Latest twist in Mitchell Robinson saga has 7-footer headed back to Western Kentucky

Former Western Kentucky signee Mitchell Robinson, who considered transferring to Kansas after being released from his national letter of intent and also pondered sitting out the 2017-18 season to prepare for the NBA Draft, reportedly is headed back to Western Kentucky.

The 7-foot McDonald’s All-American out of Chalmette (La.) High School, who left the Western Kentucky campus in late July after practicing a couple of weeks with the Hilltoppers, is expected to enroll at the Bowling Green, Ky., school on Monday, according to WBKO-TV’s Chad Bishop.

Thus Robinson will be eligible to play in games during a one-and-done college season.

Robinson left Western Kentucky in late July, and after being let out of his letter-of-intent, visited LSU, KU and the University of New Orleans. Because he ultimately did not transfer, barring some unforeseen circumstance, he would be eligible to practice immediately and play with the Hilltoppers this season.

He soured on KU, apparently because it was evident he would not be able to receive an NCAA waiver to allow him to play in games in 2017-18. It’s believed had he attended Kansas, he would have only been able to practice but not play in games until 2018-19. He’s expected to be a lottery pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

Robinson, the No. 9-ranked player in the recruiting class of 2017, according to Rivals.com, averaged 25.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and 6.0 blocks per game last season at Chalmette. He scored 14 points in the McDonald’s All-American Game. He had 15 in the Jordan Brand Classic.

Western Kentucky coach Rick Stansbury recruited Robinson while Stansbury was an assistant coach at Texas A&M. Robinson committed to A&M in October 2015. He decommitted right after Stansbury left for Western Kentucky in March 2016.

Late Sunday night, Bowling Green Daily News reporter Brad Stephens reported on Twitter that “freshman center Mitchell Robinson left Louisiana late this afternoon and is en route to Bowling Green. The McDonald’s All-American has until 4 p.m. tomorrow to officially enroll at WKU.”

This story was originally published August 27, 2017 at 8:57 PM with the headline "Latest twist in Mitchell Robinson saga has 7-footer headed back to Western Kentucky."