Fansided

Western Kentucky’s 5-star recruit reportedly no longer on campus

By Chris Stone

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - April 14: Mitchell Robinson #24 W. Kentucky dunks during the Jordan Brand Classic, National Boys Team All-Star basketball game at The Barclays Center on April 14, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - April 14: Mitchell Robinson #24 W. Kentucky dunks during the Jordan Brand Classic, National Boys Team All-Star basketball game at The Barclays Center on April 14, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images) /
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Mitchell Robinson may not play for Western Kentucky after all.

Mitchell Robinson, a 5-star recruit, has left the Western Kentucky campus after attending summer workouts and its unclear if he plans to return, according to reports from the WKU Herald and ESPN’s Jeff Goodman. Goodman reports that Robinson has “serious questions” about playing college basketball for the Hilltoppers this season while Scout’s Jody Demling notes that the rumor mill on the AAU circuit is that Robinson has left the program.

The 19-year-old’s departure is just the latest twist in a long recruiting saga. Robinson committed to Western Kentucky and head coach Rick Stansbury last June. (He had previously committed to Texas A&M where Stansbury had recruited him as assistant coach.) Stansbury later added Shammond Williams, Robinson’s godfather, to his coaching staff at WKU, helping to pave the way for Robinson’s commitment.

However, Williams abruptly left the program earlier this month leading to questions about whether or not Robinson would even show up for the summer workouts. He even tweeted, and then deleted, a note announcing he was decommitting from the school. The 7-footer did ultimately arrive on campus and his mother suggested that the plan was still for him to play for the team this season. The new turn of events obviously calls that into question.

Losing Robinson would be a major blow for the Hilltoppers. He is a legitimate game-changer on the basketball court as a 7-footer who can protect the rim and defend in space. He’s also shown a proclivity for dunking everything that comes his way on the offensive end, creating easy baskets for his team.

Stansbury was also in the process of assembling a talented roster around Robinson. Former Kansas forward Dwight Coleby will be joining the team as a graduate transfer after choosing to leave the Jayhawks while Josh Anderson, a 4-star prospect, and Jordan Brangers, a top junior college recruit, are also committed to the team.

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Robinson has signed a letter of intent to play for Western Kentucky, so if he plans to leave the program and play elsewhere this season, he’ll need to receive a release. The hope, however, for the Hilltoppers is that he’ll return to campus and bolster their NCAA tournament hopes in 2018.