What About Mitchell?



  • KU probably was going to help him but he didn’t want to commit to a second year if it didn’t work out.



  • HawkChamp said:

    Looks like he is visiting new Orleans soon. I don’t think he’s coming here.

    I posted some crazy stuff I read re: Robinson in the recruiting thread.



  • I see the N.O. visit as a positive.

    What we don’t want to do is sign an unsure Mitchell. It wouldn’t surprise me if Bill sent him to N.O… just to help solidify his desire to come to Lawrence. And if we lose him? It wasn’t meant to be and we would have been off worse if Mitchell came to Lawrence and quickly became unhappy.



  • I don’t see any of this as a positive. But then again if we didn’t have a scholarship to give out this wouldn’t be our problem either. Going into the summer with just 4 eligible big men is why were are currently glamorizing this kid’s chances of playing, not playing, leaving, not leaving in the next year when his only goal is to play in the NBA. Why can’t we get someone with no issues/drama/eligibility concerns for that last spot.



  • @BeddieKU23 Everyone has issues with that last scholly. Cal fills the end of his roster with garbage. K often just doesn’t fill the last scholarship.

    Personally, I think carrying 11 eligible players is the best way to go. Doesn’t scare away recruits and gives you flexibility in years where you have an opportunity for a stud transfer or just an absolutely loaded class.



  • I like the flexibility as well. I don’t know that we necessarily land a guy like Mitchell Robinson, because a top 10 recruit coming available this late is rare, but it’s nice if it happens. We could legitimately have the best frontcourt in the nation with Azuibuke, Preston and Robinson. That’s no small feat to go from very thin upfront to the best in the country.



  • Also, Matt Scott with the hot take “It wasn’t a visit, he just went and shot around.” Lol. Other reports are like nope, his mom and him met with the coaching staff and the visit lasted until 9:30PM.



  • Does anyone know why Mitchell can’t apply for the waiver until he picks a school? To me that just screams that the NCAA could have a chance to be biased based on where he goes.



  • Kcmatt7 said:

    @BeddieKU23 Everyone has issues with that last scholly. Cal fills the end of his roster with garbage. K often just doesn’t fill the last scholarship.

    Personally, I think carrying 11 eligible players is the best way to go. Doesn’t scare away recruits and gives you flexibility in years where you have an opportunity for a stud transfer or just an absolutely loaded class.

    Yeah, it’s rare that even the 9th player will play much anyway. This isn’t the NBA. That said the front court is concerning, ideally you have a 4th guy just in case of foul trouble, injury etc…



  • Kcmatt7 said:

    Also, Matt Scott with the hot take “It wasn’t a visit, he just went and shot around.” Lol. Other reports are like nope, his mom and him met with the coaching staff and the visit lasted until 9:30PM.

    Known clown Matt Scott just continuing to embarrass himself.



  • @Kcmatt7 attorney and money?



  • Does NO have have a schollie?



  • @Kcmatt7 Mitchell himself can’t request the waiver, it has to come from the school, I read that the other day. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @drgnslayr I think it’s over for us.



  • @Crimsonorblue22

    ESPN shows them with 12 before any freshman…



  • @Crimsonorblue22 No apparently it’s the rule for the waiver. But to me, seems like it could very easily be a biased system. Mitchell could get accepted to, say , UNO and be eligible. But if that allows KU to become NC favorites, all of a sudden he isn’t eligible for us.

    To me, the system is very flawed. He should be able to apply for the waiver first. I think if he got the waiver, his options would have opened up 100X more than they are right now. Hurts both the student and the school in the current system.



  • @Kcmatt7 It is due to their fictional focus on making sure that the student athlete is a student first and an athlete second. Enrolling without knowing if you can play somehow means the athlete was always focused on school more than sports.

    I disagree with you, though, on bias about eligibility waivers. I have seen nothing indicative of that. How they make some of those decisions is pretty opaque, but I think when there is suspicion of tampering the waiver might be less likely. Just like coaches who might grant a release but not to schools they suspect.



  • @mayjay I just don’t like things going on behind closed doors. Nor do I like that the school has to be associated to get someone cleared or receive a waiver. I’m not saying that bias happens with the waivers. I’m just saying that it would prove that there is no bias if the waiver applies to the student and doesn’t have to come from the school.

