Emmitt Matthews Jr.’s lay-up attempt rolled off the right side of the rim and Tre Mitchell did what he’s sort of been known for this season.
He came out of nowhere.
Mitchell came flying off the right side, grabbed the ball in midair and slammed it home.
It was just one of many highlights for the 6-foot-8 Texas transfer, as the Mountaineers rolled past Morehead State on Tuesday 75-57 inside the Coliseum.
Mitchell finished with 21 points on an efficient 8 of 10 shooting.
“I feel like I have a natural knack for scoring a little bit,” Mitchell said. “Obviously, it’s been an effort for me my entire life to be efficient and take the right shots at the right moments. I just try to take advantage of different angles and if I get close to the basket, I feel like I’m not going to miss that much.”
Saying Mitchell has come out of nowhere is sort of a stretch. This is his fourth season of college basketball and he dominated the Atlantic 10 his first two seasons at UMass and even played against the Mountaineers (3-0) last season while playing with the Longhorns.
But he missed the majority of this preseason dealing with a severe foot injury that required surgery and wasn’t medically cleared until the day before the first game of the season.
He’s quickly made up for lost time, showing flashes of brilliance in limited minutes against Mount St. Mary’s and Pitt, as Mitchell worked himself back into basketball shape.
Mitchell may be there now. Along with his 21 points — his 17th time in college scoring 20 or more in a game — he also added six rebounds and two steals.
He even brought the ball up the floor a few times in moments of transition, as if he was a swifty point guard rather than a lanky power forward.
“He’s still not in very good shape,” WVU head coach Bob Huggins said. “As he continues to get in better shape, I think he’ll continue to get better and better, but I think you’re beginning to see why we were excited to get him.”
Mitchell took his game from the perimeter, which is where he played mostly in the first two games, to doing his damage near the basket.
He was able to come off screens and corral passes and turn them into points in the paint.
Or he would simply steal the ball at half court and turn it into a breakaway dunk.
“Before we even started the game, I knew I was going to play most of the game inside, because their (power forward) was like eight or nine inches shorter. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense to stay out on the perimeter.”
Mitchell said he credits his versatility to his high school days. He started out as a guard bringing the ball up the floor, but eventually grew into a player that was, “banished to the block.”
He’s grateful for it now, because while he’s connecting on 43% of his 3-point attempts, he’s also scoring on a variety of baby hook shots and follow-up dunks.
“Here, I have a lot of freedom to play inside and out,” Mitchell said. “I’ve worked on both in different parts of my life, so it’s all kind of coming together.”
It just may be coming together for WVU, too, which dominated in paint points, 42-26, and shot 47% (29 of 62) from the field.
Jimmy Bell Jr. had 10 points and eight rebounds in his best game of the season and Mohamed Wague also added 10 points off the bench.
WVU forced 20 turnovers and recorded 10 steals.
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