Mitchell Robinson is officially a free man.
Late Tuesday night, Western Kentucky gave Robinson a release from his scholarship, which will allow him to join a different college. Ranked No. 10 overall by ESPN, Robinson now becomes the highest-ranked recruit left in the 2017 class to become available this summer.
The 7-0, 222-pound center averaged 25.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and six blocks per game as a high school senior this past season. That earned him a spot on the McDonald’s All-American team, and he was the Hilltoppers’ highest-ranked recruit in the modern recruiting era.
It’s unclear if the 2017 recruit will be eligible to play this coming season for a new school, as Robinson has been attending summer classes in Bowling Green. There’s actually a similar situation playing out with former Perry County Central star Braxton Beverly, who attended summer school at Ohio State, but later left school after Ohio State fired Thad Matta. But because Beverly took classes at a college, he’s now required by NCAA transfer rules to sit out the coming season, which is likely the same situation Robinson is facing.
I doubt Kentucky will show interest in Robinson, though the Cats could certainly use a talented center like Robinson after missing out on Mo Bamba and losing Bam Adebayo to the NBA Draft, while Isaac Humphries left to play professionally overseas.
It actually sounds like Robinson could end up in the SEC, but with LSU.