    Just like somehow, some-freaking way, the NCAA tournament selection committee has had up to 3 people on it that were in one way or another connected to Duke. And somehow magically Duke gets easy paths in the tourney. The committee probably doesn’t actually favor them. And the process is probably so complex that there is no way they do it on purpose. But they have opened themselves up to be criticized.

    If it was so straight-forward if the player was eligible or not in the waiver process, the NCAA should be able to rule on it with or without the player choosing a new school. But because it is not that way, I will always have my doubts.



  • As it was explained to me the waiver is not granted to the student but to the school. Robinson can enroll in any school he chooses without checking with the NCAA but to play for the school team, the school has to get a waiver to allow him to play in the team. This is different than initial eligibility where hundreds of thousands of players submit their information to the NCAA and they get cleared (or not) to play, much like Robinson was already cleared. The reason for this is because transfer is different than starting fresh somewhere and the NCAA wants to make sure the requesting school did not have any improper involvement in said transfer. The rules are in place to make sure things are done above board and on an level playing field; in the absence of said rules there would chaos.

    Now, the rules themselves are there and well defined but they require input that sometimes is not readily available or not forthcoming, in this case it would be how long did he attend the previous school? Did he and how extensively practiced with team? Was he officially accepted and enrolled? Did he get financial aid? Was he contacted by other school or schools? and so on. Like all rules, they are of course subject to interpretation by humans and that interpretation is not always objective…depending on what side of the issue you sit.

    Once Robinson picks a school, at this time I have no reason to think that a ruling from the NCAA would not come shortly after all the information is submitted. Remember that the the NCAA has to at least keep the appearance that college is the place where people go to get an education and a degree and also play sports and not just a pit stop on the way to pro-sports…right…😃



  • http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/university-of-kansas/article168246172.html

    Not happening.

    Linked this in another thread but figured it should be here, in the Mitchell Robinson thread.



  • Good to know.



  • @BShark Well guy, I reckon, or it sure seems that pretty well ends that story doesn’t it? – -Dam I seen some more highlights of the kid and all I can say is - - - -DAMM, looks pretty mobile, has got serious hops BUT life goes on, like I say end of story. 😞 😞 😞 😞 😞 - - so be it - - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • Yep, would have been a great get, but time to move on.



  • I hope he doesn’t commit anywhere. If he ends up drafted in the lottery after sitting out a season, I think we may see some kids start doing that. If there becomes a trend of the top 10 freshmen sitting out and waiting for the draft o could see a rule change. Would almost force the NBA to do a 2AD rule or move to the baseball model.

    Thon Maker proved it can be done if you have enough upside. If Robinson also gets in the lottery, that proves the NBA doesn’t actually care if you get play CBB or not.



  • Mitchell we hardly knew ye’

    Close the door on this one!



  • @BeddieKU23

    Yahoo/NBC Sports does not think he will be playing at KU or anywhere.





  • @KUSTEVE

    Not sure yet… but think it all relates to eligibility for this season.

    We don’t have a formal conclusion from the NCAA, though I believe Bill may have asked for a rushed judgment. Bill will always be out there fighting for the player.

    And if he can’t play, I"m sure Bill has made it clear to him that his best option is to stay put at WKU.

    I believe Bill has helped Mitchell discover his REAL options. What I’m not sure about is if the decision has come down from the NCAA.



  • @drgnslayr

    As I understand, the school cannot officially request any information or waiver until the student has officially enrolled. I would think there are back channels through which a school can at least get an idea of the potential outcome of the waiver request. I am sure the staff has done its due diligence and at this time it looks like Robinson is not coming to KU.



  • JayHawkFanToo said:

    @BeddieKU23

    Yahoo/NBC Sports does not think he will be playing at KU or anywhere.

    That’s probably the best scenario for all involved. This is a prime example of where a kid should have been allowed to enter the NBA



  • There is this chance, possibly, that Robinson came here and didn’t like it. That Self wanted him to come. But Robinson just didn’t want to come to Kansas.



  • HighEliteMajor said:

    There is this chance, possibly, that Robinson came here and didn’t like it. That Self wanted him to come. But Robinson just didn’t want to come to Kansas.

    Yep, you are correct. I believe the general consensus viewpoint of the recruiting world doesn’t think that was the case because on his first day of his visit he tweeted “Kansas is nice.”



