Mitchell Robinson is Now Expected to Return to Western Kentucky
This saga has been one of the most intriguing recruiting situations I can ever remember. That’s not an exaggeration. It’s rare to see a consensus top-10 guy consider, let alone pick, a school like Western Kentucky, even with his mentor on staff at the time. From there the story was he wasn’t on campus, then he showed up and enrolled in summer classes. Then he left campus and was suspended indefinitely. Then he was given a full release to transfer and was expected to pick between New Orleans and Kansas. Then he wasn’t interested in New Orleans. Then it was possibly playing overseas.
Now it’s returning to Western Kentucky. Yes, it’s that much of a clusterfuck as it sounds. But, really it reminds me of this:
So what does all this mean? First, he’s not going to be suspended if he does truly return to Western Kentucky. Say what you will about Rick Stansbury, but there’s no doubt he’s not dumb enough to suspend a guy who makes them the clear favorites in C-USA.
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From the NCAA side, it doesn’t matter. He’s eligible to play right away at Western Kentucky and doesn’t need a waiver like he would have if he transferred to Kansas or anywhere else. That means he joins a recruiting class that includes a 4-star guard in Josh Anderson, Mr. Basketball in Kentucky in Taveion Hollingsworth, Chris Duarte who held offers from Big East schools and transfers Darius Thompson and Lamonte Bearden. That’s a pretty loaded team for a midmajor.
There’s obviously a lot to digest here in the situation and as a whole. First, I stand by my statement that guys that are as good as Mitchell Robinson should go to about 15-20 schools. Top-10 guys should go to the likes of Kentucky, Duke, Arizona, UNC, Arizona, UCLA, etc. Second, it just shows that these guys are committing to the coach, not the school. The moment Shammond Williams was let go, he should have been able to transfer anywhere. If coaches can leave and coach immediately, players should be able to do the same. We need to stop buying into this fake statement that the NCAA isn’t a business and just take it for what it is.
Either way, this is the latest update in Mitchell Robinson. We’ll find out soon enough if this holds up.