Mitchell played 23 minutes off the bench for West Virginia, scoring eight points on 3-of-5 shooting and leading the Mountaineers with six rebounds.
While some of his teammates had far flashier and statistically robust performances — Joe Toussaint and Erik Stevenson had 18 and 16 points, respectively — Pitt coach Jeff Capel went as far as naming Mitchell the Mountaineers’ most talented player in his postgame remarks.
Whether West Virginia coach Bob Huggins would agree is up for debate, but one thing he was very clear on is that Mitchell is nowhere near playing his best basketball yet.
“He’s a little rusty, because that’s not what you’re going to see later on,” Huggins said. “He’s getting better and better but he couldn’t do anything for about three or four months. He had some pretty extensive surgery, so, that’s not Tre Mitchell out there right now. That’s not the one you’re going to see later on.”
Huggins referred to a foot injury that sidelined Mitchell for much of October and the Mountaineers’ preseason.
It was due to lingering concerns over his recovery that Huggins only played him for 13 minutes during West Virginia’s season-opening win over Mount St. Mary’s on Monday.
Still, Mitchell found a way to contribute efficiently, scoring 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting with three rebounds.
As he works through recovery, there may be a chance for Mitchell to work his way into the Mountaineers’ starting lineup. While at UMass, he started 43 of 44 games and went on to start 17 of 24 games for the Longhorns last year.