  • I know this is off-topic but would St Francis University’s abbreviation be STFU?



  • @RockkChalkk When I saw the comment, I immediately thought it was very reserved. I certainly would not want to reach the conclusion that Kansas was his first choice, or that he wants to come here, or that Self made the decision on whether to accept him, based on that limited info. In fact, given how other recruits have made glowing comments after leaving a visit (and he made no comments), it might be a better indication that maybe this was not a place he preferred. That’s just reading what we know. Of course it’s speculation.

    @KUSTEVE Southern Tenant Farmer’s Union (STFU).



  • @KUSTEVE my post about stfu was not meant to end discussion, or to evaluate any discussion. it was meant to say St. Francis U has a pretty messed up abbrev.



  • @KUSTEVE SFU, not STFU. Too bad!



  • Per Zags, Robinson isn’t going to NOLA since their enrollment deadline is today. KU’s is a week after class starts if memory serves. I’d still be surprised if KU was his destination.



  • @FarmerJayhawk Watch, this kid isn’t going to land at any College. - -He is going to sit - -train - – -and Declare for the NBA next year, he not going back to WKU their classes started Monday, most their fans have moved on, I think our have too. It’s a dead issue, Coach has already come out and said he doesn’t look to add to his roster for this year. – -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @FarmerJayhawk Nice to see you joined here.



  • Soooo … we go to battle with Doke, Preston, and Lightfoot. Not what we would ever envision for a Bill Self team, or for a possible national championship team. We always have talked about how Self pulls rabbits out of his hat. No rabbit.

    I can’t imagine that there isn’t some big dude at a Juco that would give his left nad to be the 4th big. That guy has to be out there. Now I dream about Jamari Traylor. Or, uh … maybe a Justin Wesley? Desperate.



  • @BShark thanks man. I agree Robinson to anywhere is probably dead. Forde (yeah, I know) put out an article that said Robinson hadn’t been in touch with KU since last week. Almost feel sorry for him. He’s a great talent, but needs more coaching and refinement than most around his ranking. Would’ve been awesome to have here if he had his head on straight.



  • Just my opinion… but I believe this is all about the NCAA giving Robinson the go sign on a waiver. Mitchell is stuck in limbo. There is a public campaign showing how he is being pushed out of going to college because the NCAA hasn’t confirmed a waiver will happen (directly to Mitchell).

    More bad PR for the NCAA!



  • If Robinson wants to go to college he needs to enroll and begin the process of trying to get to eligible. Worse case senario he drops out and goes pro. It’s not much of a commitment he’d have to make. Bill or anyone else can’t make him come back for a second year.



  • @drgnslayr Or giving him no information. Which is just as bad really. This is why I kept bringing up how stupid the Waiver rule is because it doesn’t give the student information to make his best decision and allows NCAA to make the decision on granting a waiver or not with a bias toward a school.

    If I was Robinson. I would just prep for the NBA. If I get hurt during that period, I obviously would have an insurance policy. But I could also return to school and someone would take me if I were injured and so really I’m out nothing.

    NCAA should have made it clear the odds of him getting a wavier were above average and that they want a talent like that to go to college and earn some credits (and profit off of him). Stupid on their part.



  • I think Bill might have to look at starting Svi and Vick, and have Preston come off the bench to spell Doke. If Doke gets 2 fouls in the first 3 minutes, we’ll need Preston to cover the 5. Maybe Jaybate’s 5 out turns out to be 100% right.



  • Again, the waiver is given to the school that requests it and not the player. The school cannot request a waiver until the student has enrolled. Fair or unfair these are the rules and Robinson was or should have been aware of them. Having said that, I would think that there are back channels schools use to get off the record info from the NCAA and I will guess the word is there will not be a waiver and this is why there are really no takers left.



  • @Kcmatt7 If he goes and practices with a school for a year they will most likely buy a $5million policy for him. One more reason to go train under a coaches watchful eye.



  • @JayHawkFanToo He could always go NAIA or D3.



  • @mayjay

    He can go to any school he wants and that will take him including KU or even JuCo, he just might not be able to play basketballs at schools under the NCAA and he might have to pay tuition like any other student.



  • @JayHawkFanToo Okay, edit that to, “He could play NAIA or D3.” I thought that was obvious, but maybe not.


Log in to reply