Before Senior Night, the big brothers of Kentucky basketball reflect. ‘It’s been a blast.’
The morning before a milestone moment in their still-young basketball careers, Antonio Reeves and Tre Mitchell were in contemplative moods. The two old guys of this Kentucky basketball team taking a little time to reflect on a stage in their life that has gone by much too fast.
“Like a blink of an eye,” Reeves said.
Both players are nearing the finish of their fifth and final seasons of college basketball. Reeves is in his second as a Wildcat, and Mitchell is in his first. And while their college careers started elsewhere, they’ll end — either in celebration or defeat — with Kentucky across their chest.
For that, both are thankful.
“It feels crazy,” Reeves said. “Me playing at Rupp one more time. It’s a blessing and an honor to do that, to say I did it. So I just can’t wait for the opportunity tomorrow.”
On Wednesday night, the veteran duo will take the Rupp court one last time. The Wildcats will host Vanderbilt for their annual Senior Night festivities. Reeves and Mitchell will be honored before the game alongside senior walk-on Kareem Watkins, and it will also mark the final home appearance for fifth-year walk-on and Kentucky native Brennan Canada, who plans to sit out the pregame festivities after going through his own Senior Night ceremony last season.
Reeves was honored last season, too, not knowing what his next steps would be. He ultimately turned into a 1,000-point scorer at UK — a rarity in the John Calipari era of one-and-done stars — and he’ll be out on the Rupp court with his family one more time Wednesday night to take it all in.
“I didn’t know what I was going to do,” he said of last season. “I didn’t know how it was going to play out. So just seeing me transition from the past to now, it’s just like, ‘Wow.’ This feeling that I’m going to have tomorrow — it’s really going to be my last time playing at Rupp.
“It’s definitely going to be amazing.”
Kentucky’s leaders
Reeves explored all of his options following last season. He entered his name in the NBA draft, pulled out just before the deadline and delayed announcing his return to UK for one more year as he looked into other possibilities.
Mitchell was never planning to be here at all. He started his college career with two seasons at UMass, transferred to Texas for a shot at a bigger stage, then moved on to West Virginia in search of something different. He graduated from WVU last year and was all set to return to the Mountaineers for his final season of college before Bob Huggins’ abrupt departure well into the offseason scrambled those plans.
His journey brought him to Lexington.
When Reeves returned and Mitchell arrived, they looked around and saw a bunch of kids.
They both turned 23 last year. Pretty much everyone else on the roster is still a teenager.
“You get reminded every day that you’re old,” Mitchell said with a grin.
What might have been an awkward dynamic didn’t turn out that way.
Reeves knew he’d have to step up and be more of a leader in year two after spending the previous one as more of a locker room wallflower following three seasons at Illinois State.
Mitchell knew he wanted to come in as a “voice of reason” — as he said it back in the preseason — willing to impart his college basketball wisdom on a room full of young guys.
But neither knew for sure how it would all play out.
“I definitely expected to lead,” Mitchell said. “But I didn’t necessarily expect them to listen as much as they do.”
Reeves found a similar audience. On Tuesday morning, he looked back through his memory and smiled at the thought of his freshman teammates making rookie mistakes in those early practices.
“Yeah, they’re pretty young,” he told himself at the time. “We can’t do these type of things (against) these teams and think we’re going to win.”
Reeves, relatively quiet by nature, found himself giving the 18-year-olds pointers on how to play at this level. It didn’t take long before the kids looked up to him as a leader.
“I’ve grown so much, I feel like,” he said. “Just the leadership, and maturity-wise — it definitely helped me out in so many ways. Just staying organized, being a big brother to these guys — it definitely helped me out and motivated me even more to do what I need to do on the floor. Just to make sure these guys win. And they did the same thing for me. Those are good guys. They’re dogs. And they definitely helped me out, as well.”
Mitchell had seen just about everything in four seasons of college basketball played at three different schools. He joined Kentucky’s program just a couple of weeks before the team’s summer trip to Canada. By the end of that trip, he was an unquestioned leader.
Eight months later, it’s been a whirlwind experience. And one he’s clearly cherished.
“It’s been a blast, honestly,” Mitchell said. “Because even though I’m a little older than them — I’m not that much older — I fit right in with them. For the most part. They’re a little wild sometimes. But they’re just good people. It was easy to come into it. They care about the game, and they see the love that I have for the game, as well.
“And I think that just brings us closer as a team. And they respect that.”
Two important Wildcats
Though much of the spotlight this season has been cast in the direction of Kentucky’s all-star contingent of freshmen, this UK team — ranked No. 15 nationally, trending in the right direction, and with dreams of playing for a national title in their heads — wouldn’t be where it is without the presence of its two veterans.
Reeves — a 6-foot-6 guard from Chicago — has become one of the best offensive players in Calipari’s star-studded tenure. Last month, he eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his Kentucky career. Earlier in the season, he passed 2,000 points as a college basketball player.
