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Transfer Tre Mitchell is a versatile player who could fill different roles for coach John Calipari this season, but he made it clear at the SEC Media Days last week what the coach wants his primary focus to be.

“He expects me to be a leader to these young guys because I am a bit older. He wants me to lead them through tough moments because things can get chippy (during the season),” Mitchell said.

The West Virginia transfer thinks leading a team with eight freshmen and two sophomores will not be that hard.

“Most of our team bonding happens in the gym but it has been easy for us because we have dudes who understand the game,” Mitchell said. “When you have a group of guys like that it is easy to get along.”

He likes the “competitive edge” the freshmen have shown him.

“They are always in the gym and working. They feel they have something to prove, and they are unbelievably talented,” Mitchell said.

His versatility could be as valuable as his leadership with 7-footers Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso both currently sidelined with foot injuries.

“I’ve always looked at myself as a guy that can do whatever you need me to do,” Mitchell said. “Whether you want to play me at the 5, 4 — whatever you want to do — I’ll get out there, and I’ll do what you need me to do,” Mitchell said.

“That’s just how I see the game, and that’s how I’ve always seen the game. I look at myself as a plug-and-play guy that can literally just do anything out there on the court.”

He knows if he had to go against “some unbelievably huge dude” at center, that rebounding might be an issue for him.

“I still feel like I am strong enough to get him out of the way and let one of my other guys get the rebound,” he said. “The advantages with me at the 5 is the versatility that I bring because there’s not many 5’s that have super quick feet or are able to guard a pick-and-pop, a pick and a short roll and just constantly having to adjust to different schemes.”