He enters Wednesday night with 2,263 total points, with 1,068 of those coming as a Wildcat. He needs just six points to pass Rex Chapman’s two-year total. He’s on pace to rise above Jeff Sheppard by Saturday and pass Oscar Tshiebwe during the SEC Tournament.
Reeves is at 20.0 points per game this season, the exact final tally for Jamal Murray, who is still tops in that scoring category in the Calipari era.
The Hall of Fame coach has praised Reeves’ evolving game many times in recent months. He’s transitioned into more of a three-level scorer this season, becoming a much more efficient offensive player in the process. He’s shooting 44.2% from 3-point range, he’s over 50% from the field for the first time in his five college seasons, and he’s nearly automatic at 87.6% from the foul line. His rebounding numbers have almost doubled from last season. His assists are up, his turnovers are down, and his defense is much improved.
On Tuesday afternoon, Reeves was named one of five finalists for the Jerry West Award, given to the nation’s best shooting guard. He should be a lock for a first-team All-SEC spot, and UK has started an All-American campaign on his behalf.
When asked about that type of honor, Reeves laughed, somewhat nervously. He said he never could have imagined such a thing.
“I just continue hooping. Continue to do what I’m doing.”
While Kentucky’s trio of 7-footers started the season on the sideline, Mitchell stepped up as the team’s de facto center. The role meant playing outside of his comfort zone, and it meant going body to body with the other team’s biggest and most physical players. He did it without complaint, often sacrificing his own opportunities to do what was best for his teammates.
That earned him the respect of anyone who was watching. And it was clear how integral he would be to the Wildcats’ success.
Mitchell — a 6-9 forward from Pittsburgh — missed several games over the past few weeks with back and shoulder injuries, but he returned to the lineup over the weekend. He rates first on the team in minutes per game and total rebounds. He’s fourth in scoring and assists, and he’s second in blocked shots, filling in the gaps for UK on a game-to-game basis.
“It’s meant everything to me,” Mitchell said. “Just to come in here and be accepted as quickly as I was, and be loved by the people here — it really is second to none. The range and scope of fans that are here — you say fans, I call them more ‘supporters’ than fans, because regardless of the situation we’re in, they’re behind us. Some people might feel some type of way after a bad game or a loss or something, when we all know we should have won. But we hold ourselves to that same standard. It’s Kentucky. We’re supposed to go out there and win. We’re going to get everybody’s best shot every single night.
“But for me, personally, it’s me being able to live out a dream since I was a kid. And I’ve enjoyed every single moment of it.”
One more night in Rupp
When Reeves was asked to name his favorite moment in Rupp Arena, he paused and stroked his beard, clearly thinking, unable at first to come up with just one.
“It’s been loud so many times,” he said.
Mitchell was quick with his answer: Zvonimir Ivisic’s behind-the-back pass out of nowhere in his college debut. Kentucky beat Georgia that day, and Rupp Arena was at peak volume.
“Everyone went crazy,” Mitchell marveled. “And then Tone knocked down the shot. Of course he did. The place just exploded. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
As many questions as they were asked about themselves — as much as they were prodded to reflect on their time as Wildcats — the topic of conversation often shifted back to those talented freshmen that they’ve helped over the past several months.
Reeves, who is on track to graduate from UK in May with a degree in communications, spoke of leading the young Wildcats to find their games amid the fishbowl of Kentucky basketball and the weight of five-star expectations.
Mitchell spoke of encouraging team celebrations from the sidelines and doing whatever he could to keep the kids’ spirits up when things didn’t go their way. His biggest smiles — as has been the case all season — were reserved for questions related to his younger teammates and getting a courtside view to see players like Rob Dillingham, Reed Sheppard, D.J. Wagner, Justin Edwards, Aaron Bradshaw, Jordan Burks and Ivisic experience breakthrough moments.
In times like those, Kentucky’s oldest scholarship player has been the Wildcats’ biggest cheerleader.
“It’s been amazing,” Mitchell said. “Because I’ve seen these guys’ blood, sweat and tears in the gym since the first day I stepped on campus. I’ve seen them at the lowest of their lows and the highest of their highs. And just to see them work through those stages. And — for some of them — being able to be a support system for them. Even though I was hurt and I was on the side, being able to cheer them on and see them grow into who we’ve always known they were. And really knock down those mental walls, and develop more character and more mental fortitude within themselves. And find a confidence here down the stretch, exactly when we need it — it’s been something special.
“And if you’re really watching the game, how could you not jump up and scream? You know?”
Wednesday
Vanderbilt at No. 15 Kentucky
When: 9 p.m.
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Vanderbilt 8-21 (3-13 SEC), Kentucky 21-8 (11-5)
Series: Kentucky leads 156-49
Last meeting: Kentucky won 109-77 on Feb. 6 in Nashville, Tenn.
This story was originally published March 5, 2024 at 1:40 PM.
